Propagation of Cellular Modes of Titanium-Powder Layer Combustion in Air Channels,Allowing for the Effect of Natural Convection of Gas

In this paper, we have studied the effect of impurity and inert gases on the formation and propagation of cellular-combustion regimes for their inhomogeneous distribution above the surface of the reacting metal layer. The gas-dynamic aspects of the formation and steady propagation of inhomogeneous wave structures in the combustion of a titanium powder layer in through and semi-closed inclined air canals and in channels with uneven loading are considered. The gas composition heterogeneity over the reaction zone and the gas stratification, i.e., the stratification of a gas mixture of different densiies above the reacting layer, are shown to lead to the formation of inclined non-uniform and cellular fronts under conditions of a lack of active gas in the reaction zone and the loss of stability of the planar front.     

Filtration combustion of a porous structure in a multicomponent gas environment

A mathematical model for describing the quasi-isobaric filtration combustion of porous materials with the formation of condensed reaction products in a multicomponent gas is developed. Two-stage combustion waves (control modes) at the counter filtration of gas mixture are examined. The effect of inert gas component on the structure of a two-stage filtration combustion wave is studied, and the critical conditions of the changeover between filtration combustion modes caused by inert gas concentration variation are determined. It is demonstrated the characteristics of the two-stage combustion front propagating in the control mode in a multicomponent gas flow depends on the porosity of the heterogeneous system.     

Numerical simulation of modes of combustion and detonation of hydrogen-air mixtures in porous medium in the framework of the mechanics of two-phase reaction mediums

Numerical simulation is carried out for combustion and detonation waves propagating through a motionless gas mixture in a porous inert charge. Computations are performed in a one-dimensional approximation by means of an EFAE computer program that was developed in the framework of the mechanics of multiphase reaction mediums. The chemical conversion of gas is modeled by a one-stage reaction of the Arrhenius type with constants selected based on existing experimental data on the ignition lags behind the reflected shock waves. Computations are performed for hydrogen-air mixtures with 35 and 15% hydrogen and compared with literature experimental data in which the initial pressure and the diameter of charged particles are varied. All three combustion modes (slow, fast, and supersonic) observed in the experiment and combustion failure under conditions lower than threshold are followed by numerical simulation. In addition, the computations qualitatively reproduced experimental data on the change of the combustion mode in the case of transfer from stoichiometric to a lean mixture and data on the combustion wave velocity and limiting conditions of combustion mode transition and failure of flame as a function of the initial pressure and the charged particle size. It is shown that supersonic waves propagating with a velocity of lower than 1100 m/s do not have a Chapman-Jouguet surface in the end of the reaction zone and it is evident that they can be related to detonation, as in the cited literature.     

Critical phenomena in the cellular mode of filtration combustion in the presence of heat loss

Critical conditions for combustion failure due to heat loss to the environment are examined. The process of filtration combustion is considered under conditions where a cellular structure of the front is realized, because the planar combustion front loses its stability and splits into separate cells of exothermic chemical conversion, which propagate in self-sustained mode. The size and structure of the cells of chemical interaction depend nonlinearly on the governing parameters, including the rate of heat loss to the environment. Within the framework of a mathematical model of filtration combustion, the steady-state dynamics of the combustion process and the structure of the cell of exothermic chemical reaction of a powder mixture with a gaseous reagent with the formation of solid products are simulated. The specifics of the evolution of the cell before combustion failure as a function of the heat loss rate are studied.     

Combustion Wave Stability in Transition through the Interface of Gasless Systems

In this paper, using mathematical modeling, we study combustion wave stability in transition through the interface of gasless systems. The effect of a gas layer separating two chemically active gasless layers on the combustion wave stability was studied at all stages of the transition. Using the criteria obtained, we estimate the stability conditions of the transition combustion wave. The nonstationary dynamics of the combustion wave transition through the gas gap is studied with allowance for competing mechanisms of heat transfer, such as conductive and radiant transfer. We analyze the effect of radiation heat transfer in the gas gap on the characteristics and stability of the transient combustion process. The failure region of the igniter combustion wave is determined through the approach to the ignition system, while estimates of temperature and heat flux at the interface of the systems are given with respect to the time of the igniter combustion completion under conditions of dominant conductive and radiant heat transfer.     

Combustion and explosion of hydrogen-air mixtures under conditions imitating elements of gas-laden rooms

The time evolution of the processes of combustion and explosion with regard to safety problems in handling reactive gas mixtures was studied. The explosion safety for reaction volumes and gas-laden rooms can be assessed only if data on the possible consequences of the emergencies under conditions close to real ones or modeling them are available. The propagation of nonplanar explosion waves with a short positive phase in volumes with variable cross section is an essentially unsteady process. Until recently, the regularities of the evolution of the characteristics of such waves during their propagation in a reactive mixture with heat release virtually have not been studied. At the same time, these processes determine the character of combustion, and, therefore, the possibility of their formalization provides the opportunity to treat the entire variety of combustion regimes. Only a knowledge of general laws of the interaction of unsteady gasdynamic processes and gaskinetic processes in a reactive medium makes it possible to control combustion regimes purposefully and effectively. The present work is devoted to studying the propagation of combustion in cavities with a geometry imitating elements of reaction volumes and rooms filled with a hydrogen-air mixture. Results for a pyramid-shaped cavity capable of cumulating flows and waves are considered and compared to those obtained using a conical cavity [1–5].     

Detonation models of fast combustion waves in nanoscale Al-MoO3 bulk powder media

The combustion of nanometric aluminum (Al) powder with an oxidiser such as molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) is studied analytically. This study focuses on detonation wave models and a Chapman-Jouget detonation model provides reasonable agreement with experimentally-observed wave speeds provided that multiphase equilibrium sound speeds are applied at the downstream edge of the detonation wave. The results indicate that equilibrium sound speeds of multiphase mixtures can play a critical role in determining speeds of fast combustion waves in nanoscale Al-MoO₃ powder mixtures.     

Numerical model of two-dimensional heterogeneous combustion in porous media under natural convection or forced filtration

A novel mathematical model and original numerical method for investigating the two-dimensional waves of heterogeneous combustion in porous media are proposed and described in detail. The mathematical model is constructed within the framework of the model of interacting interpenetrating continua and includes equations of state, continuity, momentum conservation and energy for solid and gas phases. Combustion, considered in the paper, is due to the exothermic reaction between fuel in the porous solid medium and oxidiser contained in the gas flowing through the porous object. The original numerical method is based on a combination of explicit and implicit finite-difference schemes. A distinctive feature of the proposed model is that the gas velocity at the open boundaries (inlet and outlet) of the porous object is unknown and has to be found from the solution of the problem, i.e. the flow rate of the gas regulates itself. This approach allows processes to be modelled not only under forced filtration, but also under free convection, when there is no forced gas input in porous objects, which is typical for many natural or anthropogenic disasters (burning of peatlands, coal dumps, landfills, grain elevators). Some two-dimensional time-dependent problems of heterogeneous combustion in porous objects have been solved using the proposed numerical method. It is shown that two-dimensional waves of heterogeneous combustion in porous media can propagate in two modes with different characteristics, as in the case of one-dimensional combustion, but the combustion front can move in a complex manner, and gas dynamics within the porous objects can be complicated. When natural convection takes place, self-sustaining combustion waves can go through the all parts of the object regardless of where an ignition zone was located, so the all combustible material in each part of the object is burned out, in contrast to forced filtration.     

Analysis of combustion regimes and conditional statistics of autoigniting turbulent n-heptane sprays

DNS is performed for a statistically one dimensional layer of a spray region resembling diesel engine conditions. The group and collective combustion regimes are identified according to the ratio of the chemical and transport time scales for a single droplet. The statistics in group combustion are similar with those in gas phase combustion. The collective combustion regime involves interspersed rich regions with different dissipation characteristics. Reasonable agreements are shown with the scaled AMC model and the linear evaporation model in the ranges of meaningful probability. Initially the evaporation terms are dominant in the budgets of the conditional enthalpy equation. After ignition the chemical reaction term becomes dominant to be balanced by the time rate of change term. For modeling turbulent spray combustion it may not be essential to consider detailed micro structures around each droplet, unless in the droplet combustion regime.     

The re-initiation of cellular detonations downstream of an inert layer

The current work aims to examine how the nature of cellular instabilities controls the re-initiation capability and dynamics of a gaseous detonation transmitting across a layer of inert (or non-detonable) gases. This canonical problem is tackled via computational analysis based on the two-dimensional, reactive Euler equations. Two different chemical kinetic models were used, a simplified two-step induction-reaction model and a detailed model for hydrogen-air. For the two-step model, cases with relatively high and low activation energies, representing highly and weakly unstable cellular detonations, respectively, are considered. For the weakly unstable case, two distinct types of re-initiation mechanisms were observed. (1) For thin inert layers, at the exit of the layer the detonation wave front has not fully decayed and thus the transverse waves are still relatively strong. Detonation re-initiation in the reactive gas downstream of the inert layer occurs at the gas compressed by the collision of the transverse waves, and thus is referred to as a cellular-instability-controlled re-initiation. (2) If an inert layer is sufficiently thick, the detonation wave front has fully decayed to a planar shock when it exits the inert layer, and re-initiation still occurs downstream as a result of planar shock compression only, which is thus referred to as a planar-shock-induced re-initiation. Between these two regimes there is a transition region where the wave front is not yet fully planar, and thus perturbations by the transverse waves still play a role in the re-initiation. For the highly unstable case, re-initiation only occurs via the cellular-instability-controlled mechanisms below a critical thickness of the inert layer. Additional simulations considering detailed chemical kinetics demonstrate that the critical re-initiation behaviors of an unstable stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen-air at 1 atm and 295 K are consistent with the finding from the two-step kinetic model for a highly unstable reactive mixture.     

Transient modes of propagation of the shock wave-reaction zone complex in methane-air mixtures

The dynamics of the combustion of stoichiometric methane-air mixtures during the passage from a larger-diameter to a smaller-diameter tube is experimentally studied. The combined effect of increases in the velocity and duration of the gas flow and in the degree of its turbulization due to a decrease in the cross sectional area of the tube and installation in it of turbulizing obstacles considerably enhance the probability of onset of combustion mode with the formation of strong shock waves. Combustion waves led by a shock wave that ignites the mixture at obstacles and propagates at a velocity of up to 1400 m/s within a distance of ～14 tube diameters are produced.     

湍流煤粉火焰中多相燃烧的跨尺度模拟方法及应用

通过"湍流涡团尺度"与"边界层反应尺度"的关联,建立了湍流煤粉火焰中多相燃烧的跨尺度模拟方法。该方法能够预报湍流脉动宏观规律对静止颗粒边界层内气相反应(如挥发分火焰、CO火焰)的影响。将该方法用于煤粉旋流燃烧数值模拟中,结果显示:与完全忽略边界层气相反应的单膜模型相比,跨尺度模拟的预报结果与Lockwood实验数据有更好的符合。     

Specifics of the combustion of aluminum-water mixtures

Experimental studies of the combustion of mixtures of micron-sized flaky aluminum powder with unthickened water in different conditions at atmospheric and high pressure in nitrogen and argon are performed. The density and composition of the mixture are varied. The regularities of the combustion have been established. A filtration wave of hot hydrogen ahead of the combustion front in samples with high porosity has been revealed. For the combustion under a nitrogen atmosphere, the pressure exponent in the burning rate law is close to 0.47 in a wide range of pressures. For the combustion under an argon atmosphere at pressures above 50 atm, the pressure exponent becomes zero or negative. Aluminum powder is demonstrated to be able to burn under conditions of a separated charge, where the fuel (aluminum) and oxidizer (water) are separated by a thin partition or brought in direct contact. The fast convective burning of aluminum-water mixtures in a semiclosed volume is discovered.     

Correlation between drop vaporization and self-ignition

A parametric analysis of numerical solutions to problems of vaporization and self-ignition of liquid hydrocarbon drops was performed, and a new criterion determining the conditions of drop self-ignition was suggested. According to this criterion, self-ignition at a given reduced distance from the drop begins when the required reduced gas temperature and equivalence ratio are reached. A new model of heating and vaporization of drops in dense gas suspensions was suggested. The model was verified in multidimensional calculations of self-ignition and combustion of drop clouds. Calculations showed that the model correctly described the phenomenology of local formation and anisotropic propagation of self-ignition waves in suspensions of drops in gases.     

A study of the characteristics of the combustion of Ti + <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>C (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> &gt; 0.5) powder and granular compositions in a gas coflow

The characteristics of the combustion of Ti + 0.5C, Ti + 0.75C, and Ti + C powder and granular mixtures in a flow of inert (argon) and reactive (nitrogen) gases at various pressure differences are studied. It is shown that the influence of the pressure difference on the burning velocity of the powder mixture decreases with increasing fraction of carbon in it, but a pressure difference of 1 atm producing practically no effect on the burning rate of the Ti + C mixture. The data obtained are indicative of a nonequilibrium mechanism of the combustion of Ti + xC granular mixtures in a nitrogen coflow, in which case the sequence of chemical reactions in the combustion wave is determined by the kinetic characteristics of the interaction of titanium with nitrogen and carbon. It is concluded that the reactive gas flow ignites the surface of the granules and thereby leads the propagation of the combustion wave. It is established that, for all the mixtures studied, the mechanism of the combustion of a granular charge in a nitrogen flow is fundamentally different from the combustion of a powder charge under the same condition.     

Coupled combustion of mixture in hydrogen generation

The specifics of the combustion of micron-sized flaky aluminum powder in mixtures with crystal-line hydrates over a wide pressure range at various mass ratios between aluminum and crystalline hydrate are studied. Limiting conditions of combustion of mixtures regarding the composition and pressure are determined. With use of a stoichiometric mixture of aluminum with sodium sulfate crystalline hydrate, the coupled combustion composite samples with additional oxidants, ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, and samples with spread oxidant is examined. It is established that the velocity of coupled combustion can significantly exceed the velocity of combustion of the base mixture. Limiting conditions for combustion of mixtures are determined.     

Focusing of explosion waves: Three-dimensional mathematical modeling

The propagation and focusing explosionlike waves in a cubic volume filled with a gas was considered. The wave is generated by the expansion of a small volume of a gas with enhanced parameters located at different points inside the cube. This formulation of the problem simulates the process initiated by an explosion in a volume filled with a gas and the character of loading on the walls of the volume. 3D calculations of the propagation and cumulation of explosion waves with a short positive phase were performed for the first time. The results can be used in analyzing experiments aimed at modeling the initiation of combustion by the waves generated by a primary source in closed volumes with complex geometry.     

Nonideal regimes of deflagration and detonation of black powder

The explosive and deflagration properties of black powder differ significantly from those of modern propellants and compositions based on ammonium nitrate or ammonium perchlorate. Possessing a high combustibility, black powder is capable of maintaining stable combustion at high velocities in various shells, be it steel shells or thin-walled plastic tubes, without experiencing deflagration-to-detonation transition. It is extremely difficult to detonate black powder, even using a powerful booster detonator. The results of numerical simulations of a number of key experiments on the convective combustion and shock initiation of black powder described in the literature are presented. The calculations were performed within the framework of a model developed previously for describing the convective combustion of granulated pyroxylin powders, with small modifications being introduced to allow for the specific properties of black powder. The thermophysical properties of the products of combustion and detonation and the parameters of the equation of state of black powder were determined from thermodynamic calculations. The calculation results were found to be in close agreement with the experimental data. The simulation results were used to analyze the regularities of the wave processes in the system and their relation to the properties of black powder and the experimental conditions. It was demonstrated that the effects observed could be explained by a weak dependence of the burning rate of black powder on the pressure.     

Regimes of the filtration combustion of structured heterogeneous systems

An analysis of the characteristics of the combustion front in a multilayer porous system with radiative heat transfer and filtration mass transfer of gaseous reactants into the exothermic conversion zone is presented. At moderate pressures, the mass of the gas in the porous layer is smaller than that required by stoichiometry, and, therefore, filtration transport without diffusion from the ambient medium occurs. It was taken into account that the bulk heat release in the porous media can be limited by both the kinetics of the exothermic chemical reaction and the filtration transport of a gaseous reactant from the ambient medium. The effect of filtration on the characteristics of relay-race combustion was examined. The characteristics of the front and the dynamics of the conversion of the elements of the discrete system were determined. The characteristics of the relay-race filtration combustion front under conditions of heat losses into the ambient medium were examined, and the possibility of existence of two steady regimes, with a low- and a high-temperature relay-race combustion front, was demonstrated. At heat losses above a critical level, relay-race combustion extinguishes. A numerical analysis of relay-race combustion regimes under nonadiabatic conditions showed that the low-temperature front is absolutely unstable and made it possible to study the dynamics of the onset of high-temperature relay-race filtration combustion.