Construction of a Chemical Kinetic Model of Five-Component Gasoline Surrogates under Lean Conditions

The requirements for improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines and reducing emissions have promoted the development of new combustion technologies under extreme operating conditions (e.g., lean combustion), and the ignition and combustion characteristics of fuels are increasingly becoming important. A chemical kinetic reduced mechanism consisting of 115 species and 414 elementary reactions is developed for the prediction of ignition and combustion behaviors of gasoline surrogate fuels composed of five components, namely, isooctane, n-heptane, toluene, diisobutylene, and cyclohexane (CHX). The CHX sub-mechanism is obtained by simplifying the JetSurF2.0 mechanism using direct relationship graph error propagating, rate of production analysis, and temperature sensitivity analysis and CHX is mainly consumed through ring-opening reactions, continuous dehydrogenation, and oxygenation reactions. In addition, kinetic parameter corrections were made for key reactions R14 and R391 based on the accuracy of the ignition delay time and laminar flame velocity predictions. Under a wide range of conditions, the mechanism’s ignition delay time, laminar flame speed, and the experimental and calculated results of multi-component gasoline surrogate fuel and real gasoline are compared. The proposed mechanism can accurately reproduce the combustion and oxidation of each component of the gasoline-surrogate fuel mixture and real gasoline.     

Combustion chemistry of enols: possible ethenol precursors in flames

Before the recent discovery that enols are intermediates in many flames, they appeared in no combustion models. Furthermore, little is known about enols' flame chemistry. Enol formation in low-pressure flames takes place in the preheat zone, and its precursors are most likely fuel species or the early products of fuel decomposition. The OH + ethene reaction has been shown to dominate ethenol production in ethene flames although this reaction has appeared insufficient to describe ethenol formation in all hydrocarbon oxidation systems. In this work, the mole fraction profiles of ethenol in several representative low-pressure flames are correlated with those of possible precursor species as a means for judging likely formation pathways in flames. These correlations and modeling suggest that the reaction of OH with ethene is in fact the dominant source of ethenol in many hydrocarbon flames, and that addition-elimination reactions of OH with other alkenes are also likely to be responsible for enol formation in flames. On this basis, enols are predicted to be minor intermediates in most flames and should be most prevalent in olefinic flames where reactions of the fuel with OH can produce enols directly.     

Reduction of PAH and soot precursors in benzene flames by addition of ethanol

A one-dimensional premixed flame model (PREMIX) and schemes resulting from the merging of validated kinetic schemes for the oxidation of the components of the present mixtures (benzene and ethanol) were used to investigate the effect of oxygenated additives on aromatic species, which are known to be soot precursors, in fuel-rich benzene combustion. The specific flames were low-pressure (45 mbar), laminar, premixed flames at an equivalence ratio of 2.0. The blended fuels were formed by incrementally adding 4% wt of oxygen (ethanol) to the neat benzene flame and by keeping the inert mole fraction (argon) and the equivalence ratio constants. Special emphasis was directed toward the causes for the concentration-dependent influence of the blends on the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formed. The effects of oxygenate addition to the benzene base flame were seen to result in interesting differences, especially regarding trends to form PAH. The modeling results indicated that the concentration of acetylene and propargyl radicals, the main PAH precursors, as well as the PAH amounts were lower in the flame of the ethanol-benzene fuel mixture than in the pure benzene flame and that all of the formed PAHs were issued from the phenyl radical. Finally, the modeling results provided evidence that the PAH reduction was a result of simply replacing "sooting" benzene with "nonsooting" ethanol without influencing the combustion chemistry of the benzene.     

低温燃料化学特性对湍流预混火焰传播的影响

大分子碳氢燃料的低温化学反应及两阶段点火特性会显著影响火焰的分区及燃烧情况。本文采用数值模拟的方法探究了正庚烷/空气预混混合气在RATS燃具上的湍流火焰传播,与试验结果具有一致性。模拟使用的是44种物质,112步的正庚烷简化动力学机理。使用Open FOAM的reacting Foam求解器建立了简化模拟流道及出口的三维模型,模拟了在大气环境下,初始反应温度450–700 K、入口速度6 m·s~(-1)与10 m·s~(-1)、焰前流动滞留时间100 ms及60 ms、当量比φ=0.6的正庚烷/空气混合气湍流火焰燃烧情况。结果发现,标准化湍流燃烧速度与混合气初始温度以及流动滞留时间有关。在低温点火阶段,正庚烷氧化程度受到初始温度与速度的影响,燃料分解并在预热区中产生大量中间物质如CH_2O,继而会影响湍流火焰燃烧速度。随着初始反应温度的升高,湍流燃烧火焰逐渐由化学反应冻结区过渡到低温点火区;温度超过一定数值后,燃料不再发生低温反应,此时燃烧位于高温点火区域。     

Evaluation of models for the low temperature combustion of alkanes through interpretation of pressure-temperature ignition diagrams

The purpose of this paper is to show the application of global uncertainty analysis to comprehensive and reduced kinetic models as a tool to identify important thermochemical and reaction rate parameters as determinants of the conditions leading to autoignition. Propane oxidation is taken as the test case. The simulation of experimental investigations of the cool flames and two-stage ignitions, via the pressure-temperature ignition diagram, show that existing kinetic models for the low temperature combustion of propane at sub-atmospheric pressures reflect a greater reactivity than seems to be appropriate. That is, the models lead to a prediction of two-stage ignition at pressures somewhat lower and with ignition delays shorter than is found experimentally. The inconsistency between experiment and numerical simulation seems not to be an inherent problem of the qualitative structure of the models, but may derive from uncertainties in the parameters within the mechanism. By use of "brute force", Morris-one-at-a-time and Monte-Carlo simulations, we show that uncertainties in only a small number of parameters, and falling well within the errors that may reasonably be assigned, can shift the response appropriately. Moreover, it appears that in the low temperature combustion regime, thermochemistry is at least as, if not more, important than the reaction rates, yet usually receives less attention within sensitivity studies. In the present case, the main factors controlling the temperature reached in the first stage of two-stage ignition and the time to ignition appear to be connected with the thermochemistry of three specific hydroperoxyalkyl radicals and their derivatives. Other factors, such as heat and mass transport are also addressed, and their effects are mitigated to some extent by evaluation of initial and revised models against experimental data for ignition delay obtained under microgravity. The results highlight more general issues that pertain to the numerical simulation of the combustion of higher hydrocarbons and contribute to the development of the protocol necessary for testing kinetic models before they are ready for use in a predictive capacity.     

采用系统的方法自动构建链烷烃高温燃烧反应机理

为了得到合理可靠和简化的反应机理,利用反应机理自动生成程序ReaxGen,构建了正庚烷、异辛烷、正癸烷和正十二烷的高温燃烧反应详细机理;同时分别采用物质产率分析和反应路径流量分析的方法对详细机理进行简化,得到了半详细机理和骨架机理. 在较宽的温度和压力条件下,对半详细机理和骨架机理进行了点火延时、层流火焰传播速度和重要物种浓度曲线的模拟并与实验结果比较;最后,图示说明了这些烷烃的主要高温燃烧路径,给出了点火延迟时间的敏感度分析. 结果表明：这些机理能够合理描述链烷烃的自点火特性,文中提出的结合ReaxGen程序的机理构建方法和反应路径流量分析的简化方法也可以用于其它烃类的高温燃烧机理构建.     

Improving effect of boron carbide on the combustion and thermal oxidation characteristics of amorphous boron

Boron carbide (B₄C) is one of the main products from the primary combustion of boron (B)-based propellants and has a significant influence on the secondary combustion of B. To systematically evaluate its effects on the secondary combustion of B, mixtures of B₄C and B in different mass ratios were prepared. To study the ignition temperatures and combustion flames of the samples, a xenon lamp ignition experimental system and a flame shape test system were designed, respectively. A thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined thermal analysis system was used to study the thermal oxidation characteristics and analyze the gaseous products of the samples. The results indicate that B₄C reduces the heat absorption at the beginning of the ignition, but subsequently prevents the rapid rise of sample temperature. During the stable combustion stage, the maximum flame length under optical density 10⁻⁴ (OD4) filter was 20.4 mm, and the maximum flame length under 580 nm + OD4 filters (represents the combustion of B element) was 16.7 mm. The samples contained a small amount of HBO₂ and H₃BO₃, which led to slight mass loss during the low temperature section of the thermal oxidation process. During the high temperature section, the oxidation of B and B₄C caused considerable mass gain. The gaseous products of the thermal oxidation process include CO₂, CO, and H₂O. In general, the B content of 60% was the most beneficial to decrease the oxidation temperature, increase the combustion intensity, and improve the heat-releasing ability of the samples.

     

Methyl formate oxidation: Speciation data,laminar burning velocities,ignition delay times,and a validated chemical kinetic model

The oxidation of methyl formate (CH₃OCHO) has been studied in three experimental environments over a range of applied combustion relevant conditions:

• 1. A variable‐pressure flow reactor has been used to quantify reactant, major intermediate and product species as a function of residence time at 3 atm and 0.5% fuel concentration for oxygen/fuel stoichiometries of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 at 900 K, and for pyrolysis at 975 K.
• 2. Shock tube ignition delays have been determined for CH₃OCHO/O₂/Ar mixtures at pressures of ≈ 2.7, 5.4, and 9.2 atm and temperatures of 1275–1935 K for mixture compositions of 0.5% fuel (at equivalence ratios of 1.0, 2.0, and 0.5) and 2.5% fuel (at an equivalence ratio of 1.0).
• 3. Laminar burning velocities of outwardly propagating spherical CH₃OCHO/air flames have been determined for stoichiometries ranging from 0.8–1.6, at atmospheric pressure using a pressure‐release‐type high‐pressure chamber.

A detailed chemical kinetic model has been constructed, validated against, and used to interpret these experimental data. The kinetic model shows that methyl formate oxidation proceeds through concerted elimination reactions, principally forming methanol and carbon monoxide as well as through bimolecular hydrogen abstraction reactions. The relative importance of elimination versus abstraction was found to depend on the particular environment. In general, methyl formate is consumed exclusively through molecular decomposition in shock tube environments, while at flow reactor and freely propagating premixed flame conditions, there is significant competition between hydrogen abstraction and concerted elimination channels. It is suspected that in diffusion flame configurations the elimination channels contribute more significantly than in premixed environments. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 527–549, 2010     

Study of cool-Dame phenomena during self-ignition of methane-oxygen mixtures

Experimental studies and kinetic simulation have shown that the formation of cool flames is as typical of oxidation of methane as of oxidation of its homologs. Phenomena peculiar to the cool-flame processes in closed systems are observed, namely, the region of a negative temperature coefficient of the reaction, single and double cool-flame flashes, two stage ignition, and light radiation in the range of luminescence of formaldehyde.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2445–2449, October, 1996.     

空气污染组分H2O和CO2对乙烯燃烧性能的影响

超燃冲压发动机在高空工作时, 以高温高速纯净空气作氧化剂使燃料燃烧. 但在地面实验中, 高温空气往往通过燃烧加热方式获得, 从而使空气包含了H2O和CO2污染组分. 本文用电阻加热来流空气并添加污染组分的方法, 研究了燃烧室模型中乙烯的燃烧状态和壁面压力受污染组分的影响. 用化学反应动力学模拟的方法, 在绝热刚性反应器模型中用H2O和CO2取代空气中的N2, 研究了污染组分对点火延迟和燃烧温度的影响, 并从链反应机理的角度讨论了实验和动力学模拟结果.     

A comprehensive and compact n-heptane oxidation model derived using chemical lumping

A detailed reaction mechanism for n-heptane oxidation has been compiled and subsequently simplified. The model is based on a kinetic model for C1-C4 fuel oxidation of Hoyermann et al. [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2004, 6, 3824] and a detailed mechanism for n-heptane oxidation developed by Curran et al. [Combust. Flame, 1998, 114, 149]. The generated mechanism is kept compact by limiting the application of the low temperature oxidation pathways to the fuel molecule. The first reaction steps and the complex low temperature paths in the oxidation process have been simplified and reorganized by linear chemical lumping. The reported procedure allows a decrease in number of species and reactions with only a minor loss of model accuracy. The simplified model is of very compact size and gives an advantageous starting point for further model reduction. By this chemically lumped general mechanism without further adjustments the large set of experimental data for the high and low temperature oxidation (ignition delay times, species concentration profiles, heat release and engine pressure profiles, flame speeds and flame structure data) for conditions ranging from very low to high temperatures (550-2300 K), very lean to extremely fuel rich (0.22 < phi < 3) mixtures and pressures between 1 and 42 bar is consistently described providing a basis for reliable predictions for future applications, (i) building reaction mechanisms for similar but chemically more complex fuels (e.g. iso-octane, n-decane,...) and (ii) calculating complex flow fields ("fluid dynamics") after further simplification with advanced reduction tools.     

Detailed kinetic modeling of 1,3‐butadiene oxidation at high temperatures

The high‐temperature kinetics of 1,3‐butadiene oxidation was examined with detailed kinetic modeling. To facilitate model validation, flow reactor experiments were carried out for 1,3‐butadiene pyrolysis and oxidation over the temperature range 1035–1185 K and at atmospheric pressure, extending similar experiments found in the literature to a wider range of equivalence ratio and temperature. The kinetic model was compiled on the basis of an extensive review of literature data and thermochemical considerations. The model was critically validated against a range of experimental data. It is shown that the kinetic model compiled in this study is capable of closely predicting a wide range of high‐temperature oxidation and combustion responses. Based on this model, three separate pathways were identified for 1,3‐butadiene oxidation, with the chemically activated reaction of H^· and 1,3‐butadiene to produce ethylene and the vinyl radical being the most important channel over all experimental conditions. The remaining uncertainty in the butadiene chemistry is also discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 589–614, 2000     

Plasma enhancement of combustion of solid fuels

Plasma fuel systems that increase the coal burning efficiency are discussed. The systems were tested for fuel oil-free startup of boilers and stabilization a pulverized-coal flame in power-generating boilers equipped with different types of burner and burning all types of power-generating coal. Plasma ignition, thermochemical treatment of an air-fuel mixture prior to combustion, and its burning in a power-generating boiler were numerically simulated. Environmental friendliness of the plasma technology was demonstrated.     

Modeling of Low-temperature oxidation and combustion of droplets

Key features of radiation extinguishing of spherical hot flame around a single droplet with its subsequent low-temperature oxidation and combustion under microgravity conditions—a phenomenon discovered in experiments onboard the International Space Station—have been reproduced using the mathematical model of droplet combustion and detailed kinetic mechanism of n-heptane oxidation and combustion. It has been demonstrated that experimentally observed repeated temperature flashes were blue flame flashes, and their duration was determined by the hydrogen peroxide decomposition time. In addition to this phenomenon, calculations predict the existence of new modes of low-temperature oxidation and combustion of droplets without the hot flame stage. In such modes, the basic reaction is concentrated very close to the droplet surface, and fuel vapor reacts in it only partially.     

Investigation on 1-Heptene/Air Laminar Flame Propagation under Elevated Pressures

The laminar flame propagation of 1-heptene/air mixtures covering equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.5 is investigated in a constant-volume cylindrical combustion vessel at 373 K and elevated pressures (1, 2, 5, and 10 atm). Laminar flame speed and Markstein length are derived from the recorded schlieren images. A kinetic model of 1-heptene combustion is developed based on our previous kinetic model of 1-hexene. The model is validated against the laminar flame speed data measured in this work and the ignition delay time data in literature. Modeling analyses, such as sensitivity analysis and rate of production analysis, are performed to help understand the high temperature chemistry of 1-heptene under various pressures and its influence on the laminar flame propagation. Furthermore, the laminar flame propagation of 1-heptene/air mixtures is compared with that of n-heptane/air mixtures reported in our previous work. The laminar flame speed values of 1-heptene/air mixtures are observed to be faster than those of n-heptane/air mixtures under most conditions due to the enhanced exothermicity and reactivity.     

Effects of Hydrogen Enhancement in LPG/Air Premixed Flame

A numerical study of hydrogen-enhanced liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) + air flames was presented. The variations of the adiabatic burning velocity in different conditions of combustion (?=0.7-1.4) were studied extensively. The hydrogen content in the fuel was varied from 0% to 45% and the dilution factor was from 21% to 16%. Since the major components of LPG are butane and propane, an appropriate chemical kinetic model must be chosen to solve the chemical reaction of C3 and C4 species. Validation of the chemical kinetic model against the fundamental combustion data was performed to insure accuracy. In addition, independent simulations were conducted in the opposed-jet, symmetric, twin-flame configuration. The effects of fluid mechanics, as manifested by the induced strain rate, were also considered. The effects of extinction strain rate on flame temperature and the flammability limits were calculated and the results showed that hydrogen-enhanced LPG/air premixed flames were more stable at high flame strain. The lean flammability limits were extended by the H₂ addition.     

添加氢气对LPG/空气预混火焰结构的影响

针对氢气添加的LPG(液化石油气)+空气预混火焰结构进行了数值研究, 详细计算了在含氢比a为0%到45%、稀释引子D为21%到16%条件下的自由蔓延火焰, 得到了不同燃烧条件(φ=0.7-1.4)下的绝热燃烧速率变化规律. 由于LPG中的主要成分为丙烷和丁烷, 作者针对C3和C4物质提出了详细化学反应动力学系统, 并针对氢气添加的丁烷燃烧过程进行了数值计算, 得到了与实验相一致的结果, 验证了改进的详细化学机理的有效性. 此外, 进一步计算了对撞双火焰的加氢LPG火焰, 更加深入地探讨了火焰拉伸对燃烧稳定性和温度的影响, 重点研究了φ在0.5到0.7的稀薄燃烧, 验证了氢气添加可以有效提高稀薄燃烧条件下熄火拉伸率, 扩大稀薄燃烧的极限, 增加火焰的稳定性.     

Plasma ignition of combustion in a supersonic flow of fuel-air mixtures: Simulation problems

Theoretical and experimental approaches to tackling the problems of plasma ignition of supersonic combustion in fuel-air mixtures of various compositions are discussed. Discharge types useful for this purpose are considered. The feasibility of reaching a substantial gain in energy in the initiation of combustion by non-equilibrium gas-discharge plasma is particularly interesting.     

Uncovering the fundamental chemistry of alkyl + O2 reactions via measurements of product formation

The reactions of alkyl radicals (R) with molecular oxygen (O(2)) are critical components in chemical models of tropospheric chemistry, hydrocarbon flames, and autoignition phenomena. The fundamental kinetics of the R + O(2) reactions is governed by a rich interplay of elementary physical chemistry processes. At low temperatures and moderate pressures, the reactions form stabilized alkylperoxy radicals (RO(2)), which are key chain carriers in the atmospheric oxidation of hydrocarbons. At higher temperatures, thermal dissociation of the alkylperoxy radicals becomes more rapid and the formation of hydroperoxyl radicals (HO(2)) and the conjugate alkenes begins to dominate the reaction. Internal isomerization of the RO(2) radicals to produce hydroperoxyalkyl radicals, often denoted by QOOH, leads to the production of OH and cyclic ether products. More crucially for combustion chemistry, reactions of the ephemeral QOOH species are also thought to be the key to chain branching in autoignition chemistry. Over the past decade, the understanding of these important reactions has changed greatly. A recognition, arising from classical kinetics experiments but firmly established by recent high-level theoretical studies, that HO(2) elimination occurs directly from an alkylperoxy radical without intervening isomerization has helped resolve tenacious controversies regarding HO(2) formation in these reactions. Second, the importance of including formally direct chemical activation pathways, especially for the formation of products but also for the formation of the QOOH species, in kinetic modeling of R + O(2) chemistry has been demonstrated. In addition, it appears that the crucial rate coefficient for the isomerization of RO(2) radicals to QOOH may be significantly larger than previously thought. These reinterpretations of this class of reactions have been supported by comparison of detailed theoretical calculations to new experimental results that monitor the formation of products of hydrocarbon radical oxidation following a pulsed-photolytic initiation. In this article, these recent experiments are discussed and their contributions to improving general models of alkyl + O(2) reactions are highlighted. Finally, several prospects are discussed for extending the experimental investigations to the pivotal questions of QOOH radical chemistry.