较高当量比氢气空气预混合气的燃烧特性研究

利用纹影法,在定容燃烧弹中研究了较高当量比和不同初始压力下氢气空气预混合气的燃烧特性,分析了两参数对其燃烧特性的影响。试验结果表明,本实验条件下的氢气空气预混合物燃烧过程中,主火焰两侧出现挤流火焰,且挤流火焰的传播明显快于主火焰;根据出现挤流火焰与否、两侧挤流火焰相遇与否、实验时的热力参数、燃料浓度等条件,燃烧过程可分为四个阶段;在本文的实验条件下随着当量比增加,挤流火焰燃烧速度加快,其倾向于自燃时的多点燃烧;随着初始压力降低,挤流火焰逐渐出现在主火焰层流燃烧阶段。     

涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性影响的实验研究

为了研究涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性的影响,以氢气为燃料,空气为氧化剂,在不同当量比下开展了实验研究.基于高频压力传感器及静态压力传感器的信号,详细分析了带涡轮导向器的旋转爆轰燃烧室的工作模式以及涡轮导向器对非均匀不稳定爆轰产物的影响.实验结果表明:在当量比较低时,爆轰燃烧室以快速爆燃模式工作;逐渐增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室开始以不稳定旋转爆轰模式工作;继续增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室以稳定旋转爆轰模式工作,且旋转爆轰波的传播速度和稳定性均随当量比的增大逐渐提高.爆轰波下游的斜激波与涡轮导向器相互作用,涡轮导向器对压力振荡的幅值具有明显的抑制作用,但对压力振荡频率的影响较小.随着当量比的增大,涡轮导向器上下游的静压均同时增大,经过涡轮导向器的作用,涡轮下游静压明显降低.     

丙烷-氢气-空气预混层流燃烧特性研究

利用高速纹影摄像法和球型发展火焰研究了常温常压下丙烷-氢气-空气预混层流燃烧特性,获得了不同氢气体积分数和当量比下混合气的层流燃烧速率、Markstein数、Zeldovich数和Lewis数.结果表明:随着氢气比例的提高,层流燃烧速率增加,火焰厚度降低;当氢气体积分数小于60%时,随着当量比的增加,Markstein数降低,当氢气体积分数大于60%时,随着当量比的增加,Markstein数增加.当量比小于1.2时,随着氢气比例增加,Markstein数降低.当量比大于1.2时,随着氢气比例增加,Markstein数增加.随着氢气比例的增加,Zeldovich数降低,全局Lewis数降低.     

非均匀来流中斜爆轰波对扰动的动态响应特性

在斜爆轰推进系统中,经过进气道压缩的气流速度仍然很大,导致斜爆轰波前的气流难以达到均匀预混,进而对斜爆轰波系产生影响。以高空飞行条件下非均匀来流中的斜爆轰波系为对象,采用Euler方程结合氢气-空气基元反应模型,通过波角变化和波面位置偏移研究了斜爆轰的受扰动特性。采用当量比作为非均匀的表征变量,在斜爆轰波面上游引入了一个高度可变的扰动区,定义φ_A为扰动幅值,扰动区的当量比分布通过正弦函数进行模化。研究发现,随着φ_A的减小,波角减小,波面向下游移动;随着φ_A的增大,波角增加,波面向上游移动。当φ_A为负值且足够小时,可以观察到波角突变的新现象,分析表明此现象源于来流当量比非均匀作用下的重新起爆。当φ_A为正值且足够大时,被扰动区的波角处于非平衡状态,较大的当量比梯度会导致其高于理论值,而较小的当量比梯度会导致其低于理论值。对波面位置的偏移量进行了量化分析,发现波面位移随φ_A的变化仅在其为正值时是非线性的,在其为负值时是线性的,随扰动区高度的变化也是线性的。     

弯管内连续旋转爆轰波传播模式实验研究

为研究圆环内爆轰波传播模式的特点,实验在螺旋型的管道内得到了不同初始压力下(p0=4~15 kPa)等当量比的乙烯/氧气预混气体的爆轰性能。采用烟膜片记录爆轰波运行轨迹,高速摄影捕捉火焰面。结果表明:随着初始压力的降低,实验依次得到稳定传播模式、临界传播模式、不稳定传播模式。临界传播模式具有强烈的速度震荡,烟膜板中内壁面附近周期性的出现过驱爆轰的胞格结构。当初始压力接近极限时,圆环内出现驰振爆轰波,驰振爆轰的再生过程是由于压缩效应不断累积而引起的局部爆炸。     

氢气/甲烷-空气爆轰波在含环形障碍物圆管内传播的试验研究

在内径48mm、长度5 800mm的含环形障碍物圆管内,进行了氢气-空气及氢气-甲烷-空气的爆轰波传播试验研究,确定了爆燃转爆轰(Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition,DDT)极限。环形障碍物阻塞比为0.56,间距分为两种,即S=D和S=2D,其中S为障碍物间距,D为管道内径。火焰的速度由安装在管道壁面上的光电二极管采集得到。试验测量得到的火焰为准爆轰或阻塞火焰。在S=2D情况下得到的火焰速度均比S=D情况下的火焰速度高,并且靠近DDT极限时速度波动更明显,表明在间距较大的情况下爆轰的重起爆循环周期更长,类似于"弛振爆轰"。对于氢气-空气,障碍物间距为D时在DDT极限处有d/λ1(富氧条件下d/λ=1.6,贫氧条件下d/λ=1.4),间距为2D时更容易形成爆轰的重起爆,在DDT极限处与准则d/λ≈1一致;对于氢气-甲烷-空气,甲烷的添加使爆轰更不稳定,对于两种间距的障碍物得到的DDT极限均有d/λ≈1(d和λ分别为障碍物内径和爆轰胞格尺寸)。说明障碍物间距对爆轰波传播有显著的影响,即间距的增大更有利于爆轰波的传播。为形成准爆轰,障碍物内径必须至少可以容纳一个爆轰胞格,同时障碍物间距足够大从而引起爆轰的重起爆。     

基于乙烯或氢气的吸气式旋转爆轰发动机实验

基于氢气的旋转爆轰发动机研究较多,而碳氢燃料与空气混合较为困难,导致基于乙烯的旋转爆轰发动机燃烧技术难度很高.使用宽视野范围的可视化燃烧室观察旋转爆轰波的研究在国内尚未开展.在同一燃烧室内进一步开展了乙烯或氢气的吸气式旋转爆轰实验,来流总温为283~284 K,燃烧室壁面有140°石英玻璃观察窗,便于观察旋转爆轰波运动过程.空筒燃烧室爆轰环腔外径为100 mm,轴向长度为151 mm.燃料通过150个直径0.8 mm圆柱孔进入燃烧室,空气通过喉部1 mm宽的收敛扩张环缝流入环腔.高速摄影和低高频压力传感器均验证了旋转爆轰波的存在和速度值.以氢气为燃料的旋转爆轰波速度最高可达理论值的101%,爆轰波增压效应可达40%左右,乙烯旋转爆轰波速度可达理论值的89%.旋转爆轰波结构容易发生变化,不规则.氢气旋转爆轰的维持对燃烧室的结构要求比碳氢燃料要低,比乙烯旋转爆轰波更加稳定.      

微型摆式发动机内丙烷/空气单次燃烧实验研究

在厘米尺度百瓦级微型摆动式发动机样机上进行了单次燃烧实验,燃用当量比φ=0.9~1.2的丙烷/空气预混合气时,对燃烧室内的火焰传播形态、气体动态压力和摆臂运动进行测量,获得了平均火焰传播速度、燃烧持续时间、燃料质量燃尽率、压力和摆臂止点角度随当量比变化的规律特性。结果表明:在进气初始温度300 K、压力0.13 MPa条件下,φ=1.0~1.2工况时,微摆发动机内燃烧为湍流燃烧,燃烧持续时间在5 ms以内,压力峰值高于8个大气压;随当量比增加,燃烧持续时间缩短、平均火焰传播速度加快和压力峰值升高,更接近定容燃烧,有利于提高输出功率。     

微尺度预混合火焰结构和熄火特性研究

本文以空气中的无约束甲烷预混合火焰为对象,用实验和数值解析的方法研究了微尺度预混合火焰的火焰结构和熄火特性。实验测得不同尺寸下混合气当量比和喷出速度与熄火关系图,在不到理论当量比(φ>1)时,火焰已经熄灭,管径越小,极限混合气当量比φu越大。数值解析研究了d=0．3 mm无约束甲烷预混合火焰,在混合气当量比大于 1的富燃料燃烧条件下,空气中形成的预混合火焰结构是内层预混合火焰和外层扩散火焰,极限当量比约为1,解析结果再现了实验现象。     

预混火焰传递函数的测量与分析

火焰传递函数是理解和控制振荡燃烧的理论基础.本文通过自发化学荧光法测量放热率,双传声器技术获得燃烧器出口的压力和速度脉动,研究了不同雷诺数、当量比和扰动频率下的预混火焰传递函数.结果显示,随着脉动幅值的增加,火焰传递函数将出现由线性到非线性的变化过程.当量比、雷诺数和扰动频率的改变,都会影响火焰传递函数的幅值和相位特性...     

Reaction propagation modes in millimeter-scale tubes for ethylene/oxygen mixtures

Effects of tube diameter and equivalence ratio on reaction front propagations of ethylene/oxygen mixtures in capillary tubes were experimentally analyzed using high speed cinematography. The inner diameters of the tubes investigated were 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mm. The flame was ignited at the center of the 1.5 m long smooth tube under ambient pressure and temperature before propagated towards the exits in the opposite directions. A total of five reaction propagation scenarios, including deflagration-to-detonation transition followed by steady detonation wave transmission (DDT/C–J detonation), oscillating flame, steady deflagration, galloping detonation and quenching flame, were identified. DDT/C–J detonation mode was observed for all tubes for equivalence ratios in the vicinity of stoichiometry. The velocity for the steady detonation wave propagation was approximately Chapman–Jouguet velocity for 1, 2, and 3 mm I.D. tubes; however, a velocity deficit of 5% was found for the case in 0.5 mm I.D. tube. For leaner mixtures, an oscillating flame mode was found for tubes with diameters of 1 to 3 mm, and the reaction front travelled in a steady deflagrative flame mode with velocities around 2–3 m/s when the mixture equivalence ratio becomes even leaner. Galloping detonation wave propagation was the dominant mode for the fuel lean regime in the 0.5 mm I.D. tube. For rich mixtures beyond the detonation limits, a fast flame followed by flame quenching was observed.     

Flame acceleration and transition to detonation: Effects of a composition gradient in a mixture of methane and air

The effects of a composition gradient on flame acceleration and transition to detonation in a mixture of methane and air were studied by numerically solving the unsteady, fully compressible, reactive Navier–Stokes equations. The specific problem addressed here is for ignition in a two-dimensional, obstructed channel where there is a spatial gradient of equivalence ratios perpendicular to the propagation direction of the reaction wave. The solution method uses a calibrated, optimized chemical-diffusive model that reproduces correct flame and detonation properties for methane–air mixtures over a range of equivalence ratios. Comparisons were made to a stoichiometric, homogeneous mixture in order to focus on the worst-case scenario for safety concerns. The results showed that the flame speed is smaller and the average total heat release are lower, but the maximum flame surface area is larger in the inhomogeneous mixture. This is because there is more unburned material between obstacles but less energy released from this increased flame surface area in the fuel-lean region, leading to the reduction of the total heat release. The transition to detonation is delayed in the inhomogeneous mixture, because the hot spot forms in the fuel-lean region and the strength of the Mach stem that hits the obstacle is weaker. The detonation front tends to decouple into a shock and a flame earlier in the inhomogeneous mixture, due to the incomplete mixing throughout the entire domain during the detonation propagation process.     

Effects of pressure on flame propagation in a premixture containing fine fuel droplets

Combustion experiments on fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures have been performed with a rapid expansion apparatus which generates monodispersed droplet clouds with narrow diameter distribution using the condensation method. The effects of fine fuel droplets on flame propagation were investigated for ethanol droplet–vapor–air mixtures at various pressures from 0.2 to 1.0 MPa. A stagnant fuel droplet–vapor–air mixture, generated in a rapid expansion chamber, was ignited at the center of the chamber using an ignition wire. Spherical flame propagation under constant-pressure conditions was observed with a high-speed video camera and flame speed was measured. Total equivalence ratio, and the ratio of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass, was varied from 0.6 to 1.4 and from zero to 56%, respectively. The mean droplet diameter of fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures was set at 8.5 and 11 μm. It was found that the flame speed of droplet–vapor–air mixtures less than 0.9 in the total equivalence ratio exceeds that of premixed gases of the same total equivalence ratio at all pressures. The flame speed of fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures decreases as the pressure increases in all total equivalence ratios. At large ratios of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass, the normalized flame speed (the flame speed of droplet–vapor–air mixtures divided by the flame speed of the premixed gas with the same total equivalence ratio), increases with the increase in pressure for fuel-lean mixtures, and it decreases for fuel-rich mixtures. The outcome is reversed at small ratios of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass; the normalized flame speed decreases with the increase in pressure for fuel-lean mixtures, and increases for fuel-rich mixtures. The results suggest that the increase in pressure promotes droplet evaporation in the preheat zone.     

Influence of turbulent flow on the deflagration-to-detonation transition in hydrogen-oxygen-air mixtures in a pulse combustor

The effect of turbulization of a hydrogen-oxygen-air mixture flow on the deflagration-to-detonation transition in a pulse combustor (PC) is studied. The parameters of operation of the PC with flame front propagation in a quiescent and strongly turbulized mixtures (Re ? 10⁴) are compared. It is shown that, in case of a quiescent mixture no detonation occurs because of a small length of the PC. The presence of intense pulsations (Re > 2 · 10⁴) created by elements of special configuration in the mixing chamber promotes the formation of a detonation wave, the velocity of which depends on the fuel-to-oxidizer equivalence ratio.     

Pulsating one-dimensional detonations in hydrogen–air mixtures

The propagation of one-dimensional detonations in hydrogen–air mixtures is investigated numerically by solving the one-dimensional Euler equations with detailed finite-rate chemistry. The numerical method is based on a second-order spatially accurate total-variation-diminishing scheme and a point implicit time marching algorithm. The hydrogen–air combustion is modelled with a 9-species, 19-step reaction mechanism. A multi-level, dynamically adaptive grid is utilized, in order to resolve the structure of the detonation. Parametric studies for an equivalence ratio range of 0.4–2.0, initial pressure range of 0.2–0.8 bar and different degrees of detonation overdrive demonstrate that the detonation is unstable for low degrees of overdrive, but the dynamics of wave propagation varies with fuel–air equivalence ratio and pressure. For equivalence ratios less than approximately 1.2 and for all pressures, the detonation exhibits a short-period oscillatory mode, characterized by high-frequency, low-amplitude waves. Richer mixtures exhibit a period-doubled bifurcation that depends on the initial pressure. Parametric studies over a degree of overdrive range of 1.0–1.2 for stoichiometric mixtures at 0.42 bar initial pressure indicate that stable detonation wave propagation is obtained at the high end of this range. For degrees of overdrive close to one, the detonation wave exhibits a low-frequency mode characterized by large fluctuations in the detonation wave speed. The McVey–Toong short-period wave-interaction theory is in qualitative agreement with the numerical simulations; however, the frequencies obtained from their theory are much higher, especially for near-stoichiometric mixtures at high pressure. Modification of this theory to account for the finite heat-release time significantly improves agreement with the numerically computed frequency over the entire equivalence ratio and pressure ranges.     

Theoretical investigation of flame propagation through compositionally stratified methane–air mixtures

Flame propagation speeds in compositionally stratified methane–air mixtures were theoretically calculated as a function of the equivalence ratio distribution in the unburnt mixture and compared with experimental results. A solution of non-adiabatic flame propagation under a quasi-steady approximation was able qualitatively to describe the experimentally observed characteristics of flame speeds in stratified mixtures, which were flame speed increase in the vicinity of the flammability limits as well as for high equivalence ratio gradients. However, this analysis failed to provide quantitative agreement with the experimental results. In order to address this, the cumulative heat support effects on flame temperature, depending on the history of flame propagation, had to be accounted for. Quantitative agreement with the experiments was achieved, especially for propagation in lean mixtures.     

Flame acceleration and the transition to detonation of stoichiometric ethylene/oxygen in microscale tubes

Flame propagation in capillary tubes with smooth circular cross-sections and diameters of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm are investigated using high-speed photography. Flames were found to propagate and accelerate to detonation speed in stoichiometric ethylene and oxygen mixtures initially at room temperature in all three tube diameters. Ignition occurs at the midpoint along the length of the tube. We observe for the first time transition to detonation in micro-tubes. Detonation was observed with both spark and hot-wire ignition. Tubes with larger diameters take longer to transition to detonation. In fact, transition distance scales with the diameter in our 1.0 and 2.0 mm cases with spark ignition. Flame structures are observed for various stages of the process. Three types of flame propagation modes were observed in the 0.5 mm tube with spark ignition: (a) acceleration to Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) detonation speed followed by constant CJ wave propagation, (b) acceleration to CJ speed, followed by the detonation wave failure, and (c) flame acceleration to a constant speed below the CJ speed of approximately 1600 m/s. The current detonation mechanism observed in capillary tubes is applicable to predetonators for pulsed detonation, micro propulsion devices, safety issues, and addresses fundamental issues raised by recent theoretical and numerical analyses.     

Effects of equivalence ratio variation on lean,stratified methane–air laminar counterflow flames

The effects of equivalence ratio variations on flame structure and propagation have been studied computationally. Equivalence ratio stratification is a key technology for advanced low emission combustors. Laminar counterflow simulations of lean methane–air combustion have been presented which show the effect of strain variations on flames stabilized in an equivalence ratio gradient, and the response of flames propagating into a mixture with a time-varying equivalence ratio. ‘Back supported’ lean flames, whose products are closer to stoichiometry than their reactants, display increased propagation velocities and reduced thickness compared with flames where the reactants are richer than the products. The radical concentrations in the vicinity of the flame are modified by the effect of an equivalence ratio gradient on the temperature profile and thermal dissociation. Analysis of steady flames stabilized in an equivalence ratio gradient demonstrates that the radical flux through the flame, and the modified radical concentrations in the reaction zone, contribute to the modified propagation speed and thickness of stratified flames. The modified concentrations of radical species in stratified flames mean that, in general, the reaction rate is not accurately parametrized by progress variable and equivalence ratio alone. A definition of stratified flame propagation based upon the displacement speed of a mixture fraction dependent progress variable was seen to be suitable for stratified combustion. The response times of the reaction, diffusion, and cross-dissipation components which contribute to this displacement speed have been used to explain flame response to stratification and unsteady fluid dynamic strain.     

Formation and characteristics of composite reaction – Shock clusters in narrow channels

High-speed schlieren visualizations show that a composite reaction-shock cluster structure is formed in the last flame acceleration stage prior to detonation transition for ethylene/oxygen mixture in a narrow channel. The composite structure is bounded by a normal shock at the leading edge of the structure, and series of parallel oblique shocks interweave with reaction front on the other end in the cluster. Propagating velocity of the reaction front at the inception of the cluster is ～ 45–50% of Chapman-Jouguet detonation velocity of the mixture. Reaction front accelerates rapidly after the formation of the reaction-shock cluster, and run into detonation in tens of microseconds except for very lean mixtures. The angle between the parallel oblique shocks in the cluster and the side wall, defined as ω-angle, is found to be constant for a specific mixture as the reaction wave propagates. Dependence of ω-angle on mixture equivalence ratio and channel size are investigated in the study. Analysis shows that DDT distance is linearly proportional to ω-angle, and an empirical correlation is derived.     

Measurements of the critical initiation radius and unsteady propagation of n-decane/air premixed flames

Unsteady flame propagation, the critical radius for flame initiation, and multiple flame regimes of n-decane/air mixtures are studied experimentally and computationally using outwardly propagating spherical flames at various equivalence ratios and pressures. The transient flame speeds, trajectories, and critical radius are measured. The experimental results are compared with direct numerical simulations using detailed high temperature kinetic models. Both experimental and numerical results show that there exist multiple flame regimes in the unsteady spherical flame initiation process. The transition between the flame regimes depends strongly on the mixture equivalence ratio (or Lewis number). It is found that there is a critical flame radius and that it increases dramatically as the mixture equivalence ratio and pressure decrease. The large increase of critical flame radius leads to a dramatic increase of the minimum ignition energy. Furthermore, the flame thickness and the radical pool concentration change significantly during the transition from the ignition flame regime to the self-sustained propagating flame regime. For the same steady state flame speeds, the predicted unsteady flame speeds and the critical flame radius differ significantly from the experimental results. Moreover, different chemical kinetic mechanisms predict different unsteady flame speeds. The existence of multiple flame regimes and the large critical radius of lean liquid fuel mixtures make the ignition of lean mixtures at low pressure and the development of a validated kinetic model more challenging. The unsteady flame regimes, speeds, and critical flame radius should be included as targets of future kinetic model development for turbulent combustion modeling.