Rich n-heptane and diesel combustion in porous media

Rich n-heptane and diesel flames in two-layer porous media are experimentally investigated in the context of syngas production. The stable operating points of n-heptane reforming have been determined and the mole fractions of H₂, CO, CO₂ and light hydrocarbons have been measured in the exhaust gas at an equivalence ratio of 2 for different thermal input values. The reformer performance has been assessed also from the point of view of the heat losses and the mixture homogeneity. The pre-vapouriser produces an approximately uniform vapour–air mixture upstream of the flame front. The range of flow rates for stable flames decreased with increasing equivalence ratio. Heat losses were about 10% of the thermal input at high firing rates. A 77.2% of the equilibrium H₂ was achieved at a flame speed of 0.82 m/s. The same reactor with a different porous matrix for the reforming stage demonstrates diesel reforming to syngas with a conversion efficiency of 77.3% for a flame speed of 0.65 m/s.     

The development and application of a fast-response DC-coupled flame ionization current sensor

The principles of the design of a fast-response DC-coupled ionisation probe and associated electronic circuit are described for the measurement of the mean and fluctuating components of the ion concentration in the reaction zones of stationary and transient flames. The performance of the ionisation probe is evaluated by bench tests and with measurements of ion current mean and fluctuating levels in laminar and turbulent premixed flames and in the combustion chamber of a spark ignition engine. The results demonstrate the wide frequency bandwidth, good spatial resolution and electronic noise immunity of the ionisation probe, making it suitable for a host of combustion applications.     

Modelling of discontinuities through dipole distribution

An indirect boundary element method using dipole distribution is employed in order to model discontinuities inside the flow region. The problem of flow under a dam is treated with a sheet-pile in its foundation. The discontinuity across the sheet-pile is demonstrated, a general boundary element procedure for a mixed problem is outlined and the coefficients of the linear system are given in analytical form. Very good agreement with existing analytical results is obtained.     

Solubilities of cinnamic acid esters in binary mixtures of ionic liquids and organic solvents

The solubilities of three cinnamic acid esters, namely, methyl ferulate, methyl p-coumarate, and methyl sinapate, have been measured in mixed solvent systems of tert-butanol with 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF₆]), 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF₄]) and 1-methyl-3-octyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([OMIM][BF₄]) at 303.15 and 321.15 K, and in mixed solvent systems of ethyl acetate with [BMIM][BF₄] and [OMIM][BF₄] at 303.15 K. In eight cases, out of the 22 data sets, an additive behaviour of the solubility was observed, positive deviations from additivity were observed in six cases, a positive synergistic effect in five cases, and, finally, negative deviations from additivity in the remaining three cases. Prediction of the solubilities of the solutes in the various ternary systems was performed with the NRTL and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models. The binary interaction parameters of the models between solute and solvent molecules were taken from the literature. When the parameters between the solvent molecules are fitted to literature data, satisfactory predictions are not always obtained. On the other hand, very good predictions are obtained when only one of the two interaction parameters between the two solvent molecules is fitted to one single point of the solubility isotherm and the other interaction parameter is set equal to zero.     

Influence of thermal degradation in the physicochemical properties of fish oil

Physicochemical and thermal analyses were undertaken to evaluate the influence of the temperature on the oxidation of sea fish oil once its polyunsaturated fatty acids deteriorate rapidly. Fish oil displayed four decomposition steps in synthetic air atmosphere and only one step in nitrogen atmosphere. The first step started at 189 and 222 °C for oxidizing and inert atmospheres, respectively. An OIT value of 53 min was measured at 100 °C. After the degradation process the peroxide index and the iodine index reduced from 35.38 to 9.85 meq × 1000 g^?1 and from 139.79 to 120.19 gI₂ × 100 g^?1, respectively. An increase of the free fatty acids amount from 0.07 to 0.17% was observed while viscosity increased from 57.2 to 58.0 cP. Absorption at 272 nm also increased. The thermogravimetric and spectroscopic techniques are reproducible and versatile being an option for characterization of edible oil oxidation.     

A-Priori Validation of Scalar Dissipation Rate Models for Turbulent Non-Premixed Flames

The modelling of scalar dissipation rate in conditional methods for large-eddy simulations is investigated based on a priori direct numerical simulation analysis using a dataset representing an igniting non-premixed planar jet flame. The main objective is to provide a comprehensive assessment of models typically used for large-eddy simulations of non-premixed turbulent flames with the Conditional Moment Closure combustion model. The linear relaxation model gives a good estimate of the Favre-filtered scalar dissipation rate throughout the ignition with a value of the related constant close to the one deduced from theoretical arguments. Such value of the constant is one order of magnitude higher than typical values used in Reynolds-averaged approaches. The amplitude mapping closure model provides a satisfactory estimate of the conditionally filtered scalar dissipation rate even in flows characterised by shear driven turbulence and strong density variation.

     

Vapor liquid equilibrium modeling of alkane systems with Equations of State: “Simplicity versus complexity”

Two types of Equations of State (EoS), which are characterized here as “simple” and “complex” EoS, are evaluated in this study. The “simple” type involves two versions of the Peng–Robinson (PR) EoS: the traditional one that utilizes the experimental critical properties and the acentric factor and the other, referred to as PR-fitted (PR-f), where these parameters are determined by fitting pure compound vapor pressure and saturated liquid volume data. As “complex” EoS in this study are characterized the EoS derived from statistical mechanics considerations and involve the Sanchez–Lacombe (SL) EoS and two versions of the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (SAFT) EoS, the original and the Perturbed-Chain SAFT (PC-SAFT).

The evaluation of these two types of EoS is carried out with respect to their performance in the prediction and correlation of vapor liquid equilibria in binary and multicomponent mixtures of methane or ethane with alkanes of various degree of asymmetry. It is concluded that for this kind of systems complexity offers no significant advantages over simplicity. Furthermore, the results obtained with the PR-f EoS, especially those for multicomponent systems that are encountered in practice, even with the use of zero binary interaction parameters, indicate that this EoS may become a powerful tool for reservoir fluid phase equilibria modeling.     

Mesoscale strain measurement in deformed crystals: A comparison of X-ray microdiffraction with electron backscatter diffraction

Mapping of residual stresses at the mesoscale is increasingly practical thanks to technological developments in electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray microdiffraction using high brilliance synchrotron sources. An analysis is presented of a Cu single crystal deformed in compression to about 10% macroscopic strain. Local orientation measurements were made on sectioned and polished specimens using EBSD and X-ray microdiffraction. In broad strokes, the results are similar to each other with orientations being observed that are on the order of 5° misoriented from that of the original crystallite. At the fine scale it is apparent that the X-ray technique can distinguish features in the structure that are much finer in detail than those observed using EBSD even though the spatial resolution of EBSD is superior to that of X-ray diffraction by approximately two orders of magnitude. The results are explained by the sensitivity of the EBSD technique to the specimen surface condition. Dislocation dynamics simulations show that there is a relaxation of the dislocation structure near the free surface of the specimen that extends approximately 650 Å into the specimen. The high spatial resolution of the EBSD technique is detrimental in this respect as the information volume extends only 200 Å or so into the specimen. The X-rays probe a volume on the order of 2 µm in diameter, thus measuring the structure that is relatively unaffected by the near-surface relaxation.     

Direct numerical simulations of autoignition in turbulent two-phase flows

Three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) were carried out to investigate the impact of evaporation of droplets on the autoignition process under decaying turbulence. The droplets were taken as point sources and were tracked in a Lagrangian manner. Three cases with the same initial equivalence ratio but different initial droplet size were simulated and the focus was to examine the influence of the droplet evaporation process on the location of autoignition. It was found that an increase in the initial droplet size results in an increase in the autoignition time, that highest reaction rates always occur at a specific mixture fraction ξ_MR, as in purely gaseous flows, and that changes in the initial droplet size did not affect the value of ξ_MR. The conditional correlation coefficient between scalar dissipation rate and reaction rates was only mildly negative, contrary to the strongly negative values for purely gaseous autoigniting flows, possibly due to the continuous generation of mixture fraction by the droplet evaporation process that randomizes both the mixture fraction and the scalar dissipation fields.