| Abstract: | Acetaldehyde oxidation has been studied in experiments at temperatures of 553 and 713 K carried out in a low pressure, static reactor and in numerical modeling calculations using a detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism. The results of the experimental study were used to construct and validate the reaction mechanism, which was then used to examine acetaldehydeoxidation in the negative temperature coefficient regime between 550 and 900 K. This mechanism was also tested against independent measurements of acetaldehyde oxidation carried out by Baldwin, Matchan, and Walker. The overall rate of reaction and the properties of the negative temperature coefficient regime were found to be sensitive to the competition between radical decomposition reactions and the addition of molecular oxygen to acetyl and methyl radicals, including particularly    During these experiments, an upper limit to the rate of decomposition ofCH3O2H was measured at 553 K. Implications of the results for future kinetic modeling of engine knock are discussed. |
