Multi-species time-history measurements during n-hexadecane oxidation behind reflected shock waves

Species concentration time-histories were measured during oxidation for the large, normal-alkane, diesel-surrogate component n-hexadecane. Measurements were performed behind reflected shock waves in an aerosol shock tube, which allowed for high fuel loading without pre-test heating and possible decomposition and oxidation. Experiments were conducted using near-stoichiometric mixtures of n-hexadecane and 4% oxygen in argon at temperatures of 1165–1352 K and pressures near 2 atm. Concentration time-histories were recorded for five species: C₂H₄, CH₄, OH, CO₂, and H₂O. Methane was monitored using DFG laser absorption near 3.4 μm; OH was monitored using UV laser absorption at 306.5 nm; C₂H₄ was monitored using a CO₂ gas laser at 10.5 μm; and CO₂ and H₂O were monitored using tunable DFB diode laser absorption at 2.7 and 2.5 μm, respectively. These time-histories provide critically needed kinetic targets to test and refine large reaction mechanisms. Comparisons were made with the predictions of two diesel-surrogate reaction mechanisms (Westbrook et al. [1]; Ranzi et al. [9]) that include n-hexadecane, and areas of needed improvement in the mechanisms were identified. Comparisons of the intermediate product yields of ethylene for n-hexadecane with those found for other smaller n-alkanes, show that an n-hexadecane mechanism derived from a simple hierarchical extrapolation from a smaller n-alkane mechanism does not properly simulate the experimental measurements.