An experimental and numerical study of propyl acetate laminar combustion characteristics

Abstract

The laminar burning characteristics of propyl acetate were investigated using the constant volume combustion experimental unit at the working conditions of 1, 2, and 4 bar and 390, 420, and 450 K over a wide range of equivalence ratios (0.7–1.4). Both experimental and numerical investigations were used to study the laminar combustion characteristics of propyl acetate. Also, a chemical mechanism was proposed in this work to numerically investigate the laminar combustion of propyl acetate. A comparison of this study and literature experimental burning velocity data with the proposed mechanism laminar burning velocity showed satisfactory agreement. Sensitivity investigations of the burning velocity and production rate analysis of the reactions revealed that the reaction that mostly produces OH, H, and O radicals significantly drives the combustion of propyl acetate and increases the laminar burning velocity. Moreover, fuel-related reaction R1086: H + PA ⇔ H2 + PA2J increased the laminar burning velocity but fuel-related reaction R1098: OH + PA ⇔ H2O + PAMJ decreased the burning velocity. The reaction pathway study showed that propyl acetate mainly decomposes to PAMJ radical, PA2J radical, PAEJ radical, propene, and acetic acid before it converts into other radicals. Also, it was shown that ally radicals and ketene are essential intermediates in the fuel conversion process of propyl acetate.