Computational study of ignition delay times and laminar flame speed of POrsche SYNthetic fuels: Comparison with conventional gasoline
This study develops a methodology to calculate ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds of Porsche synthetic fuels compared to conventional RON 98 gasoline using detailed chemical kinetics simulations. Results show synthetic fuels exhibit similar ignition delays, while gasoline with MTBE demonstrates a 3-6% faster flame speed, informing future engine combustion modeling and eFuel development.
Recent years have shown Porsche Synthetic Fuels (POSYN) as one promising and quick solution to be used in both existing and new-generation internal combustion engines (ICEs) to immediately contrast the CO 2 emissions. Nevertheless, to make these fuels efficient and effective for ICE applications, extensive testing is needed to evaluate the fuel performance and its impact on tailpipe emissions; numerical simulations (both 1D and 3D) can provide relevant support to reach the target in a faster and economically feasible way, providing guidelines for the design of eFuels and their use. An accurate and reliable modeling framework, able to mimic the chemical and physical characteristics of the fuels for a given set of operating conditions, is therefore mandatory to support the development process. The definition of a fuel surrogate is crucial to integrate the relevant properties in the 3D-CFD modeling framework. In this work, a methodology for the calculation of LFS (Laminar Flame Speed) and IDT (Ignition Delay Time) of different fuels is developed and applied to compare the characteristics of two different POSYN fuels with a conventional RON 98 gasoline by using 0D/1D detailed chemical kinetics simulations. The methodology relies on a proper definition of the composition of a six-component fuel surrogate and on the critical selection from the literature of a suitable chemical kinetics mechanism. The methodology is then applied to calculate IDTs and LFSs on a wide set of engine-relevant conditions, allowing for comparing the fuels’ behavior, paving the way for more detailed 1D and 3D-CFD studies. Finally, the LFS calculations of free-aromatics gasoline showed a faster flame speed in a range between 3% and 6% compared to the conventional one at engine-like conditions. Instead, IDTs, according to similarities in RON/MON, showed overall similar output and peculiar NTC behavior when MTBE is present.
- Research Article
8
- 10.1016/j.combustflame.2020.12.043
- Jan 21, 2021
- Combustion and Flame
Measurements and simulations of ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds of nonane isomers
- Research Article
42
- 10.1016/j.combustflame.2013.01.025
- Mar 1, 2013
- Combustion and Flame
Effect of CF3Br on C1–C3 ignition and laminar flame speed: Numerical and experimental evaluation
- Research Article
313
- 10.1016/j.combustflame.2014.07.032
- Sep 11, 2014
- Combustion and Flame
An experimental and modeling study of propene oxidation. Part 2: Ignition delay time and flame speed measurements
- Research Article
243
- 10.1115/1.4007737
- Jan 8, 2013
- Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
Laminar flame speeds and ignition delay times have been measured for hydrogen and various compositions of H2/CO (syngas) at elevated pressures and elevated temperatures. Two constant-volume cylindrical vessels were used to visualize the spherical growth of the flame through the use of a schlieren optical setup to measure the laminar flame speed of the mixture. Hydrogen experiments were performed at initial pressures up to 10 atm and initial temperatures up to 443 K. A syngas composition of 50/50 by volume was chosen to demonstrate the effect of carbon monoxide on H2-O2 chemical kinetics at standard temperature and pressures up to 10 atm. All atmospheric mixtures were diluted with standard air, while all elevated-pressure experiments were diluted with a He:O2 ratio of 7:1 to minimize instabilities. The laminar flame speed measurements of hydrogen and syngas are compared to available literature data over a wide range of equivalence ratios, where good agreement can be seen with several data sets. Additionally, an improved chemical kinetics model is shown for all conditions within the current study. The model and the data presented herein agree well, which demonstrates the continual, improved accuracy of the chemical kinetics model. A high-pressure shock tube was used to measure ignition delay times for several baseline compositions of syngas at three pressures across a wide range of temperatures. The compositions of syngas (H2/CO) by volume presented in this study included 80/20, 50/50, 40/60, 20/80, and 10/90, all of which are compared to previously published ignition delay times from a hydrogen-oxygen mixture to demonstrate the effect of carbon monoxide addition. Generally, an increase in carbon monoxide increases the ignition delay time, but there does seem to be a pressure dependency. At low temperatures and pressures higher than about 12 atm, the ignition delay times appear to be indistinguishable with an increase in carbon monoxide. However, at high temperatures the relative composition of H2 and CO has a strong influence on ignition delay times. Model agreement is good across the range of the study, particularly at the elevated pressures.
- Conference Article
10
- 10.1115/gt2012-69290
- Jun 11, 2012
Laminar flame speeds and ignition delay times have been measured for hydrogen and various compositions of H2/CO (syngas) at elevated pressures and elevated temperatures. Two constant-volume cylindrical vessels were used to visualize the spherical growth of the flame through the use of a schlieren optical setup to measure the laminar flame speed of the mixture. Hydrogen experiments were performed at initial pressures up to 10 atm and initial temperatures up to 443 K. A syngas composition of 50/50 by volume was chosen to demonstrate the effect of carbon monoxide on H2−O2 chemical kinetics at standard temperature and pressures up to 10 atm. All atmospheric mixtures were diluted with standard air, while all elevated-pressure experiments were diluted with a He:O2 of 7:1 to minimize instabilities. The laminar flame speed measurements of hydrogen and syngas are compared to available literature data over a wide range of equivalence ratios where good agreement can be seen with several data sets. Additionally, an improved chemical kinetics model is shown for all conditions within the current study. The model and the data presented herein agree well, which demonstrates the continual, improved accuracy of the chemical kinetic model. A high-pressure shock tube was used to measure ignition delay times for several baseline compositions of syngas at three pressures across a wide range of temperatures. The compositions of syngas (H2/CO) by volume presented in this study included 80/20, 50/50, 40/60, 20/80, and 10/90, all of which are compared to previously published ignition delay times from a hydrogen-oxygen mixture to demonstrate the effect of carbon monoxide addition. Generally, an increase in carbon monoxide increases the ignition delay time, but there does seem to be a pressure dependency. At low temperatures and pressures higher than about 12 atm, the ignition delay times appear to be indistinguishable with an increase in carbon monoxide. However, at high temperatures the relative composition of H2 and CO has a strong influence on ignition delay times. Model agreement is good across the range of the study, particularly at the elevated pressures. Also, an increase in carbon monoxide causes the activation energy of the mixture to decrease.
- Research Article
11
- 10.1016/0010-2180(95)00204-9
- Dec 1, 1995
- Combustion and Flame
Inhibiting effect of brominated compounds on oxidation reactions
- Research Article
56
- 10.1016/j.proci.2014.05.096
- Jun 25, 2014
- Proceedings of the Combustion Institute
Experimental study of the effect of CF3I addition on the ignition delay time and laminar flame speed of methane, ethylene, and propane
- Research Article
630
- 10.1016/j.combustflame.2018.08.006
- Sep 10, 2018
- Combustion and Flame
An experimental and chemical kinetic modeling study of 1,3-butadiene combustion: Ignition delay time and laminar flame speed measurements
- Single Report
- 10.2172/1163884
- Jan 24, 2014
This final report documents the technical results of the 3-year project entitled, “Turbulent Flame Speeds and NOx Kinetics of HHC Fuels with Contaminants and High Dilution Levels,” funded under the NETL of DOE. The research was conducted under six main tasks: 1) program management and planning; 2) turbulent flame speed measurements of syngas mixtures; 3) laminar flame speed measurements with diluents; 4) NOx mechanism validation experiments; 5) fundamental NOx kinetics; and 6) the effect of impurities on NOx kinetics. Experiments were performed using primary constant-volume vessels for laminar and turbulent flame speeds and shock tubes for ignition delay times and species concentrations. In addition to the existing shock- tube and flame speed facilities, a new capability in measuring turbulent flame speeds was developed under this grant. Other highlights include an improved NOx kinetics mechanism; a database on syngas blends for real fuel mixtures with and without impurities; an improved hydrogen sulfide mechanism; an improved ammonia kintics mechanism; laminar flame speed data at high pressures with water addition; and the development of an inexpensive absorption spectroscopy diagnostic for shock-tube measurements of OH time histories. The Project Results for this work can be divided into 13 major sections, which form the basis of this report. These 13 topics are divided into the five areas: 1) laminar flame speeds; 2) Nitrogen Oxide and Ammonia chemical kinetics; 3) syngas impurities chemical kinetics; 4) turbulent flame speeds; and 5) OH absorption measurements for chemical kinetics.
- Research Article
15
- 10.1016/j.combustflame.2020.01.018
- Feb 7, 2020
- Combustion and Flame
Ignition delay time and laminar flame speed measurements of mixtures containing diisopropyl-methylphosphonate (DIMP)
- Research Article
23
- 10.1021/acs.jpca.5b00959
- Apr 17, 2015
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry A
In this study, the effect of Halon 1211 (CF2BrCl) on the ignition delay time and laminar flame speed of CH4, C2H4, and C3H8 were investigated experimentally for the first time. The results showed that the effects of Halon 1211 on the ignition delay time are strongly dependent on the hydrocarbon: the ignition delay time of CH4 is significantly decreased by Halon 1211 addition, while a significant increase in the ignition delay time was observed with C2H4 for the lowest temperatures investigated. Ignition delay times for C3H8 were slightly increased, mostly on the low-temperature side and for the fuel-rich case. A significant reduction in the laminar flame speed was observed for all of the fuels. A tentative chemical kinetics model was assembled from existing models and completed with reactions that have been determined in the literature or estimated when necessary. The experimental results were reproduced satisfactorily by the model, and a chemical analysis showed that most of the effects of Halon 1211 on the ignition delay times of C2H4 and C3H8 are due to the consumption of H radical through the reaction HBr + H ⇄ Br + H2. In the case of methane, the CF2 radical promotes the formation of H via CF2 + CH3 ⇄ CH2:CF2 + H, which then promotes the branching reaction H + O2 ⇄ OH + O. The laminar flame speed results can be explained using catalytic cycles involving Br atoms that are similar to those reported in the literature for CF3Br. This study exhibits the need for a better estimation of the chlorine atom chemistry during the combustion of hydrocarbons in the presence of fire suppressants.
- Research Article
35
- 10.1016/j.jlp.2017.04.003
- Apr 5, 2017
- Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries
Effect of C2HF5 and C3HF7 on methane and propane ignition and laminar flame speed: Experimental and numerical evaluation
- Research Article
- 10.1016/j.fuel.2026.138358
- Jul 1, 2026
- Fuel
• Laminar flame speeds are measured for methanol and ethanol in the OPTIPRIME setup. • A wide range of conditions is studied, including high pressures and temperatures. • Flame speed correlations are built based on the present measurements. • A new kinetic mechanism is developed to reproduce the experimental data. • The mechanism proves its ability to serve as a robust core for kinetic models. During the last few decades, the importance of bio-derived components as efficient alternatives for fossil fuels has significantly increased; however, their full characterization has not been completed yet. Laminar flame speed is one of the fundamental properties characterizing a fuel and is used to validate chemical kinetic mechanisms. In the present study, laminar flame speeds were measured for various methanol/O 2 and ethanol/O 2 diluted mixtures over a large range of conditions, including equivalence ratios (0.7 to 1.4) and initial fresh gas temperatures (331 and 358 K) and pressures (0.5–4 bar). The experimental apparatus used to perform the flame speed measurements is the perfectly spherical combustion chamber with full optical access (OPTIPRIME) developed at ICARE laboratory. The flame propagation compressed the fresh gas, resulting in high pressure and temperature conditions, under which the flame speed increased up to 150 cm.s −1 for the tested methanol mixtures and 80 cm.s −1 for those of ethanol. Experimental uncertainties on flame speed were estimated to be within ± 5%. The extensive database obtained in this work was used to build flame speed correlations as functions of pressure and temperature, generating comprehensive maps for various equivalence ratios that can be refined with additional data to improve accuracy and extend the range of validity. A kinetic mechanism was also developed in this work and showed good performance in representing the present experimental data, taking into account their uncertainties. The mechanism was further validated against previously reported data (including species mole fractions and ignition delay times) on methanol and ethanol oxidation.
- Research Article
274
- 10.1016/j.fuel.2019.02.102
- Feb 25, 2019
- Fuel
Chemical kinetic modelling of ammonia/hydrogen/air ignition, premixed flame propagation and NO emission
- Research Article
70
- 10.1115/1.4007763
- Jan 8, 2013
- Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
Applications of natural gas and hydrogen co-firing have received increased attention in the gas turbine market, which aims at higher flexibility due to concerns over the availability of fuels. While much work has been done in the development of a fuels database and corresponding chemical kinetics mechanism for natural gas mixtures, there are nonetheless few if any data for mixtures with high levels of hydrogen at conditions of interest to gas turbines. The focus of the present paper is on gas turbine engines with primary and secondary reaction zones as represented in the Alstom and Rolls Royce product portfolio. The present effort includes a parametric study, a gas turbine model study, and turbulent flame speed predictions. Using a highly optimized chemical kinetics mechanism, ignition delay times and laminar burning velocities were calculated for fuels from pure methane to pure hydrogen and with natural gas/hydrogen mixtures. A wide range of engine-relevant conditions were studied: pressures from 1 to 30 atm, flame temperatures from 1600 to 2200 K, primary combustor inlet temperature from 300 to 900 K, and secondary combustor inlet temperatures from 900 to 1400 K. Hydrogen addition was found to increase the reactivity of hydrocarbon fuels at all conditions by increasing the laminar flame speed and decreasing the ignition delay time. Predictions of turbulent flame speeds from the laminar flame speeds show that hydrogen addition affects the reactivity more when turbulence is considered. This combined effort of industrial and university partners brings together the know-how of applied as well as experimental and theoretical disciplines.