Effects of methane addition on the laminar burning velocity and Markstein length of methanol/air premixed flame

Abstract

Adding methane to methanol can solve the problem of difficult cold starts of methanol engines. Therefore, it is important to understand the combustion of methane and methanol fuel blends. Because of this, this study explores the effect of methane addition on the laminar burning velocity and Markstein length of methanol/methane premixed flames under stoichiometric conditions at the initial temperatures of 353 K, 373 K, and 393 K, initial pressures of 1 bar, 2 bar, and 4 bar, using methane addition ratios of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% in a constant volume combustion chamber. The results show that the laminar burning velocity decreases linearly with the increase of methane addition ratio due to the linear decrease of the Arrhenius factor. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the kinetic effect is the main reason for the inhibition of laminar burning velocity, which is insensitive to initial temperature but enhanced at a high initial pressure. The Markstein length decreases with the addition of methane and the increase of initial pressure, which is mainly caused by the high mass diffusivity of methane and the decrease of flame thickness due to the increase of initial pressure.