Global modelling of heat release during initiation and propagation of detonation and deflagration waves in methane-air-particle systems

Abstract

In the present paper the direct initiation of a self supporting detonation and propagation of a low-speed combustion in methane-air-coal particles mixtures are solved. For particles, a heterogeneous regime of combustion is used, for methane one overall chemical reaction is taken into account: CH $_4$ + 2O $_2$ = CO $_2$ + 2H $_2$ O. The heat release rate is assumed to be defined as a delay time based on the well-known thermal theory of Frank-Kamenetsky (1967). The proposed model allows one to investigate the influence inert particles or coal dust on the explosion limits of methane-air mixtures. It is shown that the addition of a limited quantity of particles leads to detonation stability. In low speed combustion problems this method allows one to get a good correlation between theoretical and experimental velocities of steady flame propagation in carbon-hydrogen gaseous mixtures. Coal dust influence on gasdynamics of a methane-air mixture combustion is investigated in an unsteady problem by using of the global modelling. It is shown that limited coal dust concentration increases the flame wave intensity in lean methane-air mixtures in contrast to inert particles. In stoichiometric gas mixtures, sand and coal dusts decrease a flame velocity. Far from the ignition point flame, the velocity is largely defined by the dust mass concentration and not by the size of particles.