Experimental Burning Velocities Research Articles

Conductive and convective combustion modes of granular mixtures of Ti–C–NiCr

The combustion modes of powder and granular mixtures (100 – X)(Ti + C) + XNiCr (X = 0–30%) containing Ti powders of different dispersion with different amounts of impurity gases in them were investigated. The experimental setup provided filtration of impurity gases released during combustion in the cocurrent direction or through the side surface of the sample. The difference between the experimental burning velocities of powder mixtures with titanium of different fineness is explained using a convective-conductive combustion model. For granular mixtures based on Ti powder with a characteristic size of 120 μm, it was shown that combustion occurs in the conductive mode. Comparison of the combustion velocities of granular mixtures containing Ti powder with particles of a characteristic size of 60 μm in the absence and presence of gas filtration through the sample indicates the transition of combustion to the convective regime. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the transition from conductive to convective combustion are formulated, which makes it possible to determine the composition of the mixture whose combustion occurs in the boundary region. In mixtures based on Ti with a particle size of 60 μm, the conductive combustion regime is observed during the combustion of granules 0.6 mm in size and a mixture with X = 30% of granules 1.7 mm in size. For mixtures with X = 0–20% with granules 1.7 mm in size, burning in the convective regime, the interfacial heat transfer coefficients were evaluated using experimental data. Their values are more than an order of magnitude higher than the theoretical ones. The XPA results of the combustion products showed that in order to obtain synthesis products without side phases of intermetallic compounds, it is necessary to use finely dispersed titanium powder.

An experimental and numerical study of propyl acetate laminar combustion characteristics

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.

Investigation on the intrinsic instabilities of ethyl methyl carbonate flames

The intrinsic instabilities of ethyl methyl carbonate flames are investigated at equivalence ratios (0.6–1.8) and initial pressures (70–160 kPa) by using a 36-liter constant volume combustion chamber. The unstable laminar premixed flame is evaluated by the laminar burning velocity, explosion characteristics, flame cellularity, and flame self-acceleration. The experimental laminar burning velocity is well reproduced by the chemical kinetic mechanism. The extent of cellularization characterized by the crack length and average cell area non-monotonically varies with increasing equivalence ratio but monotonically increases with increasing initial pressure. Meanwhile, the critical flame radius for the onset of cellularity exhibits non-monotonic variation with the equivalence ratio, while it decreases monotonically with increasing initial pressure. The experimental critical Peclet number and critical flame radius are well captured by flame stability theory. The linear correlation between the critical Peclet number and the Markstein number is Pecl = 26.46 Ma + 122.22. In addition, the dependence of the critical Karlovitz number on the Markstein number is predicted as Kacl = 0.0226e-0.0880Ma. The flame self-acceleration increases as the flame instabilities increase. The acceleration exponent and fractal dimension are smaller than 1.5 and 2.33, respectively, which are the suggested values for flame self-turbulization.

Experimental and Numerical Study of the Laminar Burning Velocity of Biogas–Ammonia–Air Premixed Flames

Biogas is a gas resulting from the digestion of biomass, which means transforming organic waste into energy. It is composed essentially of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and can also contain ammonia (NH3) as an impurity. Biogas is generally used to generate electricity or produce heat in a cogeneration system. With the renewed interest in ammonia and the increasing development of biogas caused by the urge for an energetic transition, those two carbon-neutral fuels are being investigated as a mixture in this study through the laminar burning velocity (LBV). In this paper, the LBV of biogas ammonia air mixtures are investigated experimentally for the first time over a wide range of equivalence ratios and ammonia concentrations. The biogas studied was 60% CH4 and 40% CO2 in volume. The NH3 concentration in the fuel varied from 0 to 50% vol. while the equivalence ratio varied from 0.8 to 1.2. The experiments were conducted at constant pressure in a constant volume vessel at 300 K and 1 bar. Adding ammonia to biogas decreases the LBV while the Markstein length is not very sensitive to ammonia addition. The CEU-NH3-Mech-1.1 and Okafor mechanisms show good agreement with the experimental laminar burning velocity. The effect of radiative heat losses on the measurement is also investigated.

Detailed kinetic analysis of synthetic fuels containing ammonia

The imperative to adopt environmentally sustainable energy sources has propelled the exploration of zero-carbon alternatives, such as hydrogen and ammonia for energy supply. Integrating these species with methane is recognized as a viable short-term solution. However, a complete understanding of their chemical behaviour in a wide range of conditions remains elusive, especially in terms of safety parameters, limiting the applicability of this solution. To this aim, this work presents a detailed analysis of the overall reactivity, expressed either in terms of laminar burning velocity or flammability limits, of hydrogen-ammonia-containing fuels. Additional considerations were obtained by the analysis of the maximum pressure rise and maximum pressure obtained in adiabatic conditions. A spectrum of nitrogen/oxygen mixtures was scrutinized, and the influence of initial temperature within the range of 300–500 K was systematically investigated. The estimation quality of the adopted mechanism was evaluated by comparing numerical predictions with experimental measurements obtained by different systems, when available. A tendency in slightly more conservative results on the safe side was detected for the assessment of flammability limits and minimum oxygen concentration. This trend was attributed to the assumption of perfectly adiabatic conditions posed for the numerical analysis, which does not perfectly match the experimental conditions. Conversely, an excellent agreement between numerical and experimental laminar burning velocity was observed. Therefore, the collected data were used for the quantification of input parameters required by well-established correlations suitable for synthetic fuels.

Laminar burning velocities and Markstein numbers for pure hydrogen and methane/hydrogen/air mixtures at elevated pressures

Spherically expanding flame propagations have been employed to measure flame speeds for H2/CH4/air mixtures over a wide range of H2 fractions (30 %, 50 %, 70 and 100 % hydrogen by volume), at initial temperatures of 303 K and 360 K, and pressures of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 MPa. The equivalence ratio (ϕ) was varied from 0.5 to 2.5 for pure hydrogen and from 0.8 to 1.2 for methane/hydrogen mixtures. Experimental laminar burning velocities and Markstein numbers for methane/hydrogen/air mixtures at high pressures, which are crucial for gas turbine applications, are very rare in the literature. Moreover, simulations using three recent chemical kinetic mechanisms (Konnov-2018 detailed reaction, Aramco-2.0-2016 and San Diego Methane detailed mechanism (version 20161214)) were compared against the experimentally derived laminar burning velocities. The maximum laminar burning velocity for 30 % and 50 % H2 occurs at ϕ = 1.1. However, it shifts to ϕ = 1.2 for 70 % H2 and to ϕ = 1.7 for a pure H2 flame. The laminar burning velocities increased with hydrogen fraction and temperature, and decreased with pressure. Unexpected behaviour was recorded for pure H2 flames at low temperature and ϕ = 1.5, 1.7 wherein ul did not decrease when the pressure increased from 0.1 to 0.5 MPa. Although, the measurement uncertainty is large at these conditions, the flame structure analysis showed a minimum decline in the mass fractions of the active species (H, O, and OH) with the rise in the initial pressure. Markstein length (Lb) and Markstein number (Mab and Masr) varied non-monotonically with hydrogen volume fraction, pressure and temperature. There was generally good agreement between simulations and experimentally derived laminar burning velocities, however, for experiments of rich-pure hydrogen at high initial pressures, the level of agreement decreased but remained within the limits of experimental uncertainty.

Expansion Coefficients and Propagation Speeds of Premixed n-Butane–Air Flames

The propagation speeds of premixed n-butane–air mixtures (2.0–5.7 vol%) were investigated under various initial conditions (pressures of 0.4–1.2 bar; temperatures of 289–500 K). The study consists of both, experimental measurements using two different enclosures (a sphere and a cylinder) and kinetic modeling via a dedicated computing program. The propagation speeds of premixed n-butane–air mixtures were obtained via the adiabatic model of flame propagation, which allows us to obtain these important parameters using the normal burning velocities and expansion coefficients. The expansion coefficients were calculated using thermodynamic data as the ratio of burnt to unburnt gas densities, assuming that an equilibrium was established in the flame front. The propagation speeds obtained based on the experimental burning velocities were analyzed for comparison with the computed velocities. Finally, the dependence of the propagation speed on the initial pressure and temperature was discussed.

Methyl pentanoate laminar burning characteristics: Experimental and numerical analysis

This study investigated the laminar combustion characteristics of methyl pentanoate (MPe) using the constant volume combustion chamber at the initial pressures and temperatures of 1, 2, and 4 bar and 423, 453, and 483 K, respectively over the equivalence ratios ranging from 0.7 to 1.4. The experimental and simulated peak pressures showed a good trend irrespective of the disparities between both results. The experimental laminar burning velocities agreed well with the simulated laminar burning velocities. Also, laminar burning velocities at the initial temperatures and pressures up to 573 K and 8 bar, respectively were estimated using a deduced empirical formula. Last but not least, the main pathways for the decomposition of MPe were MPe → MPe2J → MPeMJ → MPe3J.

The Laminar Burning Velocities of Stoichiometric Methane–Air Mixture from Closed Vessels Measurements

The present work aims to evaluate the performance of the constant-volume method by several sets of experiments carried out in three different closed vessels (a sphere and two cylinders) analyzing the obtained results in order to obtain accurate laminar burning velocities. Accurate laminar burning velocities can be used in the development of computational fluid dynamics models in order to design new internal combustion engines with a higher efficiency and lower fuel consumption leading to a lower degree of environmental pollution. The pressure-time histories obtained at various initial pressures from 0.4 to 1.4 bar and ambient initial temperature were analyzed and processed using two different correlations (one implying the cubic low coefficient and the other implying the burnt mass fraction). The laminar burning velocities obtained at various initial pressures are necessary for the realization of a complete kinetic study regarding the combustion reaction and testing the actual reaction mechanisms. Data obtained from measurements were completed and compared with data obtained from runs using two different detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms (GRI 3.0 and Warnatz) and with laminar burning velocities from literature. Our experimental burning velocities ranging from 35.3 cm/s (data from spherical vessel S obtained using the burnt mass fraction) to 37.5 cm/s (data from cylindrical vessel C1 obtained using the cubic law) are inside the interval of confidence as reported by other researchers. From the dependence of the laminar burning velocity on the initial pressure, the baric coefficients were obtained. These coefficients were further used to obtain the overall reaction orders. The baric coefficients (ranging between −0.349 and −0.212) and the overall reaction orders (ranging between 1.42 and 1.50) obtained in this study fall within the reference range of data specific to methane–air mixtures examined at ambient initial temperature.

Experimental and numerical simulation of effects of CO2/N2 concentration and initial temperature on combustion characteristics of biomass syngas

Biomass syngas is a form of renewable energy with very broad application prospects, and it has different combustion characteristics according to the fuel composition and processing technology of biomass syngas. The influence of combustion composition, diluent and temperature variation on combustion characteristics were studied in this paper. The FFCM-1 mechanism was used to investigate the combustion characteristics of CO/CH4/H2 under varied diluents CO2/N2 and temperature by using spherical expansion flame method and ANSYS CHEMKIN-PRO. The experimental laminar burning velocity was compared with the simulation results of FFCM-1 mechanism. The results reveal that the experimental data are in good agreement with the simulation results, which are somewhat different under the condition of rich fuel. The laminar burning velocity decreases significantly with the increase of diluent CO2/N2, with the effect of diluent CO2 being more significant. The laminar burning velocity increase dramatically with the increase of initial temperature, and the adiabatic flame temperature also decreases with the increase of diluent. The reduction caused by diluent CO2 is much larger than that caused by diluent N2. The change of initial temperature also affects the adiabatic flame temperature, but the range of variation is not as pronounced as that of diluent. Not only was the interaction between the combustion characteristics of CO/CH4/H2 under different diluents and temperature changes explored in this paper, but the influence mechanism was also revealed in depth.

Methane hydrogen laminar burning velocity blending laws in horizontal open-ended flame tube rig

Different fuel properties and chemical kinetics of two different fuels would make it challenging to predict the combustion parameters of a binary fuel. Understanding the effect of blending methane and hydrogen gas is the main focus of this paper. Utilizing a horizontal tube combustion rig, methane-hydrogen fuel blends were created using blending laws from past literature, over a range of equivalence ratios from 0.6 – 1.2 were studied, while keeping one combustion parameter constant, the theoretical laminar burning velocity. The selected theoretical laminar burning velocity for all the mixtures tested were kept constant at 0.6 ms−1. Different factors affected the flame propagation across the tube, including acoustic pressure oscillations, heat loss from the rig, and obvious difference in hydrogen percentage in the fuel blends. The average experimental laminar burning velocity of all the flames was 0.368 ms−1, compared to the expected value of 0.6 ms−1. In an attempt to keep the theoretical laminar burning velocity constant for different mixtures, it was discovered that this did not promise the same flame propagation behaviour for the tested mixtures. Further experimentation and analysis are required in order to better understand the underlying interaction of the fuel blends.

Burning velocities of R-32/O2/N2 mixtures: Experimental measurements and development of a validated detailed chemical kinetic model

This work entails characterizing the flammability of the refrigerant R-32 (CH2F2) by both experimental measurements and modeling. Burning velocities Su were measured using a constant-volume spherical-flame method for R-32/O2/N2 mixtures with O2/N2 ratios ranging from 21% (synthetic air) to 40%, pressures of (1 to 3) bar, and equivalence ratios ϕ of (0.8 to 1.3). Based on a critical assessment of available data, and extended by our own calculations, a detailed chemical kinetic model was developed and key reactions determined using reaction path and sensitivity analyses. Initiation and combustion were identified as distinct kinetic regimes and burning velocities were found to be controlled by two primary reactions: unimolecular decomposition of CH2F2 → CHF + HF and the subsequent reaction, CHF + O2 → CHFO + O, the latter reaction initiating the radical chain propagating and branching by producing O atoms. Sensitive rate constants in the kinetic model were critically adjusted within their uncertainties and current knowledge bounds to best fit the experimental burning velocities. We found that rate constants in the model could be adjusted to match a given experimental Su for specific conditions (O2 loading, P, T, ϕ). This, however, then fixes predicted burning velocities for other all conditions within (3 to 4)% if physically realistic rate parameters are maintained. Thus, the entire set of experimental data is fit, not just to particular conditions. Relative random uncertainties in the experimental Su measurements were (4 to 6)%, but assumptions made for thermal radiation lost by the burned gas in the spherical-flame experiments add an additional systematic uncertainty. Systematic differences between the limiting cases of adiabatic (no thermal radiation lost) and optically-thin (all thermal radiation lost) varied significantly with conditions and ranged from (4 to 30)% at high to low velocities, respectively, translating into uncertainties of (2 to 15)% considering the average of two limiting cases. Comparison of experimental and kinetically modeled Su values suggests that the burned gas tends towards the optically-thin limit at the lowest pressures and fuel loadings and toward the adiabatic limit at the highest pressures and loadings. We tested and found support for this conclusion with a detailed analysis as a function of all the conditions (T, P, % O2, ϕ). This behavior appears to transition from optically-thin to adiabatic as the density of the initial fuel increases, which results in increased CO2 in the burned gas and thus increased absorption of the thermal radiation (consistent with the Beer-Lambert Law). The validated detailed model based on evaluated kinetics is shown to accurately predict burning velocities for R-32 O2/N2 mixtures over a wide range of conditions and provides a reliable basis for extrapolation to other conditions.

Determination of laminar burning velocity of methane/air flames in sub atmospheric environments

The global energy demand enhances the environmental and operational benefits of natural gas as an energy alternative, due to its composition, mainly methane (CH4), it has low polluting emissions and benefits in energy and combustion systems. In the present work, the laminar burning velocity of methane was determined numerically and experimentally at two pressure conditions, 0.85 atm and 0.98 atm, corresponding to the city of Medellín and Caucasia, respectively, located in Colombia. The environmental conditions were 0.85 atm, 0.98 atm, and 295±1 K. The simulations and experimental measurements were carried out for different equivalence relations. Experimental laminar burning velocities were determined using the burner method and spontaneous chemiluminescence technique, flames were generated using burners with contoured rectangular ports to maintain laminar Reynolds numbers for the equivalence ratios under study and to reduce the effects of stretch and curvature in the direction of the burner's axis. In general, the laminar burning velocity fits well with the numerical results. With the results obtained, a correlation is proposed that relates the laminar burning velocity with the effects of pressure, in the form SL=aPb, where a and b are model constants. Sensitivity analysis was performed using the GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism which showed that the most sensitive reaction was H+O2=O+OH (R38). Additionally, it was found that the reactions H+CH3 (+M)=CH4 (+M) (R52), 2CH3 (+M)=C2H6 (+M) (R158), and O+CH3=H+CH2O (R10) dominate the consumption of CH3 which is an important radical in the oxidation of methane, this analysis is carried out for equivalence ratios of 0.8 and 1.0, and atmospheric pressures of 0.85 atm and 0.98 atm

Experimental laminar burning velocity of syngas from fixed-bed downdraft biomass gasifiers

Laminar burning velocity is considered as being one of the fundamental properties of a premixed flame and reliable data are constantly required for practical applications. Although it is possible to find an extensive amount of experimental laminar burning velocity data for fuels containing one or two components, data for fuels with three or more components are scarce. The goal of this study is to help fill this gap by providing experimental laminar burning velocity data for a fuel mixture with five components (H2:CO:CO2:CH4:N2). The fuel composition utilized is proposed as surrogates of the fuel provided by a downdraft gasifier, the most common and the most efficient type of gasifier. Experimental measurements were carried out for different fuel-to-air equivalence ratios (0.88 < ϕ < 1.74) at atmospheric conditions, 954 mbar and 298 K. The method utilized was the conical-flame surface using OH PLIF images (Planar-Laser-Induced Fluorescence imaging of OH). The area method provides a good approximation of the unstretched laminar burning velocity. Experimental data were compared with the simulated results obtained from a CHEMKIN chemical kinetics software. The highest experimental laminar flame speed of a downdraft syngas air mixture was 0.3491 m s−1 and occurred when ϕ ∼1.3.

Experimental burning velocities of ethanol-water-air at elevated pressure and temperature

Anhydrous ethanol can be considered as one of the main alternatives to replace fossil fuels. However, the removal of water consumes the greatest fraction of the energy necessary for its production. Thus, the use of hydrous ethanol arises from a new fuel possibility and it has been successfully tested in a device such as a spark-ignition engine. For this reason, there is a need for the determination of fundamental properties of the ethanol-water-air mixtures. There are few experimental works in this area and the majority of them have been carried out in test conditions of pressure up to 1 atm. Thus, the main goal of the present work is to bridge this data gap. For this, the laminar burning velocities and Markstein length of ethanol-water–air flames at water content up to 30% v/v over a range of equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.4 up to 5 MPa and 380 and 450 K were experimentally determined. The method used was a constant volume bomb method with a central ignition. The results were compared to literature data and with predictions carried out with CHEMKIN-PRO using the three different kinetic mechanisms. In general, the results of the mechanisms lead to an overprediction in relation to the experimental results, though all of them predicted the burning velocity peaks at an equivalence ratio close to 1.1, which agreed with the experiments. The experiments conducted that increased water content of water fuel mixtures have a tendency to remain stable under a stretch influence. Also, it is possible to observe a linear relationship describing the influence of the diluent on the laminar burning velocity.

Experimental Study and Kinetic Modeling of Laminar Flame Propagation in Premixed Stoichiometric n-butane-air Mixture

The laminar burning velocities and propagation speeds of stoichiometric n-butane-air mixture were obtained for outwardly propagating spherical flames by measurements of pressure rise during the early stage of propagation in a spherical vessel. The experiments were carried out at various initial pressures within 0.3 and 1.2 bar, and various initial temperatures within 298 and 423 K. The experimental laminar burning velocities were compared with those provided by the detailed kinetic modelling based on Warnatz mechanism for combustion of C1-C4 hydrocarbons, using INSFLA package. The baric and thermal coefficients of laminar burning velocities, calculated from their dependence on initial temperature and pressure, were compared with coefficients characteristic for other fuel-air mixtures. The overall activation parameters (reaction order and activation energy) are reported and discussed in comparison with similar data characteristic for alkane-air flames.

Parametrization of the temperature dependence of laminar burning velocity for methane and ethane flames

The power exponent α in the temperature dependence of laminar burning velocity SLSL0=TuTu0α is usually considered an empirical parameter extracted from measurements performed at different temperatures. In this paper an analytical derivation of α is proposed, calculating the power exponent from the overall activation energy as: αTu0→Tu=Ea2R·X+x. This relation is verified against experimental burning velocity data measured with the heat flux method and chemical kinetic models for flames with equivalence ratios, Φ, from 0.6 to 1.6 at up to 368 K unburned gas temperature and 1atm. Both methane and ethane were used as fuel. Laminar burning velocity predictions at elevated temperatures are made using proposed relation and the resulting values are in good agreement with existing data for methane flames up to 500 K. This indicates that the proposed mathematical derivation of α is accurate. In addition to providing a reliable extrapolation of the burning velocity at varying temperatures, isolating the temperature dependence of the power exponent α enables more accurate quantification of other factors, e.g., Φ, the unburned gas temperature and pressure, that influence laminar burning velocity. Additionally, it provides a simple means to evaluate the overall activation energy, Ea.

An experimental and kinetic study of propanal oxidation

Propanal is a critical stable intermediate derived from the oxidation of 1-propanol, a promising alcohol fuel additive. To deepen the knowledge and accurately describe propanal combustion characteristics, new burning velocity measurements at different temperatures were carried out and a new detailed kinetic mechanism for propanal was proposed. Experiments were performed using the heat flux method and compared with literature data. Important discrepancies were noted between the new and available data, and possible reasons were suggested. Flow rate sensitivity analysis highlighted that, as expected, the important reactions influencing the propanal oxidation in flames are pertinent to H2 and CO sub-mechanism. Current mechanism is based on the most recent Konnov model, extended to include propanal chemistry subset. Rate constant parameters were selected based on careful evaluation of experimental and theoretical data available in literature. Model validation included assessment against a large set of combustion experiments obtained at different regimes, i.e. flames, shock tubes, and well stirred reactor, as well as comparison with the semi-detailed (lumped) kinetic mechanism for hydrocarbon and oxygenated fuels from Politecnico di Milano, detailed kinetic model from Veloo et al. and low temperature oxidation of aldehydes kinetic model of Pelucchi et al. The proposed model reproduced experimental burning velocities, ignition delay times, flame structure and JSR data with an overall good fidelity, while it reproduces only qualitatively the species distribution of propanal pyrolysis.

Effects of stretch and thermal radiation on difluoromethane/air burning velocity measurements in constant volume spherically expanding flames

Compared to current refrigerants, next-generation refrigerants are more environmentally benign but more flammable. The laminar burning velocity is being used by industry as a metric to screen refrigerants for fire risk and it is also used for kinetic model development and validation. This study reports measurements of difluoromethane/air flame burning velocities for equivalence ratios from 0.9 to 1.4 in a spherical, constant volume device. Experimental burning velocities produced with the aid of an optically thin radiation model are about 17% greater than those obtained with an adiabatic model. Characterization of flame stretch based on the product of Markstein and Karlovitz numbers indicates that while many experimental data are nearly stretch-free, those for slower burning velocities, smaller flame radii, and leaner conditions may not be. Limiting the data to regions estimated to be stretch-free requires extrapolation away from the experimental conditions to extract burning velocities near ambient conditions, e.g., at (298 K, 101 kPa). Lower uncertainty, desirable for kinetic model validation, is obtained by interpolating between experimental conditions, e.g., at (400 K, 304 kPa). Since thermal radiation and flame stretch were found to affect the inferred burning velocities of difluoromethane/air constant volume spherical flames, these effects should also be considered during data reduction of other mildly flammable refrigerants.

Burning velocities of dimethyl ether (DME)–nitrous oxide (N2O) mixtures

From a usability and capability perspective, dimethyl ether (DME) fuel with nitrous oxide (N2O) as oxidant is a promising combination for next-generation combustion devices or propellants for space vehicles. However, to ensure proper and profitable application of this fuel, we must clarify the combustion characteristics of the DME–N2O mixture. To this end, we conducted burning velocity experiments using the closed spherical bomb technique initiated at 0.1 MPa and 295 K and ran numerical models considering the DME oxidation and N2O decomposition reaction mechanisms in the DME–N2O mixtures. To characterize the N2O oxidant, we compared the experimental and theoretical results of DME–N2O with those of air and N2/0.5O2 gases as oxidants. Among the three mixtures (containing the same amount of DME 6.54% by volumetric fraction), DME–N2O exhibited the lowest burning velocity, although N2O has large heat of formation. The experimental burning velocity of DME–N2O was slowed by the low thermal diffusivity and the delay caused by the decomposition reactions of N2O, N2O (+M) ↔ N2 + O (+M), N2O + H ↔ N2 + OH, and N2O + H ↔ NH + NO, which are same as those that are considered important in the oxidation of C1–C3 hydrocarbon–N2O mixtures.