Chemical Kinetics and Aerodynamics of Ignition

Abstract

The importance of auto- and forced ignition in the operation of practical combustion devices such as the Diesel engine suggests that better understanding and enhanced performance of these devices rely on knowledge of the separate and coupled roles of the complex chemical kinetics and unsteady and turbulent aerodynamics that are present in such systems. This investigation adopted the counterflow configuration, with its well defined flow time, and employed laser-based experimentation, computational simulation with detailed chemistry and transport, turbulent modeling, and analysis with reduced mechanisms in an attempt to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the various controlling processes and parameters. The chemical kinetic portion involved the experimental determination of the ignition temperature as a function of the fuel concentration, system pressure, and flow strain rate for selected hydrocarbons up to C8, and the subsequent modeling and development of detailed, simplified, and reduced kinetic mechanisms governing ignition of these fuels. The aerodynamic portion of the program involved experimental measurement and numerical modeling of the flow field present immediately prior to ignition in a turbulent counterflow, as well as the determination of ignition temperatures as a function of turbulent intensity and the other parameters investigated in laminar flows.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 04, 2001
Accession Number
ADA395878

Entities

People

  • Chung K. Law

Organizations

  • Princeton University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamics
  • Chemical Kinetics
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemistry
  • Combustion
  • Diesel Engines
  • Flow
  • Flow Fields
  • Fluid Flow
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Ignition
  • Kinetics
  • Laminar Flow
  • Low Temperature
  • Measurement
  • Simulations
  • Strain Rate

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy