Gas Supply System for High Pressure Combustion Experimental Facility for Studies at Elevated Pressures
Abstract
The U.S. Army Research Oce (ARO) previously provided support to construct a High Pressure Combustion Experimental Facility" (HPCEF), at the Combustion laboratory of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), for carrying out experimental studies on combustion of a wide variety of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon fuels, including commercial fuels for example JP-8 and Jet A, at pressures up to 25 bar. A notable feature of this facility is that it permits experiments to be carried out in nonuniform ows. In contrast, experiments conducted employing shock tubes and rapid compression machines, do not include the in uence of ow on combustion. The HPCEF has been successfully employed to characterize combustion of many fuels in nonuniform ows at elevated pressures These studies have shown, for the rst time, the in uence of pressure on critical conditions of extinction of nonpremixed hydrogen, methane, ethane, and ethene ames, and the in uence of pressure on critical conditions of extinction and critical conditions of autoignition of reference fuels, jet fuels, and surrogates. These studies have highlighted the in uence of low temperature chemistry in promoting autoignition of high molecular weight hydrocarbon fuels. In view of the success of these previous studies at elevated pressures, additional funding was received from ARO to extend the maximum operating pressure of HPCEF from 25 bar to 60 bar. These studies provide fundamental knowledge that is relevant to the Army s need for high performance propulsion systems. High temperature and high pressure are encountered in these systems. The data at elevated pressures could be employed to test predictive models required to advance current understanding of fundamental chemical processes that characterize the combustion of jet fuels. To complete a set of experiments signi cant quantities of nitrogen and air are required. Previously these gases were supplied from pressurized gas cylinders. For example for conducting one set of experiments, nitrogen from twenty- ve pressurized gas cylinders and air from six pressurized gas cylinders were required. These gas cylinders need to replaced frequently. This was labor intensive and resulted in delay. The current support from ARO was used to upgrade the gas delivery system to allow higher supply of nitrogen and air to HPCEF with less frequent replacement of the pressurized gas cylinders. This improved gas delivery system has signi cantly enhanced current research capabilities and research-related education of our ARO supported research on combustion of jet fuels and surrogates at elevated pressures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 09, 2020
- Source ID
- W911NF1810024
Entities
People
- Kalyanasundaram Seshadri
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, San Diego