Experimental investigation on microstructure behavior of premixed methane-air flame-flow interaction in a semi-vented chamber

To explore the premixed methane-air flame microstructure behavior and the flame-flow interaction,the premixed methane/air flame was studied in a semi-vented chamber.A high speed camera and schlieren images methods were used to record the processes of interaction between rarefaction wave and flame.Meanwhile,a pressure sensor was utilized to catch the pressure variation in the process of flame propagation.The experiment results showed that the interference of rarefaction wave on flame caused the flame front structure change,which led to the flame transition from laminar to turbulent quickly.The rarefaction wave intervened in the flame by turning the flame front surface into dentiform structure.The violent turbulent combustion began to appear in part of the flame front and spreaded to the whole flame front surface.The rarefaction also decreased the flame propagation speed.     

Fabrication of High-purity Ternary Carbide Ti3AlC2 by Spark Plasma Sintering （SPS） Technique

The effect of silicon on synthesis of Ti3AlC2 by spark plasma sintering （SPS） from TiC/Ti/Al powders was investigated. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscope （SEM） were used for phase identification and microstructure evaluation. The results show that addition of silicon can considerably accelerate the synthesis reaction of Ti3AlC2 and fully dense, essentially single-phase （purity 〉98%） polycrystalline Ti3AlC2 could be successfully obtained by sintering 2TiC/lTi/lAl/0.2Si powders at 1 200- 1 250 ℃ under a pressure of 30 MPa. SEM photographs show that the obtained Ti3AlC2 samples from mixtures powders are in plane-shape with a size of about 2-5 μm and 10-25 μm in the thickness dimension and elongated dimension, respectively.     

Effects of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>/CO/CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> syngas composition variation on the NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> and CO emission characteristics in a partially-premixed gas turbine combustor

This paper reports the effects of variations in the fuel composition of H₂/CO/CH₄ syngas on the characteristics of NO _x and CO emissions in a partially-premixed gas turbine combustor. Combustion tests were conducted on a full range of fuel compositions by varying each component gas from 0% to 100% at heat inputs of 40 and 50 kW_th. Flame temperature, combustor liner temperature, ignition delay time, and flame structure were investigated computationally and experimentally to judge whether they are significant indicators of NO _x and CO formation. The characteristics of and reasons for NO _x and CO emissions were investigated by analyzing the emission mechanisms and relationships among fuel property, equivalence ratio, flame temperature, liner temperature, flame shape. The flame structures were investigated using the following flame visualization methods: (1) time-averaged OH* chemiluminescence and its Abel-deconvolution; (2) direct photography; and (3) instantaneous OH-PLIF. The flame structures were greatly changed by the fuel composition and heat input, and they were subjected to key affecting parameters of the temperatures of the flames and the liners. NO _x and CO emissions also largely varied according to fuel composition and heat input, showing neither linearly nor exponentially clear proportional trends toward the syngas compositions because of the singular conditions. For example, only the 100% CO flame at low load emitted lots of CO, whereas complete combustion was observed in other cases. However, the qualitative observations showed that the root causes of NO _x emission behaviors were flame temperature and flame structure, which were directly related to the residence time in the flame. Various sets of practical test results were obtained, and these results could contribute to the optimal selection of the fuel-feeding condition when fuel is changed from natural gas to syngas in order to minimize NO _x and CO emissions with stable combustion.     

臭氧对甲烷/空气层流火焰传播速度影响规律

为提高气体机稀薄燃烧时的燃烧性能,解决天然气发动机在稀薄燃烧情况下点火能量高以及火焰传播速度慢的问题,利用强氧化性的臭氧对燃料进行改质,进而提高天然气燃烧性能。通过Chemkin软件研究臭氧添加对甲烷层流火焰传播速度的影响,并对臭氧助燃的化学机理进行数值分析。试验结果表明:添加臭氧后,层流火焰传播速度增加,在稀薄混合气条件下增加量更明显。在不同温度及压力条件下,掺加臭氧均能增加层流火焰传播速度,最大可增加36%。分析表明:掺加臭氧能明显提升自由基及中间产物的生成量,进而提高甲烷层流火焰传播速度。     

Spark plasma sintering of undoped SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> ceramics

Various parameters in spark plasma sintering(SPS),such as sintering temperature,holding time,heating rate,and pressure,were adopted to investigate their effects on the densification of pure SnO2 power.The obtained experimental data show that the SPS process enhances densification.The high-density undoped SnO2 ceramics (96.6% of theoretical) was obtained at much lower temperature (1000℃),within a much shorter time,compared to the conventional sintering process.The high-density undoped SnO2 ceramics (96.6% of theoretical) were obtained by SPS,under the condition of temperature:1000℃,pressure:40MPa,heating-rate:200℃/min,and holding time:3min     

Optimization of<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-type segmented Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>3</Subscript>/CoSb<Subscript>3</Subscript> thermoelectric material prepared by spark plasma sintering

1 IntroductionIt is well known that the performance of monolithicthermoelectric materials can be characterized as figure-of-meritZ,Z=α2σ/κ, where ,α,σandκare the See-beck coefficients ,the electrical conductivity andthe ther-mal conductivity,respectively.In the past years , greatefforts have been made inlookingforthermoelectric mate-rials with a higher Seebeck coefficient ,electrical conduc-tivity and alowerthermal conductivity[1-9].Butfor monol-ithic thermoelectric materials , their f…     

Ignition,flame propagation and extinction in the supersonic mixing layer flow

The supersonic mixing layer flow, consisting of a relatively cold, slow diluted hydrogen stream and a hot, faster air stream, is numerically simulated with detailed transport properties and chemical reaction mechanisms. The evolution of the combustion process in the supersonic reacting mixing layer is observed and unsteady phenomena of ignition, flame propagation and extinction are successfully captured. The ignition usually takes place at the air stream side of braid regions between two vortexes due to much higher temperature of premixed gases. After ignition, the flame propagates towards two vortexes respectively located on the upstream and downstream of the ignition position. The apparent flame speed is 1569.97 m/s, which is much higher than the laminar flame speed, resulting from the effects of expansion, turbulence, vortex stretching and consecutive ignition. After the flame arrives at the former vortex, the flame propagates along the outer region of the vortex in two branches. Then the upper flame branch close to fuel streamside distinguishes gradually due to too fuel-riched premixed mixtures in the front of the flame and the strong cooling effect of the adjacent cool fuel flow, while the lower flame branch continues to propagate in the vortex.     

Numerical simulation for explosion wave propagation of combustible mixture gas

A two-dimensional multi-material code was indigenously developed to investigate the effects of duct boundary conditions and ignition positions on the propagation law of explosion wave for hydrogen and methane-based combustible mixture gas. In the code,Young’s technique was employed to track the interface between the explosion products and air,and combustible function model was adopted to simulate ignition process. The code was employed to study explosion flow field inside and outside the duct and to obtain peak pressures in different boundary conditions and ignition positions. Numerical results suggest that during the propagation in a duct,for point initiation,the curvature of spherical wave front gradually decreases and evolves into plane wave. Due to the multiple reflections on the duct wall,multi-peak values appear on pressure—time curve,and peak pressure strongly relies on the duct boundary conditions and ignition position. When explosive wave reaches the exit of the duct,explosion products expand outward and forms shock wave in air. Multiple rarefaction waves also occur and propagate upstream along the duct to decrease the pressure in the duct. The results are in agreement with one-dimensional isentropic gas flow theory of the explosion products,and indicate that the ignition model and multi-material interface treatment method are feasible.     

Investigation on extremal and critical characteristics of ignition time for H<Subscript>2</Subscript>/O<Subscript>2</Subscript> combustion system and their applications

The L, H and C curves in P-T phase are proposed to describe the minimal, maximal and critical characteristics of ignition time of H₂/O₂ combustion system, respectively. The features of H₂/O₂(Air) combustion system, including explosion or not as well as the time delay to achieve its explosion status, can be well shown by explosion limits and these proposed curves. These curves can be described by 1.2k ₁=k _s [M_s], (k ₁₁/k ₁₀+1)k ₁=k _s [M_s], and 2k ₁=k _s [M_s], respectively, which provide a physical explanation for these curves and give another way to establish them. Based on the contour of ignition time, the Z-type explosion limits can be explained by thermal explosion theory. Furthermore, the ignition distance of supersonic combustion is predicted according to the ignition time obtained in a Semenov system, which is very reasonable.     

Fabrication of Ti2AlC by Spark Plasma Sintcring from Elemental Powders and Thermodynamics Analysis of Ti-M-C System

A ternary-layered carbide Ti2AlC material could be synthesized by spark plasma sintering（SPS） technology using elemental powder mixture of Ti, Al and active carbon. By means of XRD and SEM, phases were identified and microscopically evaluated. The experimental results show that the main phase in the product was fully crystallized Ti2AlC with small particle size when sintered at 1200℃. The synthesis temperature of SPS was 200-400℃ lower than that of hot pressing （HP） or hot isostatic pressing （HIP）. Through thermodynamics calculations, the mechanism of Ti2AlC was studied by calculating changes of Gibbs free energy of reactions.     

Two-step synthesis of TiC<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>N<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>@WC-MoC<Subscript>2</Subscript> core-shell microspheres and fabrication of TiC<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>N<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>@WC-MoC<Subscript>2</Subscript>-based cermets by SPS

The precursor with TiC0.7N0.3@WO3-MO3 microspheres were prepared by a novel method from the WO3-MoO3 sol dipping. Subsequently, TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2 core-shell structural microspheres were successfully obtained by carburizing the precursor at 900 °C in a flowing mixture of CH4 (20 ml·min-1) and H2 (200 ml·min-1) for 2 h. Then TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2-15Co cermets were prepared utilizing the core-shell powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Powders of the precursors with TiC0.7N0.3@WO3-MO3 microspheres, TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2 microspheres and TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2-15Co cermets were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The obtained TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2 microspheres have a dense WC-MoC2 coatings shell. The thickness of the shell could be easily controlled by adjusting the number of sol dipping cycles. It was found that the TiC0.7N0.3@WC-MoC2 microspheres were more beneficial to fabricate the "core-rim" structures by SPS.     

Three-Dimensional Models for Analyzing the Cyclic Variations in a Lean Burn CNG Engine

Three-dimensional models,consisting of the flame kernel formation model,flame kernel development model and natural gas single step reaction model,are used to analyze the contribution of cyclic equivalence ratio variations to cyclic variations in the compressed natural gas(CNG)lean burn spark ignition engine.Computational results including the contributions of equivalence ratio cyclic variations to each combustion stage and effects of engine speed to the extent of combustion variations are discussed.It is concluded that the equivalence ratio variations affect mostly the main stage of combustion and hardly influence initial kernel development stage.     

Three-Dimensional Models Variations in a Lean for Analyzing the Cyclic Burn CNG Engine

Three-dimensional models, consisting of the flame kernel formation model, flame kernel development model and natural gas single step reaction model, are used to analyze the contribution of cyclic equivalence ratio variations to cyclic variations in the compressed natural gas （CNG） lean burn spark ignition engine. Computational results including the contributions of equivalence ratio cyclic variations to each combustion stage and effects of engine speed to the extent of combustion variations are discussed. It is concluded that the equivalence ratio variations affect mostly the main stage of combustion and hardly influence initial kernel development stage.     

Synthesis and sintering of Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>Si thermoelectric generator by spark plasma sintering

Raw Mg,Si powder were used to fabricate Mg2Si bulk thermoelectric generator by spark plasma sintering （SPS）.The optimum parameters to synthesize pure Mg2Si powder were found to be 823 K,0 MPa,10 min with excessive content of 10wt% Mg from the stoichiometric Mg2Si.Mg2Si bulk was synthesized and densified simultaneously at low temperature （823 K） and high pressure （higher than 100 MPa） from the raw powder,but Mg,Si could not react completely,and the sample was not very dense with some microcracks on the surface.Then,Mg,Si powder reacted at 823 K,0 MPa,10 min in SPS chamber to form Mg2Si green compact,again sintered by SPS at 1023 K,20 MPa,5 min.The fabricated sample only contained Mg2Si phase with fully relative density.     

Preparation of nanocrystalline BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramics

The high-dense nanocrystalline BaTiO₃ (BT) ceramics with grain size smaller than 100 nm have been successfully prepared by the two step sintering and the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The successive transitions in nanograin BT ceramics from rhombohedral to orthorhombic, tetragonal and cubic transitions, similar to those in coarse BT ceramics, were revealed by in-situ temperature dependent Raman spectrum. The multiphase coexistence and the diffused phase transition character were demonstrated in the 8 nm nanocrystalline BT ceramics. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (“973” Project) (Grant No. 2002CB613301) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50872093)     

Preparation of Ti3SiC2 with Aluminum by Means of Spark Plasma Sintering

Polycrystalline bulk Ti3SiC2 material with a high purity and density was fabricated by spark plasma sintering from the elemental powder mixture with starting composition of Ti3Si3Si1-xAlxC2 , where x = 0. 05 -0.2. X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy photographs of the fully dense samples show that a proper addition of aluminum promotes the formation, and accelerates the crystal growth rate of Ti3SIC2, conse-quently results in a high purity of the prepared samples. The synthesized Ti3 SiC2 is in plane-shape with a size of about 10- 25μm in the elongated dimension. Solid solution of aluminum decreases the thermal stability of Ti3SiC2, and lowers the temperature of Ti3SiC2 decomposeing to be 1300 ℃ .     

Research on the chemical adsorption precursor state of CaCl_2-NH_3 for adsorption refrigeration

Environment and energy resources are two critical global problems. Adsorption re-frigeration, as an environmental friendly and energy saving technology [1], attracts moreand more attention in recent years. Adsorption refrigeration mainly includes physical adsorption and chemical adsorp-tion. As a type of chemical adsorption working pair, CaCl2-NH3 has the prominent ad-vantage of large adsorption quantity. However, CaCl2-NH3 also has several disadvan-tages, such as performance attenuat…     

Self-assembled SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> colloidal particles and their gas sensing performance to H<Subscript>2</Subscript>, C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>5</Subscript>OH and LPG

Using organo-tin Sn(OC4H9)4 as precursor, sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) and SDS-gelatin (SDS-G) complex as template, two tin dioxide colloidal particles were prepared by a self-assembly method. Both SnO2 products were respectively labelled SnO2-B particles with SDS and SnO2-C particles with SDS-G, which are applied in fabricating SnO2 gas sensors corresponding to SnO2-B’ and SnO2-C’ sensors. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermo-gravimetry and different thermal analysis (TG/DTA) were used for characterizations. The experimental results show that SnO2-B colloidal particles are composed of mesoporous piece-like particles, while SnO2-C particles mainly consist of spherical particles. Gas sensing measurements show that SnO2-B’ sensor performs the best sensing response to all target gases, including H2, C2H5OH and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). In particular, the sensing response of SnO2-B’ sensor is achieved at 32 in H2 atmosphere at the concentration of 1000×10-6 M. The gas sensing mechanism was purposely discussed from the electron transfer process and the microstructures of the as-prepared SnO2 products. It is found that serious agglomerations in SnO2-B’ particles facilitate the high gas sensing performance of SnO2-B’ sensor, while mesoporous structures in SnO2-C’ particles decrease the gas sensing response of SnO2-C’ sensor.     

UV-vis and photoluminescent spectra of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films

TiO₂ fims have been deposited on glass substrates using DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures from 0. 10 Pa.to 0.65 Pa. The transmittance (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the films were recorded. The results of the UV-vis spectra show that the deposition rate of the films decreased at oxygen partial pressure P(O₂)≥0.15 Pa, the band gap increased from 3.48 eV to 3.68eV for direct transition and from 3.27 eV to 3.34 eV for indirect transition with increasing the oxygen partial pressure. The PL spectra show convincingly that the transition for films was indirect, and there were some oxygen defect energy levels at the band gap of the films. With increasing the O₂ partial pressure, the defect energy levels decreased. For the films sputtered at 0.35 and 0.65 Pa there were two defect energy levels at 2.63 eV and 2.41 eV, corresponding to 0.72 eV and 0.94 eV below the conduction band for a band gap of 3.35 eV, respectively. For the films sputtered at 0.10 Pa and 0.15 Pa, there was an energy band formed between 3.12 eV and 2.06 eV, corresponding to 0.23 eV and 1.29 eV below the conduction band. ZHAO Qing-nan : Born in 1963 Funded by Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China.