Measurements of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths for methanol-air-nitrogen mixtures at elevated pressures and temperatures

The laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths for the methanol-air mixtures were measured at different equivalence ratios, elevated initial pressures and temperatures, and dilution ratios by using a constant volume combustion chamber and high-speed schlieren photography system. The influences of these parameters on the laminar burning velocity and Markstein length were analyzed. The results show that the laminar burning velocity of the methanol-air mixture decreases with an increase in initial pressure and increases with an increase in initial temperature. The Markstein length decreases with an increase in initial pressure and initial temperature, and increases with an increase in the dilution ratio. A cellular flame structure is observed at an early stage of flame propagation. The transition point is identified on the curve of flame propagation speed against stretch rate. The reasons for the cellular structure development are also analyzed.     

Laminar burning velocities,Markstein lengths,and flame thickness of liquefied petroleum gas with hydrogen enrichment

In this paper, experimental data of laminar burning velocity, Markstein length, and flame thickness of LPG flames with various percentages of hydrogen (H₂) enrichments have been presented. The experiments were conducted under the conditions of 0.1 MPa, 300 K in a constant volume chamber. The tested equivalence ratios of air/fuel mixture range from 0.6 to 1.5, and the examined LPG contains 10%–90% of hydrogen in volume. Experimental results show that hydrogen addition significantly increase the laminar burning velocity of LPG, and the accelerating effectiveness is substantial when the percentage of hydrogen is larger than 60%. Effect of hydrogen addition on diffusion thermal instability, as indicated by Markstein length, was analyzed at various equivalence ratios. Hydrogen addition decreases the flame thickness. Equivalence ratio has more dominating effect on flame thickness than hydrogen does. For the fuel with 10% LPG and 90% hydrogen, the flame thickness values are close for all equivalence ratios.     

Laminar burning velocities and flame stability analysis of hydrogen/air premixed flames at low pressure

An experimental and numerical study on laminar burning velocities of hydrogen/air flames was performed at low pressure, room temperature, and different equivalence ratios. Flames were generated using a small contoured slot-type nozzle burner (5 mm × 13.8  mm). Measurements of laminar burning velocity were conducted using the angle method combined with Schlieren photography. Numerical calculations were also conducted using existing detailed reaction mechanisms and transport properties. Additionally, an analysis of the intrinsic flame instabilities of hydrogen/air flames at low pressure was performed. Results show that the behavior of the laminar burning velocity is not regular when decreasing pressure and that it depends on the equivalence ratio range. The behavior of the laminar burning velocity with decreasing pressure can be reasonably predicted using existing reaction mechanisms; however changes in the magnitude of the laminar burning velocity are underestimated. Finally, it has been found experimentally and proved analytically that the intrinsic flame instabilities are reduced when decreasing the pressure at sub-atmospheric conditions.     

Measurement of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of diluted hydrogen-enriched natural gas

The laminar flame characteristics of natural gas–hydrogen–air–diluent gas (nitrogen/CO₂) mixtures were studied in a constant volume combustion bomb at various diluent ratios, hydrogen fractions and equivalence ratios. Both unstretched laminar burning velocity and Markstein length were obtained. The results showed that hydrogen fraction, diluent ratio and equivalence ratio have combined influence on laminar burning velocity and flame instability. The unstretched laminar burning velocity is reduced at a rate that is increased with the increase of the diluent ratio. The reduction effect of CO₂ diluent gas is stronger than that of nitrogen diluent gas. Hydrogen-enriched natural gas with high hydrogen fraction can tolerate more diluent gas than that with low hydrogen fraction. Markstein length can either increase or decrease with the increase of the diluent ratio, depending on the hydrogen fraction of the fuel.     

Laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of premixed methane/air flames near the lean flammability limit in microgravity

Effects of flame stretch on the laminar burning velocities of near-limit fuel-lean methane/air flames have been studied experimentally using a microgravity environment to minimize the complications of buoyancy. Outwardly propagating spherical flames were employed to assess the sensitivities of the laminar burning velocity to flame stretch, represented by Markstein lengths, and the fundamental laminar burning velocities of unstretched flames. Resulting data were reported for methane/air mixtures at ambient temperature and pressure, over the specific range of equivalence ratio that extended from 0.512 (the microgravity flammability limit found in the combustion chamber) to 0.601. Present measurements of unstretched laminar burning velocities were in good agreement with the unique existing microgravity data set at all measured equivalence ratios. Most of previous 1-g experiments using a variety of experimental techniques, however, appeared to give significantly higher burning velocities than the microgravity results. Furthermore, the burning velocities predicted by three chemical reaction mechanisms, which have been tuned primarily under off-limit conditions, were also considerably higher than the present experimental data. Additional results of the present investigation were derived for the overall activation energy and corresponding Zeldovich numbers, and the variation of the global flame Lewis numbers with equivalence ratio. The implications of these results were discussed.     

Laminar burning velocity and Markstein length of nitrogen diluted natural gas/hydrogen/air mixtures at normal,reduced and elevated pressures

Flame propagation of premixed nitrogen diluted natural gas/hydrogen/air mixtures was studied in a constant volume combustion bomb under various initial pressures. Laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths were obtained for the diluted stoichiometric fuel/air mixtures with different hydrogen fractions and diluent ratios under various initial pressures. The results showed that both unstretched flame speed and unstretched burning velocity are reduced with the increase in initial pressure (except when the hydrogen fraction is 80%) as well as diluent ratio. The velocity reduction rate due to diluent addition is determined mainly by hydrogen fraction and diluent ratio, and the effect of initial pressure is negligible. Flame stability was studied by analyzing Markstein length. It was found that the increase of initial pressure and hydrogen fraction decreases flame stability and the flame tends to be more stable with the addition of diluent gas. Generally speaking, Markstein length of a fuel with low hydrogen fraction is more sensitive to the change of initial pressure than that of a one with high hydrogen fraction.     

Laminar burning velocities and flame stability analysis of syngas mixtures at sub-atmospheric pressures

The effects of low pressure on the laminar burning velocity and flame stability of H₂/CO mixtures and equimolar H₂/CO mixtures diluted with N₂ and CO₂ were studied experimentally and theoretically. Experiments were conducted at real sub-atmospheric conditions in three places located at high altitudes 500 m.a.s.l. (0.947 atm), 1550 m.a.s.l. (0.838 atm), and 2300 m.a.s.l. (0.767 atm). Flames were generated using contoured slot-type nozzle burners and Schlieren images were used to determine the laminar burning velocity with the angle method. The behavior of the laminar burning velocity at low pressures depends on the equivalence ratio considered; it decreases at lean and very rich equivalence ratios when pressure is increased. However, a contrary behavior was obtained at equivalence ratios corresponding to the highest values of the laminar burning velocity, where it increases as pressure increases. Numerical calculations were also conducted using a detailed reaction mechanism, and these do not reproduce the behavior obtained experimentally; a sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the differences found. At lean equivalence ratios, flame instabilities were observed for all the syngas mixtures. The range of equivalence ratios where flames are stable increases at lower pressures. This behavior is due to the increase of the flame thickness, which considerably reduces the hydrodynamic instabilities in the flame front.     

A comprehensive study of light hydrocarbon mechanisms performance in predicting methane/hydrogen/air laminar burning velocities

In order to obtain the precise predicted values of methane/hydrogen/air burning velocities from simulations, the performances of GRI mech 3.0, Aramco mech 1.3, USC mech 2.0 and San diego mech mechanisms were systematically studied under various conditions by PREMIX code and compared with experimental data from literature. The conditions where each mechanism gave their good performance are obtained and concluded. The flowrate sensitivity and rate constants of key elementary reactions were analyzed to insight the different behavior of each mechanism. The results showed that all these widely used small hydrocarbon mechanisms could gave reasonable predictions for pure methane and methane hydrogen blends. Nevertheless, they lack sensitivity for rich hydrogen at elevated pressures due to their complex reactions competitions controlled by hydrogen sub model. USC mech 2.0 was found more suitable for being used at low hydrogen contents while San diego mech gained better results at high hydrogen contents. GRI 3.0 gave good predictions for methane hydrogen blends except for high initial pressures. Generally, Aramco mech 1.3 showed the best performance for all testing conditions. Moreover, there was relatively large deviation from the predicted results and experimental data in the transition regime where the hydrogen fractions were between 60% and 80%, it may could be optimized by tuning the rate constants of reactions.     

Sensitivity to change in laminar burning velocity and Markstein length resulting from variable hydrogen fraction in blast furnace gas for changing ambient conditions

The sensitivity to changes in fuel characteristics has been investigated for combustion of Blast Furnace Gas resulting from small volumetric increases in H₂ concentration. A nonlinear methodology has been employed to quantify unstretched flame speeds and the effect of flame stretch from outwardly propagating spherical flames. Following benchmarking work with CH₄, results were obtained under ambient conditions of 303 K and 0.1 MPa, with small absolute change in hydrogen concentration shown to at least triple the laminar burning velocity for all tested mixtures. Fuel composition and equivalence ratio were shown to independently influence mixture diffusivity and Lewis number, quantified by change in the obtained values of Markstein length. Temperature and pressure were increased to respective values of 393 K and 0.2 MPa to investigate influence of ambient conditions, with a power law correlation presented. Finally the performance of several published chemical reaction mechanisms has been evaluated through comparison of 1-D flame models.     

Correlations for laminar burning velocities of liquefied petroleum gas–air mixtures

Spherically expanding flames have been employed to determine the laminar flame speeds of liquefied petroleum gas–air mixtures, diluted or not by the combustion exhaust gas, over equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.4. The effect of the stretch imposed at the flame front has been explored experimentally, and Markstein lengths are estimated to characterize the flame stretch. After omitting the stretch effect, one has obtained the unstretched laminar burning velocities of liquefied petroleum gas–air flames with or without diluent. Explicit formulas have been obtained to express the laminar burning velocity dependencies on the equivalence ratio and diluent rate.     

The uncertainty of laminar burning velocity of premixed H2-air flame induced by the non-uniform initial temperature field inside the constant-volume combustion vessel

The initial temperature distribution of the combustible mixture has a significant effect on the measurement accuracy of the laminar burning velocity using the outwardly propagating spherical flame method. In the present study, the initial temperature fields inside the constant-volume combustion vessel were obtained by different arrangement methods of heater. Further, the effects of the non-uniformity of initial temperature field on the propagation processes of two-dimensional premixed H₂-air laminar flames were numerically studied. The results show that when the initial temperature field inside the vessel heated by heating tapes reaches a stable state, the temperature of H₂-air mixture tends to descend first and then rise along the gravity direction, which indicates that the non-uniformity of the temperature field increases with the actual delivered power. Compared with the uniform initial temperature field, the maximum relative deviation of laminar burning velocity of H₂-air mixture obtained in the non-uniform initial temperature field is 7% when the vessel is heated by heating tapes under the power of 669 W. However, the non-uniformity of the initial temperature field of the H₂-air mixture in the vessel obviously decreases and the maximum relative deviation of laminar burning velocity is only 2% when a simulated evenly arranged heater is employed to heat the vessel. Consequently, it is quite necessary to evaluate the non-uniformity of the initial temperature field inside the constant-volume combustion vessel before using the outwardly propagating spherical flame method to determine the laminar burning velocity.     

Measurement of laminar burning speeds and Markstein lengths using a novel methodology

Three different methodologies used for the extraction of laminar information are compared and discussed. Starting from an asymptotic analysis assuming a linear relation between the propagation speed and the stretch acting on the flame front, temporal radius evolutions of spherically expanding laminar flames are postprocessed to obtain laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths. The first methodology fits the temporal radius evolution with a polynomial function, while the new methodology proposed uses the exact solution of the linear relation linking the flame speed and the stretch as a fit. The last methodology consists in an analytical resolution of the problem. To test the different methodologies, experiments were carried out in a stainless steel combustion chamber with methane/air mixtures at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. The equivalence ratio was varied from 0.55 to 1.3. The classical shadowgraph technique was used to detect the reaction zone. The new methodology has proven to be the most robust and provides the most accurate results, while the polynomial methodology induces some errors due to the differentiation process. As original radii are used in the analytical methodology, it is more affected by the experimental radius determination. Finally, laminar burning velocity and Markstein length values determined with the new methodology are compared with results reported in the literature.     

Experimental and modeling study of laminar burning velocity of biomass derived gases/air mixtures

Laminar burning velocities of four biomass derived gases have been measured at atmospheric pressure over a range of equivalence ratios and hydrogen contents, using the heat flux method on a perforated flat flame burner. The studied gas mixtures include an air-blown gasification gas from an industrial gasification plant, a model gasification gas studied in the literature, and an upgraded landfill gas (bio-methane). In addition, co-firing of the industrial gasification gas (80% on volume basis) with methane (20% on volume basis) is studied. Model simulations using GRI mechanisms and detailed transport properties are carried out to compare with the measured laminar burning velocities. The results of the bio-methane flame are generally in good agreement with data in the literature and the prediction using GRI-Mech 3.0. The measured laminar burning velocity of the industrial gasification gas is generally higher than the predictions from GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism but agree rather well with the predictions from GRI-Mech 2.11 for lean and moderate rich mixtures. For rich mixtures, the GRI mechanisms under-predict the laminar burning velocities. For the model gasification gas, the measured laminar burning velocity is higher than the data reported in the literature. The peak burning velocities of the gasification gases/air and the co-firing gases/air mixtures are in richer mixtures than the bio-methane/air mixtures due to the presence of hydrogen and CO in the gasification gases. The GRI mechanisms could well predict the rich shift of the peak burning velocity for the gasification gases but yield large discrepancy for the very rich gasification gas mixtures. The laminar burning velocities for the bio-methane/air mixtures at elevated initial temperatures are measured and compared with the literature data.     

Laminar burning velocities and flame instabilities of 2,5-dimethylfuran–air mixtures at elevated pressures

An experimental investigation on laminar burning velocities and onset of flame instabilities on spherically expanding flames in 2,5-dimethylfuran–air mixtures at elevated pressures was conducted over a wide range of equivalence ratios. The laminar burning velocities, laminar burning fluxes and Markstein lengths at different equivalence ratios and initial pressures were obtained. Furthermore, the diffusional–thermal and hydrodynamic effects on flame front instabilities were specified, and the onset of cellularity was reported. Results show that laminar burning velocities are decreased with increasing initial pressure due to the increase of the free-stream density and the progressively more important three-body termination reactions. With increasing initial pressure, Markstein length decrease, while the laminar burning flux increases. Onsets of flame instabilities, expressed in terms of critical radius or Peclet number, were found to be promoted with increasing equivalence ratio and initial pressures, due to the combined effects of diffusional–thermal and hydrodynamic instabilities.     

Effect of initial pressure on laminar combustion characteristics of hydrogen enriched natural gas

Flame propagation of premixed natural gas–hydrogen–air mixtures was studied in a constant volume combustion bomb. Laminar burning velocities and mass burning fluxes were obtained under various hydrogen fractions and equivalence ratios with various initial pressures, while flame stability and their influencing factors (Markstein length, density ratio and flame thickness) were obtained by analyzing the flame images at various hydrogen fractions, initial pressures and equivalence ratios. The results show that hydrogen fraction, initial pressure as well as equivalence ratio have combined influence on both unstretched laminar burning velocity and flame instability. Meanwhile, according to flame propagation pictures taken by the high speed camera, flame stability decreases with the increase of initial pressures; for given equivalence ratio and hydrogen fraction, flame thickness is more sensitive to the variation of the initial pressure than to that of the density ratio.     

Non-monotonic behaviors of laminar burning velocities of H2/O2/He mixtures at elevated pressures and temperatures

Both experimental and calculated laminar burning velocities of H₂/O₂/He mixtures were obtained, with equivalence ratios of 0.6–4.0, initial pressures of 0.1 MPa–0.5 MPa, initial temperature of 373 K, and dilution ratio of 7.0. Laminar burning velocities changed non-monotonically with the increasing initial pressures at equivalence ratios of 1.0–3.0. The decrease of overall reaction orders can explain the non-monotonic relationship between the laminar burning velocities and initial pressures. Consumption and production of both H and HO₂ radicals were also obtained to explain the decrease of overall reaction order. The competition of H and HO₂ radical between elemental reactions were also discussed. The three body reaction R15 (H + O₂(+M) = HO₂(+M)) gained more H radical in the competition with R1 (H + O₂ = O + OH), producing more HO₂ radical. Through the reaction pathway analysis, the restraint in production of both OH and H leaded to a reducing radical pool. The poorer reaction pool would restrain the overall reaction and lead to the reduction of overall reaction order and the non-monotonic behavior of the laminar burning velocity.     

Laminar burning velocities and flame instabilities of diluted H2/CO/air mixtures under different hydrogen fractions

An experimental study was conducted using outwardly propagating flame to evaluate the laminar burning velocity and flame intrinsic instability of diluted H₂/CO/air mixtures. The laminar burning velocity of H₂/CO/air mixtures diluted with CO₂ and N₂ was measured at lean equivalence ratios with different dilution fractions and hydrogen fractions at 0.1 MPa; two fitting formulas are proposed to express the laminar burning velocity in our experimental scope. The flame instability was evaluated for diluted H₂/CO/air mixtures under different hydrogen fractions at 0.3 MPa and room temperature. As the H₂ fraction in H₂/CO mixtures was more than 50%, the flame became more unstable with the decrease in equivalence ratio; however, the flame became more stable with the decrease in equivalence ratio when the hydrogen fraction was low. The flame instability of 70%H₂/30%CO premixed flames hardly changed with increasing dilution fraction. However, the flames became more stable with increasing dilution fraction for 30%H₂/70%CO premixed flames. The variation in cellular instability was analyzed, and the effects of hydrogen fraction, equivalence ratio, and dilution fraction on diffusive-thermal and hydrodynamic instabilities were discussed.     

Experimental investigation of unconfined spherical and cylindrical flame propagation in hydrogen-air mixtures

This paper presents results of experimental investigations on spherical and cylindrical flame propagation in pre-mixed H₂/air-mixtures in unconfined and semi-confined geometries. The experiments were performed in a facility consisting of two transparent solid walls with 1 m² area and four weak side walls made from thin plastic film. The gap size between the solid walls was varied stepwise from thin layer geometry (6 mm) to cube geometry (1 m). A wide range of H₂/air-mixtures with volumetric hydrogen concentrations from 10% to 45% H₂ was ignited between the transparent solid walls. The propagating flame front and its structure was observed with a large scale high speed shadow system. Results of spherical and cylindrical flame propagation up to a radius of 0.5 m were analyzed. The presented spherical burning velocity model is used to discuss the self-acceleration phenomena in unconfined and unobstructed pre-mixed H₂/air flames.     

Effects of high pressure,high temperature and dilution on laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of iso-octane/air mixtures

Spherically expanding flames are employed to measure flame velocities, from which are derived the corresponding laminar burning velocities at zero stretch rate. Iso-octane/air mixtures at initial temperatures between 323 and 473 K, and pressures between 1 and 10 bar, are studied over an extensive range of equivalence ratios, using a high-speed shadowgraph system. Effects of dilution are investigated with nitrogen and for several dilution percentages (from 5 to 25 vol% N₂). Over 270 experimental values have been obtained, providing an exhaustive data base for iso-octane/air combustion. Experimental results are in excellent agreement with recently published experimental data. An explicit correlation giving the laminar burning velocity from the initial pressure, the initial temperature, the dilution rate, and the equivalence ratio is finally proposed. Computed results using the two kinetic schemes and the Cantera code are compared to the present measurements. It is found that the mechanisms yield substantially higher values of laminar flame velocities than the present experimental results. Effects of oxygen enrichment are also investigated. A linear trend relating the percentage of oxygen in air and the unstretched laminar burning velocity is observed. Effects of high pressure, high temperature, and high dilution rate on Markstein lengths are also studied. As already done for the laminar burning velocity, an empirical correlation is proposed to describe the Markstein length for burned gases as a function of initial temperature and pressure, for equivalence ratios between 0.9 and 1.1, which has never been done before in the literature.