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.     

Effect of initial pressure,temperature and equivalence ratios on laminar combustion characteristics of hydrogen enriched natural gas

In this study, the flame propagation characteristics of premixed natural gas–hydrogen–air mixtures were studied in constant volume combustion bomb by using the high-speed schlieren photography system. The flame radius, laminar flame propagation speed and the flame stretch rate were obtained under different initial pressure, temperature, equivalence ratios and hydrogen fractions. Meanwhile, the flame stability and their influencing factors were obtained by analyzing the Markstein length and the flame propagation schlieren photos under various combustion conditions. The results show that the stretched laminar propagation speed increases with the increase of the initial temperature and hydrogen fraction of the mixture, and will decreases with the increase of the initial pressure. Meanwhile, according to the Markstein length and the flame propagation pictures, the flame stability decreases with the increase of the temperature and hydrogen fraction, and the slight flaws occurred at the early stage; at larger flame radius, the flame stability is more sensitive to the variation of the initial temperature and hydrogen fraction than to that of initial pressure and equivalence ratio.     

异丁醇/辛酸甲酯混合燃料预混层流火焰速度的研究

针对生物柴油与醇类混合燃料燃烧机理研究的需求,采用高速纹影光学诊断方法和定容燃烧弹系统试验研究了异丁醇/辛酸甲酯混合燃料的预混层流燃烧特性。测量了不同当量比和初始压力条件下的不同配比混合燃料—空气预混合气的层流燃烧火焰速度,火焰拉伸率以及马克斯坦长度。分析了燃烧初始条件及异丁醇掺混比例对混合燃料的无拉伸层流燃烧速度及火焰不稳定性的影响规律。结果表明:异丁醇/辛酸甲酯混合燃料的拉伸层流火焰传播速度和层流火焰燃烧速度随着当量比的增加先增加后减少,随着初始压力的增加而减小;马克斯坦长度随着当量比和初始压力的增加而减小;异丁醇掺混比例的增加加快了层流火焰燃烧速度,但使得火焰的不稳定性倾向增加。     

氮气稀释气对天然气燃烧特性的影响

为获得氮气稀释气对天然气燃烧特性的影响规律,在定容燃烧反应器中对不同当量比与初始压力下天然气的火焰传播特性、燃烧稳定性及燃烧特性进行了试验测试,并分析了氮气稀释度对天然气火焰传播特性、燃烧稳定性及燃烧特性的影响规律。研究结果表明:随着初始压力与氮气稀释度的升高,火焰前锋面将出现细小裂纹,火核逐渐向定容燃烧反应器上部漂移,火焰稳定性变差;随着初始压力的提高,马克斯坦长度明显变短,火焰稳定性变差,无拉伸火焰传播速度与层流燃烧速度明显降低,但最大燃烧压力显著升高。随着当量比的提高,层流燃烧速度与最大燃烧压力出现先增加后降低的趋势,两者的最大值出现在当量比为1.0时。马克斯坦长度随氮气稀释度的增加逐渐变短,表明火焰逐渐趋于不稳定;同时,无拉伸火焰传播速度、层流燃烧速度与最大燃烧压力随氮气稀释度的增加显著降低。     

Effects of initial pressure and hydrogen concentration on laminar combustion characteristics of diluted natural gas–hydrogen–air mixture

In this study, the experiment study about the laminar burning velocity and the flame stability of CO₂ diluted natural gas–hydrogen–air mixture was conducted in a constant volume combustion vessel by using the high-speed schlieren photography system. The unstretched laminar burning velocity and the Markstein length at different hydrogen fractions, dilution ratios and equivalence ratios and with different initial pressures were obtained. The flame stability was studied by analyzing the Markstein length, the flame thickness, the density ratio and the flame propagation schlieren photos. The results showed that the unstretched laminar burning velocity would be reduced with the increase of the initial pressure and dilution ratio and would be increased with the increase of the hydrogen fraction of the mixture. Meanwhile, the Markstein length would be increased with the increase of the equivalence ratio and the dilution ratio. Slight flaws occurred at the early stage. At a specific equivalence ratio, a higher initial pressure and hydrogen fraction would cause incomplete combustion.     

Flame front evolution and laminar flame parameter evaluation of buoyancy-affected ammonia/air flames

For flames with very low burning speed, the flame propagation is affected by buoyancy. Flame front evolution and laminar flame parameter evaluation methods of buoyancy-affected flame have been proposed. The evolution and propagation process of a center ignited expanding ammonia/air flame has been analyzed by using the methods. The laminar flame parameters of ammonia/air mixture under different equivalence ratio (ER) and initial pressure have been studied. At barometric pressure, with the increase of ER, the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of ammonia/air mixture undergoes a first increase and then decrease process and reaches its maximum value of 7.17 cm/s at the ER of 1.1, while the Markstein length increases monotonously. For ammonia/air flames with ER less than unity, the flame velocity shows a decreasing trend with stretch rate, resulting in the propensity to flame instability, but no cellular structure was observed in the process of flame propagation. As the initial pressure increases, the LBV decreases monotonously as well as the Markstein length. The flame thicknesses of ammonia/air mixtures decrease with initial pressure and are much thicker than those of hydrogen flames, which makes a stronger stabilizing effect of curvature on the flame front. The most enhancement of LBV is contributed by the dehydrogenation reaction of NH₃ with OH. The NO concentration decreases significantly with the increase of ER.     

Experimental study on premixed combustion of spherically propagating methanol-air-nitrogen flames

The outward propagation and development of surface instability of the spark-ignited spherical premixed flames for methanol-air-nitrogen mixtures were experimentally studied by using a constant volume combustion chamber and a high-speed schlieren photography system. The laminar burning velocities, the mass burning fluxes, and the Markstein lengths were obtained at different equivalence ratios, dilution ratios, initial temperatures, and pressures. The laminar burning velocities and the mass burning fluxes give a similar curve versus the equivalence ratios. They increase with the increase of initial temperature and decrease with the increase of dilution ratio. The laminar burning velocity decreases with elevating the initial pressure, while the mass burning flux increases with the increase of the initial pressure. Markstein length decreases slightly with the increase of initial temperature for the rich mixtures. High initial pressure corresponds to low Markstein length. Markstein length increases with the increase of dilution ratio, which is more obvious when the mixture becomes leaner. Equivalence ratio has a slight impact on the development of the diffusive-thermal cellular structure at elevated initial pressures. The initial pressure has a significant influence on the occurrence of the flame front cellular structure. At the elevated pressures, the cracks on the flame surface branch and develop into the cell structure. These cells are bounded by cracks emitting a bright light, which may indicate soot formation. For very lean mixture combustion, the buoyancy effect and cooling effect from the spark electrodes have a significant impact on the flame propagation. The hydrodynamic instability, inhibited with the increase of initial temperature around the stoichiometric equivalence ratio, is enhanced with the increase of initial pressure and suppressed by mixture dilution.     

Measurements of laminar burning velocities and flame stability analysis for dissociated methanol–air–diluent mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures

The laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths for the dissociated methanol–air–diluent mixtures were measured at different equivalence ratios, initial temperatures and pressures, diluents (N₂ and CO₂) and dilution ratios by using the spherically outward expanding flame. The influences of these parameters on the laminar burning velocity and Markstein length were analyzed. The results show that the laminar burning velocity of dissociated methanol–air mixture increases with an increase in initial temperature and decreases with an increase in initial pressure. The peak laminar burning velocity occurs at equivalence ratio of 1.8. The Markstein length decreases with an increase in initial temperature and initial pressure. Cellular flame structures are presented at early flame propagation stage with the decrease of equivalence ratio or dilution ratio. The transition positions can be observed in the curve of flame propagation speed to stretch rate, indicating the occurrence of cellular structure at flame fronts. Mixture diluents (N₂ and CO₂) will decrease the laminar burning velocities of mixtures and increase the sensitivity of flame front to flame stretch rate. Markstein length increases with an increase in dilution ratio except for very lean mixture (equivalence ratio less than 0.8). CO₂ dilution has a greater impact on laminar flame speed and flame front stability compared to N₂. It is also demonstrated that the normalized unstretched laminar burning velocity is only related to dilution ratio and is not influenced by equivalence ratio.     

Study of laminar combustion characteristics of gasoline surrogate fuel-hydrogen-air premixed flames

This paper investigated the effects of hydrogen addition to gasoline surrogates fuel-air mixture on the premixed spherical flame laminar combustion characteristics. The experiments were carried out by high speed Schlieren photography on a constant-volume combustion vessel. Combining with nonlinear fitting technique, the variation of flame propagation speed, laminar burning velocity, Markstein length, flame thickness, thermal expansion coefficient and mass burning flux were studied at various equivalence ratios (0.8–1.4) and hydrogen mixing ratios (0%–50%). The results suggested that the nonlinear fitting method had a better agreement with the experimental data in this paper and the flame propagation was strongly effected by stretch at low equivalence ratios. The stretched propagation speed increased with the increase of hydrogen fraction at the same equivalence ratio. For a given hydrogen fraction, Markstein length decreased with the increase of equivalence ratio; flame propagation speed and laminar burning velocity first increased and then decreased with the increase of equivalence ratio while the peaks of the burning velocity shifted toward the richer side with the increase of hydrogen fraction.     

Effects of hydrogen addition on the premixed laminar-flames of ethanol–air gaseous mixtures: An experimental study

The effects of hydrogen addition on the laminar premixed-flame characteristics of ethanol–air gaseous mixtures were investigated experimentally by using outwardly propagating spherical flames. The experiments were conducted in a constant-volume combustion vessel with a central ignition at an initial temperature of 383 K, a pressure of 0.1 MPa, a hydrogen fraction from 0% to 100%, and an equivalence ratio from 0.6 to 1.6, and the flame images were obtained by a high-speed schlieren camera system. The results show that the unstretched flame propagation speeds and burning velocities increase exponentially with the increase in hydrogen fraction for a constant equivalence ratio. When the hydrogen fraction is equal to or less than 60%, the burned gas Markstein length reduces with the increase of equivalence ratio, indicating a positive correlation between the flame instability and hydrogen fraction, while the opposite effect is observed when the hydrogen fraction is greater than 60%. At an equivalence ratio below 1.4, the Markstein length decreases with increased hydrogen fraction, indicating that the flame instability is exacerbated with hydrogen addition, while the reverse holds in the case of equivalence ratio above 1.4. Finally, an empirical formula is developed to estimate the laminar burning velocity of ethanol–hydrogen–air flames on the basis of present experimental data.     

Measurements of laminar burning velocities and onset of cellular instabilities of methane–hydrogen–air flames at elevated pressures and temperatures

An experimental study on laminar burning velocities and onset of cellular instabilities of the premixed methane–hydrogen–air flames was conducted in a constant volume combustion vessel at elevated pressures and temperatures. The unstretched laminar burning velocity and Markstein length were obtained over a wide range of hydrogen fractions. Besides, the effects of hydrogen addition, initial pressure and initial temperature on flame instabilities were analyzed. The results show that the unstretched flame propagation speed and the unstretched laminar burning velocity are increased with the increase of initial temperature and hydrogen fraction, and they are decreased with the increase of initial pressure. Early onset of cellular instability is presented and the critical radius and Markstein length are decreased with the increase of initial pressure, indicating the increase of hydrodynamic instability with the increase of initial pressure. Flame instability is insensitive to initial temperature compared to initial pressure. With the increase of hydrogen fraction, significant decrease in critical radius and Markstein length is presented, indicating the increase in both diffusional-thermal and hydrodynamic instabilities as hydrogen fraction is increased.     

天然气-氢气-空气混合气的层流燃烧速度测定

在定容燃烧弹内研究了常温常压下天然气-氢气-空气混合气的火焰传播规律,得到了不同掺氢比例（氢气在天然气中的体积掺混比例为0％～100％）和燃空当量比（0．6～1．4）下混合气的层流燃烧速率和马克斯坦长度,通过对马克斯坦长度的测量,分析了拉伸对火焰传播的影响。结果表明,随着天然气中掺氢比例的增加,混合气的燃烧速率呈指数规律增加,马克斯坦长度值减小,火焰的稳定性下降。各掺氢比例下,随当量比的增加,马克斯坦长度值增加,火焰的稳定性增强。通过对试验结果的数据拟合,得到了计算天然气-氢气-空气混合气层流燃烧速率的关系式。     

Experimental determination of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths for 75% hydrous-ethanol, hydrogen and air gaseous mixtures

Hydrogen-rich mixtures generated by the on-board reforming of biomass-derived hydrous-ethanol can be used as a potential alternative fuel (i.e., reformed ethanol fuel, RE fuel). In this paper, outwardly propagating spherical flames were employed to observe the laminar flame characteristics of the gaseous mixtures composed of simulated RE fuel (mixture of 75% hydrous-ethanol and hydrogen) and air in a constant-volume combustion vessel at an initial temperature of 383 K, a pressure of 0.1 MPa, a hydrogen fraction from 0% to 80%, and an equivalence ratio from 0.6 to 1.6. The results show that the unstretched flame propagation speeds and burning velocities increase with increasing hydrogen fraction, especially when the fraction is above 40%. When the hydrogen fraction is less than 40%, the Markstein length and flame instability decrease and increase with the equivalence ratio, respectively, while the reverse holds when the hydrogen fraction is greater than 40%. At an equivalence ratio below 1.4, the Markstein length decreases with increasing hydrogen fraction, indicating a positive correlation between the flame instability and hydrogen fraction. At an equivalence ratio above 1.4, a negative relationship is observed. Finally, it is concluded that a hydrogen fraction of approximately 40% in simulated RE fuel is feasible for spark ignition engines by comparing the laminar burning characteristics of ethanol-air mixtures.     

Effects of hydrogen addition on the propagation of spherical methane/air flames: A computational study

A computational study is performed to investigate the effects of hydrogen addition on the fundamental characteristics of propagating spherical methane/air flames at different conditions. The emphasis is placed on the laminar flame speed and Markstein length of methane/hydrogen dual fuel. It is found that the laminar flame speed increases monotonically with hydrogen addition, while the Markstein length changes non-monotonically with hydrogen blending: it first decreases and then increases. Consequently, blending of hydrogen to methane/air and blending methane to hydrogen/air both destabilize the flame. Furthermore, the computed results are compared with measured data available in the literature. Comparison of the computed and measured laminar flame speeds shows good agreement. However, the measured Markstein length is shown to strongly depend on the flame radii range utilized for data processing and have very large uncertainty. It is found that the experimental results cannot correctly show the trend of Markstein length changing with the hydrogen blending level and pressure and hence are not reliable. Therefore, the computed Markstein length, which is accurate, should be used in combustion modeling to include the flame stretch effect on flame speed.     

Experimental study on premixed combustion of spherically propagating methanol-air-nitrogen flames

The outward propagation and development of surface instability of the spark-ignited spherical premixed flames for methanol-air-nitrogen mixtures were experimentally studied by using a constant volume combustion chamber and a high-speed schlieren photography system. The laminar burning velocities, the mass burning fluxes, and the Markstein lengths were obtained at different equivalence ratios, dilution ratios, initial temperatures, and pressures. The laminar burning velocities and the mass burning fluxes give a similar curve versus the equivalence ratios. They increase with the increase of initial temperature and decrease with the increase of dilution ratio. The laminar burning velocity decreases with elevating the initial pressure, while the mass burning flux increases with the increase of the initial pressure. Markstein length decreases slightly with the increase of initial temperature for the rich mixtures. High initial pressure corresponds to low Markstein length. Markstein length increases with the increase of dilution ratio, which is more obvious when the mixture becomes leaner. Equivalence ratio has a slight impact on the development of the diffusive-thermal cellular structure at elevated initial pressures. The initial pressure has a significant influence on the occurrence of the flame front cellular structure. At the elevated pressures, the cracks on the flame surface branch and develop into the cell structure. These cells are bounded by cracks emitting a bright light, which may indicate soot formation. For very lean mixture combustion, the buoyancy effect and cooling effect from the spark electrodes have a significant impact on the flame propagation. The hydrodynamic instability, inhibited with the increase of initial temperature around the stoichiometric equivalence ratio, is enhanced with the increase of initial pressure and suppressed by mixture dilution.     

天然气-氢气-空气混合气火焰传播特性研究

在定容燃烧弹内研究了初始条件为常温常压的灭然气-氢气-空气混合气火焰传播规律,得到了不同掺氢比例和燃空当量比下混合气的层流燃烧速率、质量燃烧流量和马克斯坦长度,结合火焰传播照片,分析了火焰的稳定性并预测了大尺寸火焰稳定性的演变趋势。研究结果表明,随着天然气中掺氢比例的增加,混合气的燃烧速率增加,且增长速率逐渐加快,马克斯坦长度值减小,火焰的稳定性下降。各种掺氢比例下,随当量比的增加,马克斯坦长度值增加,火焰的稳定性增加。掺氢比例高于80％时,随着火焰的传播,其不稳定性将明显增加。     

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.     

二甲醚-空气混合气层流燃烧速度的测定

在定容燃烧弹中利用高速纹影摄像法系统地研究了不同燃空当量比和初始压力下二甲醚-空气混合气的层流燃烧特性.利用球形扩散火焰理论分析纹影照片,获得了不同初始压力和当量比下的二甲醚-空气混合气层流燃烧速率.结果表明：随着初始压力的增大,层流燃烧速率显著减小,层流燃烧速率的峰值向浓混合气侧偏移.拉伸层流燃烧速率随拉伸率的增加而增加,拉伸层流质量燃烧速率随拉伸率的增加而减小.根据球形扩散火焰模型得到混合气的马克斯坦长度值表明：在各初始压力下,随着当量比的增加,二甲醚-空气混合气的马克斯坦长度值逐渐减小,火焰前锋面的不稳定性增加.     

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.     

Nonlinear effects of stretch on the flame front propagation

In all experimental configurations, the flames are affected by stretch (curvature and/or strain rate). To obtain the unstretched flame speed, independent of the experimental configuration, the measured flame speed needs to be corrected. Usually, a linear relationship linking the flame speed to stretch is used. However, this linear relation is the result of several assumptions, which may be incorrected. The present study aims at evaluating the error in the laminar burning speed evaluation induced by using the traditional linear methodology. Experiments were performed in a closed vessel at atmospheric pressure for two different mixtures: methane/air and iso-octane/air. The initial temperatures were respectively 300 K and 400 K for methane and iso-octane. Both methodologies (linear and nonlinear) are applied and results in terms of laminar speed and burned gas Markstein length are compared. Methane and iso-octane were chosen because they present opposite evolutions in their Markstein length when the equivalence ratio is increased.The error induced by the linear methodology is evaluated, taking the nonlinear methodology as the reference. It is observed that the use of the linear methodology starts to induce substantial errors after an equivalence ratio of 1.1 for methane/air mixtures and before an equivalence ratio of 1 for iso-octane/air mixtures. One solution to increase the accuracy of the linear methodology for these critical cases consists in reducing the number of points used in the linear methodology by increasing the initial flame radius used.