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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Unstretched unburned flame speed and burned gas Markstein length of diluted hydrogen/air mixtures

Fundamental combustion characteristics of H₂/air flames with the addition of actual H₂/air combustion residuals (a mixture of 65% N₂ + 35% H₂O by mole) are examined experimentally and numerically at 1–2 bar, 373–473 K, equivalence ratio of 0.7, and dilution ratios of 0–40%. Spherically expanding flame measurements at constant pressure show that flame speed and adiabatic flame temperature drop almost linearly with increasing diluent level. Detailed numerical simulations and analyses of sensitivity coefficients reveal that this is because of the low chemical reactivity of the dilution mixture. On the other hand, the change in burned gas Markstein length with the dilution mixture addition is found more complex and cannot be represented with a linear trend. Experimental flame speed data are compared with results of chemical kinetic analyses obtained by several chemical mechanisms in order to assess the accuracy of these models.     

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 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.     

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.     

Laminar burning velocity measurements of liquid fuels at elevated pressures and temperatures with combustion residuals

The laminar burning velocity is a fundamental property of a fuel that affects many aspects of its combustion behaviour. Experimental values are required to validate kinetic simulations, and also to provide input for models of flashback, minimum ignition energy and turbulent combustion.A constant volume vessel (rated at 3.4 MPa) in conjunction with a multi-zone model was used to calculate burning velocity from pressure and schlieren data, allowing the user to select data uncorrupted by heat transfer or cellularity. Using the pressure rise data allows measurements to be derived for much higher pressures and temperatures than when the constant pressure data are used. A 12 term correlation for burning velocity was fitted to the data.n-Heptane, iso-octane, toluene, ethylbenzene and ethanol were tested over a wide range of initial pressures (50, 100, 200 and 400 kPa), temperatures (310, 380 and 450 K) and equivalence ratios (0.7–1.4), along with tests using combustion residuals at mole fractions of up to 0.3. The results compared favourably with the limited data already published, especially at high pressures. Conditions at the onset of cellularity are given for iso-octane.     

Experimental and numerical study on the laminar burning velocity of hydrogen enriched biogas mixture

The laminar burning velocities of biogas-hydrogen-air mixture at different fuel compositions and equivalence ratios were determined and studied using the spherical flame method. The combined effects of H₂ and CO₂ on the laminar burning velocity were investigated quantitatively based on the kinetic effects and the thermal effects. The results show that the laminar burning velocities of the BG40, BG50 and BG60 are increased almost linearly with the H₂ addition owing to the improved fuel kinetics and the increased adiabatic flame temperature. The dropping trend of laminar burning velocity from the BG60-hydrogen to the BG40-hydrogen is primarily attributed to the decreased adiabatic flame temperature (thermal effects). The GRI 3.0 mechanism can predict the laminar burning velocity of biogas-hydrogen mixture better than the San Diego mechanism in this study. Whereas, the GRI mechanism still needs to be modified properly for the hydrogen-enriched biogas as the CO₂ proportion exceeds 50% in the biogas at the fuel-rich condition. The increased CO₂ exerts the stronger suppression on the net reaction rate of H + O₂=OH + O than that of H + CH₃(+M) = CH₄(+M), which contributes to that the rich-shift of peak laminar burning velocity of biogas-hydrogen mixture requires higher H₂ addition as the CO₂ content is enhanced. For the biogas-hydrogen fuel, the H₂ addition decreases the flame stability of biogas fuel effectively due to the increased diffusive-thermal instability and hydrodynamic instability. The improved flame stability of biogas-hydrogen fuel with the increased CO₂ content is resulted from the combined effects of diffusive-thermal instability and hydrodynamic instability.     

Experimental and kinetic study of laminar flame characteristics of H2/O2/diluent flame under elevated pressure

Laminar burning velocity, Markstein length, and critical flame radius of an H₂/O₂ flame with different diluents, He, Ar, N₂ and CO₂, were measured under elevated pressure with different diluent concentrations. The effects of pressures, diluents, and dilution and equivalence ratios were studied by comparing calculated and experimental results. The laminar burning velocity showed non-monotonic behavior with pressure when the dilution ratio was low. The reason is the radical pool reduced with increasing pressure and leads to the decrease of overall reaction order from larger than 2 to smaller than 2, and further leads to this non-monotonic phenomenon. A modified empirical equation was presented to capture the relationship between active radicals and laminar burning velocity. Critical radii and Markstein lengths both decrease with initial pressure and increase with equivalence ratio and dilution ratio. The calculated critical radii indicate that the Peclet number and flame thickness control the change of R_cr. It can be found that Le_eff has a significant influence on Peclet number and leads to the decrease of critical flame radii of Ar, N_2, and CO₂ diluted mixture. Interestingly, the CO₂ diluted mixture has the lowest Markstein length under stoichiometric conditions and a high value under fuel-rich conditions, consistent as the flame instability observed on the flame images. The reason is that the Le_eff of CO₂ diluted mixture increased rapidly with the equivalence ratio.     

Experimental investigations on laminar burning velocity variation of CH4+H2+air mixtures at elevated temperatures

The present work reports experimental investigations on laminar burning velocity variation of CH₄+H₂+air mixtures at elevated temperatures (300–650 K) using an externally heated diverging-channel method. The effect of mixture equivalence ratio (? = 0.7–1.3) and H₂ fraction (0–50% by volume) on burning velocity have been reported at elevated temperatures. The experimental measurements are compared with numerical simulations using GRI Mech 3.0 and FFCM-1 kinetic models. The obtained results exhibit an increase in the laminar burning velocity with H₂ fraction due to the formation of H-atom as an intermediate. The temperature dependency is established through a power-law correlation. The temperature-exponent shows a parabolic variation with a minimum value at ? = 1.1. Reaction pathway diagram interprets the major oxidation paths followed by reactants for higher carbon-consumption with varying H₂ fraction. The P2 pathway involving ethane breakdown plays a major role in enhancing the burning velocity at rich mixture conditions.     

二乙醚-空气预混合气层流燃烧速率测定

在定容燃烧弹内利用高速纹影摄像法系统地研究了不同初始压力、不同初始温度和不同燃空当量比下二乙醚-空气预混合气的层流燃烧特性。利用球形发展火焰分析得到了不同初始压力、不同初始温度和不同燃空当量比下二乙醚-空气预混合气的无拉伸层流火焰燃烧速率、马克斯坦长度等层流燃烧参数。研究结果表明:无拉伸层流火焰燃烧速率随初始温度的增加而增加,随初始压力的增加而降低;马克斯坦长度随着初始温度的增加而减小,随初始压力的增加而减小,随当量比的增加而减小,表明火焰前锋面不稳定性随初始温度和初始压力的增加而增加,随混合气浓度的增加而增加。基于试验数据获得了二乙醚-空气预混合气无拉伸层流燃烧速率的关系式。