Advances in droplet array combustion theory and modeling

A review of research on the subject of the vaporization and burning of fuel droplets configured in a prescribed array is presented, including both classical works and research over the past decade or two. Droplet arrays and groups and the relation to sprays are discussed. The classical works are reviewed. Recent research on transient burning and vaporization of finite arrays with Stefan convection but without forced convection is presented, including extensions to non-unitary Lewis number and multi-component, liquid fuels. Recent results on transient, convective burning of droplets in arrays are also examined. In particular, transient convective burning of infinite (single-layer periodic and double-layer periodic) and finite droplet arrays are discussed; attention is given to the effects of droplet deceleration due to aerodynamic drag, diameter decrease due to vaporization, internal liquid circulation, and arrays with moving droplets in tandem and staggered configurations. Flame structure is examined as a function of spacing between neighboring droplets and Damköhler number: individual droplet flames versus group flames and wake flames versus envelope flames. Based on existing knowledge of laminar droplet array and spray combustion theory, experimental evidence, and turbulent studies for non-vaporizing and non-reacting two-phase flows, comments are made on the needs and implications for the study of turbulent spray and array combustion.     

Comparison of performance of heat regenerators: Relation between heat transfer efficiency and pressure drop

Heat regenerators transfer heat from one gas to another, with an intermediate storage in solids. The heat transfer surface for gas flow application should provide at the same time high surface area and low friction factor. Three geometries of heat transfer surface, monolith, stack of woven screens and bed of spheres, have been compared. Their performance was evaluated from the pressure drop of the heat regenerator working at a given heat transfer efficiency. The comparison was performed using numerical simulation and published measurements of heat transfer and flow friction characteristics. By adjusting the length and the period of the exchanger, it is possible to obtain the same heat transfer efficiency with the three geometries. Beds of spheres give very short and compact heat regenerators, working at high pressure drop. At the opposite, monoliths form long regenerators working at low pressure drop. Stacks of woven screens cover a wide range of performance: low porosity woven screens give high heat transfer efficiency and high pressure drop, while high porosity woven screens offer performance similar to that of the monoliths. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

逆流式催化燃烧反应器冷态流动与阻力特性试验研究

对逆流式催化燃烧反应器在冷态条件下的流动与阻力特性进行了试验研究.研究了反应器在不同填料高度、床层表观流速和换向周期下阻力损失特性和动态响应规律.结果表明,随着反应器流向的周期性变化,阻力特性呈周期性的矩形波形式;压力稳定时间随着填料高度、床层表观流速的增加略有上升;填料性质、高度、床层表观流速对阻力损失影响较大;根据Ergun方程,对试验数据进行回归并得到相应的相关系数.     

Development and application of the drop number size moment modelling to spray combustion simulations

This work presents the development and implementation of spray combustion modelling based on the spray size distribution moments. In this spray model, the droplet size distribution of spray is characterised by the first four moments related to number, radius, surface-area and volume of droplets, respectively. The governing equations for gas phase and liquid phase employed are solved by the finite volume method based on an Eulerian framework. These constructed equations and source terms are derived based on the moment-average quantities which are the key concept for this work. The sub-model employed for ignition and combustion is the coupling reaction rate between Arrhenius model and Eddy Break-Up model (EBU) via a reaction progress variable. The results obtained from simulation are compared with the experimental and simulation data in the literature in order to assess the accuracy of present model. Comparing with the experimental results, present approach is capable to provide a qualitatively reasonable prediction for auto-ignition. In addition, the flame area developed during the combustion progress corresponds with the experimental data.     

Imaging studies of in-cylinder HCCI combustion

An optically accessed, single cylinder engine operated in homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode with negative valve overlap (NVO) strategy was used to perform combustion processes diagnostics under premixed conditions corresponding to the low load regime of the HCCI operational envelope. The aforementioned processes analysis was conducted utilizing synchronized simultaneous combustion event crank-angle resolved images, acquired through piston crown window with in-cylinder pressure recording. This investigation was carried out for one-step ignition fuel—standard gasoline, fuel proceeding single-stage ignition process under conditions studied. The initial combustion stage is characterized by a maximum local reaction spreading velocity in the range of 40–55 m/s. The later combustion stage reveals values as high as 140 m/s in case of stoichiometric combustion. The mixture as well as combustion stages effects are pronounced in these observed analytical results.     

Ignition and combustion of a gaseous fuel pocket array in an oxidizing environment

ABSTRACT

Ignition and combustion of an infinite linear array of gaseous fuel pockets in a stagnant oxidizing environment under the microgravity condition is studied by a numerical approach. The combustion process is considered isobaric and the fluid motion is induced by density gradients due to the heat and mass transfer processes. A simple finite chemical reaction mechanism and the ideal gas equation of state are considered. The thermophysical properties, except density, are assumed constant. The Finite Volume Method is used with a hybrid non-staggered grid in a generalized system of coordinates. The SIMPLEC algorithm solves the modified pressure–velocity coupling. The Damköhler number effects on flame dynamics and on the fuel consumption are analyzed. Three stages in the burning processes: the induction time, the flame propagation and the diffusive burning are identified. The merging processes of the fuel pockets and of the flames are depicted.     

Endwall heat transfer and pressure drop in rectangular channels with attached and detached circular pin-fin array

Endwall heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in four rectangular channels with a channel aspect ratio of 4 and the staggered arrays of circular pin-fins with four clearances (C) between pin-tips and the measured endwall of 0, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 pin-diameter (d) are examined comparatively at Reynolds numbers (Re) of 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000 and 30,000 to determine the effects of pin-tip leakages on the endwall heat transfer and on channel inlet-to-exit pressure drops. The accelerated flows through pin-to-endwall clearances modify the protrusion-endwall interactions that affect the horseshoe vortices as well as the downstream wakes and shear layer separations. By way of increasing C/d ratio from 0 to 3/4, the area averaged endwall Nusselt numbers decrease with substantial reductions in channel inlet-to-exit pressure drops. The endwall heat transfer level with detached pin-fins at C/d = 1/4 is somewhat less than that with attached pin-fins but the pressure drop coefficient of the former is much lower than that of the later, which leads to the highest thermal performance factor among the four comparative cases in the Re range examined by this study. A set of correlations that evaluate the area averaged endwall Nusselt number and the pressure drop coefficient with Re and C/d as the controlling parameters are derived.     

Ash deposition and sodium migration behaviors during combustion of Zhundong coals in a drop tube furnace

Zhundong coalfield is one super-large coalfield recently discovered in China. However, the utilization of Zhundong coal in power plants has caused serious ash-related issues mainly due to its high-sodium feature. The ash deposition problem on convection heat exchanger surfaces is still particularly difficult to resolve and its mechanism has yet to be fully understood. This study deals with the ash deposition and alkali metal migration behaviors on convection heat exchanger surfaces between 400 and 800 °C during combustion of Zhundong coal using a lab-scale drop tube reactor. Experimental results show that the sodium content in ash deposit of Zhundong coals increases obviously as the deposition temperature decreases from 800 to 600 °C, while it is almost unchanged below 600 °C. The contents of iron and calcium in ash deposits exhibit nonmonotonic variations as the deposit probe temperature varies between 400 and 800 °C. Quartz and calcium sulfate are main crystalline phases in ash deposit of Zhundong coals. Calcium is inclined to present as calcite and lime at low deposition temperature, while high temperature facilitates calcium sulfation. Sodium of crystalline phase is found as albite and sodium sulfate at low deposition temperature. Both condensation of gaseous alkali metals and formation of low-melting minerals were responsible for the ash deposition phenomenon on convection heat exchanger surfaces involved in combustion of Zhundong coal. The sodium content in ash deposit decreases considerably with the increasing combustion temperature while the case of iron variation is opposite due to its low-volatility. In addition, the Na content in ash deposits increases obviously with the access air ratio reduced from 1.2 to 1.05, but the local weakly reducing atmosphere leads to less iron within ash deposits. Clarification of sodium migration and evaluation of ash deposition behaviors during combustion of Zhundong coal is helpful for a better exploration of the functional mechanism of ash deposit and then large-scale utilization of high-sodium coals.     

Effect of non-uniform hall parameter on the electrode voltage drop in Faraday-type combustion mhd generators

Following a simplified approach, we derive an expression for the gas-dynamic voltage drop in a finitely segmented Faraday-type combustion MHD generator, taking into account the non-uniform Hall parameter across the channel. Combining the electrical sheath voltage drop, discussed briefly, with the gas-dynamic voltage drop, the effect of a non-uniform Hall parameter on the electrode voltage drop is studied using the theoretical and experimental input parameters of the Indian MHD channel test. The condition for the validity of the usual assumption of uniform Hall parameter across the channel is pointed out. Analysis of the measured electrode voltage drop predicts the real gas conductivity in the core to be in the range of 60 to 75 per cent of the theoretically calculated core conductivity.     

Mass transfer between a single drop and a continuous phase

The time dependent convective-diffusion equations for mass transfer between a drop and a continuous phase are solved in two cases: (1) the case of small Reynolds numbers and (2) the case of potential flow. The equations are solved by means of a similarity variable η_i = y/δ_i(θ, t) which enable their transformation into an ordinary differential equation for the concentration c_i = c_i(η_i) and a first order equation with partial derivatives for δ_i = δ_i(θ, t). Equations for the mass-transfer coefficient for the unsteady and steady states are obtained. The time in which the steady state is reached is evaluated.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop correlations for laminar flow in an in-line and staggered array of circular cylinders

Enhanced heat transfer surfaces based on cylindrically shaped pin fins with wire diameters in the range of 100?µm were analyzed. The design is based on a high pin length to diameter ratio in the range of 20–100. Correlations for thermal and fluid dynamic characteristics of these fine wire structures are not available in literature. An in-line and staggered arrangement of pins were simulated for a variety of operational and geometrical conditions with a two-dimensional computational thermal and fluid dynamics model. Correlations for Nusselt number and friction factor with respect to Reynolds number and geometry were derived thereby. Reynolds numbers based on the wire diameter are in the range of 3–60. The correlations for the Nusselt number and friction factor can predict 93% and 97% of the simulated data within ±10%.     

Kinetic studies of dehydration,pyrolysis and combustion of paper sludge

The reaction kinetics of drying, pyrolysis and combustion of paper sludge have been determined in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The effects of heating rate (5–30 K min⁻¹) and sample weight (10–50 mg) on drying and pyrolysis of paper sludge have been determined. The kinetic parameters of char combustion are determined at the isothermal conditions (723–1173 K). For dehydration, pyrolysis and combustion of paper sludge, temperature can be divided into drying (−470 K), pyrolysis [low (470–660 K), medium (660–855 K)] and combustion (>855 K) ranges. From the kinetic parameters (frequency factor and activation energy) of water decomposition, two major degradable compounds are found and the experimental thermogravimetric curves predicted by those parameters. For char combustion, the reaction order is found to be unity. The char combustion is well expressed by the shrinking core model with chemical reaction controlling and the activation energy is changed from 24.3 to 10.14 kJ mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ at 873 K.     

The combustion properties of 2,6,10-trimethyl dodecane and a chemical functional group analysis

The global combustion characteristics of 2,6,10-trimethyl dodecane (trimethyl dodecane), a synthetic fuel candidate species, have been experimentally investigated by measuring extinction limits for strained laminar diffusion flames at 1 atm and reflected shock ignition delays at 20 atm. The Derived Cetane Number (DCN) of trimethyl dodecane, (59.1) and Hydrogen/Carbon (H/C) ratio (2.133) are very close to the DCN and H/C ratio of a previously studied synthetic aviation fuel, S-8 POSF 4734 (S-8) and its surrogate mixture composed of n-dodecane/iso-octane (58.9 and 2.19, respectively). Identical high temperature global kinetic reactivities are observed in all experiments involving the aforementioned compounds. However, at temperatures below ∼870 K, the S-8 surrogate mixture has ignition delay times approximately a factor of two faster. A chemical functional group analysis identifies that the methylene (CH₂) to methyl (CH₃) ratio globally correlates the low temperature alkylperoxy radical reactivity for these large paraffinic fuels. This result is further supported experimentally, by comparing observations using a surrogate fuel mixture of n-hexadecane (n-cetane) and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethyl nonane (iso-cetane) that shares the same methylene-to-methyl ratio as trimethyl dodecane, in addition to the same DCN and H/C ratio. Measurements of both diffusion flame extinction and reflected shock ignition delays show that the n-cetane/iso-cetane model fuel has very similar combustion behavior to trimethyl dodecane at all conditions studied. A kinetic modeling analysis on the model fuel suggests the formation of alkylhydroperoxy radicals (QOOH) to be strongly influenced by the absence or presence of the methyl and methylene functional groups in the fuel chemical structure. The experimental observations and analyses suggest that paraffinic based fuels having high DCN values may be more appropriately emulated by further including the CH₂ to CH₃ ratio as an additional combustion property target, as DCN alone fails to fully distinguish the relative reaction characteristics of low temperature kinetic phenomena.     

Experimental Research on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Two Configurations of Pin Finned—Tubes in an In—line Array

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Numerical studies of catalytic combustion in a catalytically stabilized combustor

This work aims to investigate numerically the catalytic combustion of a catalytically stabilized combustor. The numerical model treated a catalytic channel deposited with Pt and used a plug model of laminar, one‐dimensional, and steady‐state flow. The predicted conversions of mixture and ignition temperatures of surface reaction agreed well with the measured data when a multi‐step mechanism was used for the CH₄ surface reaction over Pt. The flame speed of a mixture supported by catalytic surface reaction was found to increase compared with a mixture without a catalytic combustion. CO mole fractions were analysed for three cases—gas reaction, surface reaction, and gas reaction coupled with surface reaction. The case of solely gas reaction produced the most CO emission and the case of solely surface reaction generated the least CO emission. The position where flame ignites was also evaluated numerically. There was only a small difference between the measured and predicted results on the starting points of flame in the catalytic channel. As a result, the plug model was shown to model surface ignition very well, however, it did not predict well the position of flame ignition. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of functional group structures on combustion behavior of pulverized coal particles

The ignition and combustion behavior of pulverized coal was studied with respect to coal rank in a custom-designed visual drop tube furnace. The results showed that low-rank coals were ignited in a shorter time, mainly due to the presence of larger amounts of functional groups, while the ignition delay time of high-rank coals was longer. With increasing temperature and particle size, the ignition mode of coals shifted from heterogeneous into homogeneous, which was related to the increased yield of volatile matter. The chemical percolation devolatilization analysis results showed a clear relationship between the yield and composition of volatile matter and the amount and type of functional groups in coal. In addition, the tar yield was consistent with the amount of aliphatic hydrocarbons and the length of aliphatic chains, which explained the tailing combustion mode of the bituminous coal. The findings of the study showed that the yield and composition of volatiles in coal had a significant impact on the ignition behavior, which depended on the composition of functional groups, particle size, and the combustion environment.     

Experimental studies on cotton stalk combustion in a fluidized bed

The present work reports studies on the mixing and combustion characteristics of cotton stalk (CS) with 10–100 mm in length in a fluidized bed. Effects of length and initial weight percentage of CS, diameter of alumina bed material as well as gas velocity on the mixing characteristics of CS with alumina were investigated. CS can mix well with 0.6–1 mm alumina at fluidization number N=3–8.     

The inhibition effects of helium gas on liquid hydrogen droplets group combustion

With the rising interest in safety of liquid hydrogen (LH) combustion, a numerical simulation was conducted to investigate the “group” combustion of LH droplet arrays. Point source method (PSM) was employed to characterize the inhibition effects of helium on three specific LH arrays “group” combustion (binary, equilateral triangular, and five-particle arrays). The present study aims to contribute to the future development of helium inhibitor for LH combustion, providing detailed characterization of helium inhibition effects. It was found that the burning rate and flame temperature of all the three LH arrays decreased after adding helium to the air. In addition, both the H₂ volume fraction and temperature around the array surfaces decreased significantly. Moreover, flame location of arrays combustion became far away from droplet surfaces with helium dilution and it became more obvious as droplet numbers increasing. As a result, helium can be employed as a potential inhibitor for LH combustion.     

Numerical studies on the combustion properties of char particle clusters

Particle clustering is an important phenomenon in dense particle–gas two-phase flow. One of the key problems worth studying is the reacting properties of particle clusters in coal particle combustion process in the dense particle region. In this paper, a two-dimensional mathematical model for the char cluster combustion in airflow field is established. This char cluster consists of several individual particles. The comprehensive model includes mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations for both gas and particle phases. Detailed results regarding velocity vector, mass component, and temperature distributions inside and around the cluster are obtained. The micro-scale mass and heat transfer occurred inside and around the char cluster are revealed. By contrastively studying the stable combustion of char particle clusters consisting of different particles, the combustion properties of char clusters in various particle concentrations are presented and discussed.