The present work is a part of a larger experimental campaign which examines the behaviour of various fuels on a swirl stabilized flame burner configuration. Overall, detailed speciation measurements and temperature measurements were combined with optical measurements. The work presented here concerns the part of the experimental campaign which deals with the optical characteristics of the examined flames. The work adds to the growing database of experimental measurements assessing engine-relevant reaction environments which shift from traditional ones in order to meet pollutant emission regulations and efficiency standards. Here, the oxidation of several commonly used fuel and fuel surrogates that are subjected to the addition of a bio-derived fuel additive (dimethyl ether) and emulated exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is studied in a laboratory-scale swirl …
The present study describes the utilization of a reaction mechanism generator for the development of chemical kinetic models. The aim of the investigation is twofold. The in-house developed mechanism generator is updated with reaction classes reported in the literature, and the effect of the lower hydrocarbon chemistry, that is, base chemistry, on the generation process is assessed. For this purpose, the algorithm is implemented on two different base chemistry mechanisms, that have previously been validated against a different range of hydrocarbons, that is, the mechanisms of the groups coauthoring the study. n-Hexane has been used as a modeling target due to its important role in combustion studies as a surrogate for engine and aviation applications. The steps of the generation process are given in detail as this is the first time the current algorithm is utilized. The two generated mechanisms are compared against speciation data, ignition delay times, and flame velocities from the literature. The overall agreement of the generated mechanisms is satisfying; discrepancies exist in the negative temperature coefficient regime. Reaction path analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed, revealing the reactions that cause the different mechanism performance. Among others, the study reveals that the generated schemes pose a fast and adequate alternative to literature mechanisms; it is however evident that the latter may include more detailed reaction paths and are therefore superior in terms of validation.
The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of the n-heptane/toluene ratio on the reactivity of binary toluene reference fuels (TRFs), through a combined experimental and numerical work. Novel experimental ignition delay time (IDT) data of three binary TRFs of varying n-heptane/toluene ratios have been obtained in a high-pressure shock tube and in a rapid compression machine at conditions relevant to novel engine operation. Measurements have been performed at two pressures (10 and 30 bar), and at three fuel/air equivalence ratios (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0) for TRF mixtures of 50%, 75% and 90% by volume toluene concentration, over the temperature range of 650–1450 K. It was found that, increasing the n-heptane content, led to an increase in reactivity and shorter measured IDTs. Reduced sensitivity to the equivalence ratio was observed at high temperatures, especially for high toluene content mixtures. A …