scholarly journals Laminar Burning Velocities of Hydrogen-Blended Methane–Air and Natural Gas–Air Mixtures, Calculated from the Early Stage of p(t) Records in a Spherical Vessel

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7556
Author(s):  
Maria Mitu ◽  
Domnina Razus ◽  
Volkmar Schroeder

The flammable hydrogen-blended methane–air and natural gas–air mixtures raise specific safety and environmental issues in the industry and transportation; therefore, their explosion characteristics such as the explosion limits, explosion pressures, and rates of pressure rise have significant importance from a safety point of view. At the same time, the laminar burning velocities are the most useful parameters for practical applications and in basic studies for the validation of reaction mechanisms and modeling turbulent combustion. In the present study, an experimental and numerical study of the effect of hydrogen addition on the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of methane–air and natural gas–air mixtures was conducted, using mixtures with equivalence ratios within 0.90 and 1.30 and various hydrogen fractions rH within 0.0 and 0.5. The experiments were performed in a 14 L spherical vessel with central ignition at ambient initial conditions. The LBVs were calculated from p(t) data, determined in accordance with EN 15967, by using only the early stage of flame propagation. The results show that hydrogen addition determines an increase in LBV for all examined binary flammable mixtures. The LBV variation versus the fraction of added hydrogen, rH, follows a linear trend only at moderate hydrogen fractions. The further increase in rH results in a stronger variation in LBV, as shown by both experimental and computed LBVs. Hydrogen addition significantly changes the thermal diffusivity of flammable CH4–air or NG–air mixtures, the rate of heat release, and the concentration of active radical species in the flame front and contribute, thus, to LBV variation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Costa ◽  
Daniele Piazzullo ◽  
Alessandro Dolce

A numerical study of the energy conversion process occurring in a lean-charge cogenerative engine, designed to be powered by natural gas, is here conducted to analyze its performances when fueled with mixtures of natural gas and several percentages of hydrogen. The suitability of these blends to ensure engine operations is proven through a zero–one-dimensional engine schematization, where an original combustion model is employed to account for the different laminar propagation speeds deriving from the hydrogen addition. Guidelines for engine recalibration are traced thanks to the achieved numerical results. Increasing hydrogen fractions in the blend speeds up the combustion propagation, achieving the highest brake power when a 20% of hydrogen fraction is considered. Further increase of this last would reduce the volumetric efficiency by virtue of the lower mixture density. The formation of the NOx pollutants also grows exponentially with the hydrogen fraction. Oppositely, the efficiency related to the exploitation of the exhaust gases’ enthalpy reduces with the hydrogen fraction as shorter combustion durations lead to lower temperatures at the exhaust. If the operative conditions are shifted towards leaner air-to-fuel ratios, the in-cylinder flame propagation speed decreases because of the lower amount of fuel trapped in the mixture, reducing the conversion efficiencies and the emitted nitrogen oxides at the exhaust. The link between brake power and spark timing is also highlighted: a maximum is reached at an ignition timing of 21° before top dead center for hydrogen fractions between 10 and 20%. However, the exhaust gases’ temperature also diminishes for retarded spark timings. Lastly, an optimization algorithm is implemented to individuate the optimal condition in which the engine is characterized by the highest power production with the minimum fuel consumption and related environmental impact. As a main result, hydrogen addition up to 15% in volume to natural gas in real cogeneration systems is proven as a viable route only if engine operations are shifted towards leaner air-to-fuel ratios, to avoid rapid pressure rise and excessive production of pollutant emissions.


Energy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 126 ◽  
pp. 796-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Hongyu Huang ◽  
Noriyuki Kobayashi ◽  
Chenguang Wang ◽  
Haoran Yuan

Author(s):  
Kang Pan ◽  
James S. Wallace

A numerical study of ignition and combustion in a glow plug (GP) assisted direct-injection natural gas (DING) engine is presented in this paper. The glow plug is shielded and the shield design is an important part of the combustion system development. The results simulated by KIVA-3V indicated that the ignition delay (ID) predicted by an in-cylinder pressure rise was different from that based on a temperature rise, attributed to the additional time required to burn more fuel to obtain a detectable pressure rise in the combustion chamber. This time difference for the ignition delay estimation can be 0.5 ms, which is significant relative to an ignition delay value of less than 2 ms. To further evaluate the time difference between the two different methods of ignition delay determination, sensitivity studies were conducted by changing the glow plug temperature, and rotating the glow plug shield opening angle towards the fuel jets. The results indicated that the ID method time difference varied from 0.3 to 0.8 ms for different combustion chamber configurations. In addition, this study also investigated the influences of different glow plug shield parameters on the natural gas ignition and combustion characteristics, by modifying the air gap between the glow plug and its shield, and by changing the shield opening size. The computational results indicated that a bigger air gap inside the shield can delay gas ignition, and a smaller shield opening can block the flame propagation for some specific fuel injection angles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1125-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venera Giurcan ◽  
Maria Mitu ◽  
Domnina Razus ◽  
Dumitru Oancea

The laminar burning velocities and propagation speeds of stoichiometric n-butane-air mixture were obtained for outwardly propagating spherical flames by measurements of pressure rise during the early stage of propagation in a spherical vessel. The experiments were carried out at various initial pressures within 0.3 and 1.2 bar, and various initial temperatures within 298 and 423 K. The experimental laminar burning velocities were compared with those provided by the detailed kinetic modelling based on Warnatz mechanism for combustion of C1-C4 hydrocarbons, using INSFLA package. The baric and thermal coefficients of laminar burning velocities, calculated from their dependence on initial temperature and pressure, were compared with coefficients characteristic for other fuel-air mixtures. The overall activation parameters (reaction order and activation energy) are reported and discussed in comparison with similar data characteristic for alkane-air flames.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 196-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mitu ◽  
Venera Giurcan ◽  
Domnina Razus ◽  
Dumitru Oancea

The flame propagation in methane-air mixtures diluted by inert additives (He, Ar, N2, CO2) was studied by means of pressure-time records of laminar deflagrations occurring in a spherical vessel with central ignition. Experiments were made using mixtures with various equivalence ratios between 0.610 and 1.310 and various inert concentrations between 5 and 25 vol%, at various initial pressures between 50 and 200 kPa. Examination of pressure-time records in the early stage of explosions delivered the normal burning velocities Su via the coefficients of the cubic law of pressure rise, using a previously described procedure. The propagation velocities (or the flame speed) were calculated from the normal burning velocities using the expansion coefficients of the unburnt gas during the isobaric combustion. The propagation velocities of examined systems obtained from experimental data were examined against the propagation velocities obtained from kinetic modeling of methane-air-inert combustion by means of 1D COSILAB package using the GRI 3.0 mechanism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 08005
Author(s):  
Antonio Caricato ◽  
Antonio Paolo Carlucci ◽  
Antonio Ficarella ◽  
Luciano Strafella

In a previous work, the effectiveness of late pilot injection on improving combustion behaviour – in terms of fuel conversion efficiency and pollutant emission levels – in a diesel/natural gas dual-fuel engine was assessed. Then, an additional set of experiments was performed, aiming at speeding up the combustion process possibly without penalizing NOx levels. Therefore, hydrogen was added to natural gas in a percentage equal to 10%. Results show that hydrogen addition has a significant effect on the combustion development specially during the early stage of combustion: ignition delay is shortened and combustion centre is advanced, while the combustion duration increases when pilot injection timing is set to conventional values, while remains basically unchanged for late timings. Fuel conversion efficiency is only slightly penalized when hydrogen is added. Moreover, it was confirmed that, in general, combustion strategy with late pilot injection timing does not penalize fuel conversion efficiency; indeed, in some cases, it actually increases. Concerning regulated emission levels, it is again proven that late pilot injection does not penalize pollutant production: the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide reduce as pilot injection is delayed, probably due to the higher temperatures reached into the cylinder during most part of the expansion stroke. Moreover, adding hydrogen always reduces their levels. Concerning NOx, they are drastically reduced delaying pilot injection; as expected, hydrogen addition promotes NOx formation, but the increase, evident with conventional pilot injection timings, becomes marginal with late injection strategy. Therefore, combustion strategy performance with late pilot injection in dual-fuel diesel/natural gas combustion conditions can be further improved with 10% hydrogen addition to natural gas.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Han ◽  
Zhennan Zhu ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
Kun Liang ◽  
Zinong Zuo ◽  
...  

The initial conditions such as temperature, pressure and dilution rate can have an effect on the laminar burning velocity of natural gas. It is acknowledged that there is an equivalent effect on the laminar burning velocity between any two initial conditions. The effects of initial temperatures (323 K–423 K), initial pressures (0.1 MPa–0.3 MPa) and dilution rate (0–16%, CO2 as diluent gas) on the laminar burning velocity and the flame instability were investigated at a series of equivalence ratios (0.7–1.2) in a constant volume chamber. A chemical kinetic simulation was also conducted to calculate the laminar burning velocity and essential radicals’ concentrations under the same initial conditions. The results show that the laminar burning velocity of natural gas increases with initial temperature but decreases with initial pressure and dilution rate. The maximum concentrations of H, O and OH increase with initial temperature but decrease with initial pressure and dilution rate. Laminar burning velocity is highly correlated with the sum of the maximum concentration of H and OH.


2020 ◽  
pp. 146808741989693
Author(s):  
Ankith Ullal ◽  
Youngchul Ra ◽  
Jeffrey D Naber ◽  
William Atkinson ◽  
Satoshi Yamada ◽  
...  

Pre-ignition in internal combustion engines is an abnormal combustion phenomenon which often results in structural damage to the engine. It occurs when an ignition event takes place in the combustion chamber before the designed ignition time. In this work, a numerical study was done to investigate the pre-ignition with potential application to natural gas marine engines. This was done by simulating experiments of lube oil–induced ignition and subsequent combustion in a constant volume combustion chamber using an in-house version of the KIVA4-CFD code. Initial conditions of the chamber gases are obtained from the pre-burn process of a known composition of C2H2/oxidizer mixture. Natural gas was injected from a single-hole injector at an injection temperature and pressure of 300 K and 105 Pa, respectively. A rotating fan was modeled, as is in the experimental setup. Oil droplet of known size and velocity is injected into the constant volume combustion chamber. For accurate prediction of oil droplet ignition, the computational cells that contain the droplets are to be refined. Combustion calculations are then carried out on the refined grid. Ignition delay times of both lube oil and methane/air mixtures were calculated. Parametric studies were also conducted by varying droplet conditions, and their results are also presented.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document