09

00100983
Effects of NO on the ignition of hydrogen
hydrocarbons
by heated counterflowing
air

and

Tan, Y. et al. Combustion & Flame, 1999, 119, (3). 346-355.

Experiments
were carried out to study the influence of NO in air on the
ignition
temperature
of hydrogen
and hydrocarbons
in a nonpremixed
counterflowing
system. These experiments
were performed
from 0.5 to b
atm, with the NO concentration
varying from 100 ppm to 15,OOO ppm, It is
shown that addition of a small amount of NO in air significantly
reduces the
ignition temperature
of all fuels. For hydrogen,
under certain pressures,
NO eventually becomes an inhibitor
at higher levels of addition. Thus there
appears to exist an optimal NO concentration
at which the catalytic effect is
the most pronounced,
and this optimal concentration
was found to also
depend on the system pressure. Numerical simulation was performed in the
hydrogen
case to better
understand
the kinetics
of the observed
phenomenon.
It was found that at low NO concentrations,
the ignition
temperature
was determined
by the interaction
of the Hz-Oz.NO
subsystem, whereas at high NO concentrations
the ignition
temperature
was mostly affected by the NO, chemistry. For hydrocarbons.
the minimum
temperature
was much le:,s pronounced
and in most cases nonexistent.
Furthermore.
the extent of temperature
decrease depended on the nature
of the fuel.

00100984

An extended

coal combustion

model

Backreedy. R. I. ef ul.
Fuel, 1999, 78, (14), 1745-1754.
Current coal combustion
models are a useful tool in research but they use
simplified
coal particle devolatilization
and combustion
steps in order to
meet computational
limitations.
The availability
of more advanced
computers enables the use of more detailed steps for devolatilization
and
the use of more realistic char combustion processes. In the present work the
devolatilization
rates were calculated using the coal devolatilization
model
FG-DVC.
In this way devolatilization
rates and the yields of char and
volatile were obtained.
A drop tube reactor was operated at I623 K to
collect char samples. from Thoresby coal. at different sampling positions or
residence ttmec. and proximate
and ultimate
analysis were conducted on
these char samples to confirm the results. The detailed char combustion
suh-models being developed for CFD codes require char properties such as
densities. surface areas and pore size distributions
but a simplified
model
was used here. In this case the use of a simple global char oxidation model
volatile
and FG-DVC
predicted
together
with an empirical
derived
devolatilization
rate data seem to give good agreement with the experimental results available for the char burnout. However, there still remains
considerable
unccrtaintv
in the use of char burnout models including the
one used here which -is not sufficiently
accurate in predicting
carbon
burnout in all conditions.

00100985
premixed

Gravity effects on steady two-dimensional

methane-air flames

partially

Shu. Z. er ul.
Combustion & Flnmc. lY9Y. 118, (I-2). 91-107.
Under normal-gravity
conditions
the flame heat release produces hoth flow
dilatation
and buoyancy
effects. While it may be possible to minimize
gravitational
effects in a fully premixed flame by isolating buoyancy effects
to the lower-density
postflame
region or plume, this cannot be accomplished in nonpremixed
flames. It is known that partially premixed flames
can contain two reaction zones, one with a premixed-like
structure and the
other consisting of a transport-limited
nonpremixed
zone (in which mixing
and entrainment
effects are significant).
For these reasons it is important to
understand
the fundamental
interaction
between
flow dilatation
and
buoyancy effects in partially premixed flames. A detailed numerical study
is conducted to characterize
the effect of buoyancy on the structure of twodimensional
partially
premixed
methane-air
flames. The computational
model
is validated
by comparison
with the experimentally
obtained
chemiluminescent
emission from excited-C,
free radical species as well
as with velocity vectors obtained using particle image velocimetry.
Both the
experiments
and simulations
indicate the presence of two reaction zones
that are synergistically
coupled, with each region providing
heat and/or
chemical species for the other. While the inner premixed flame is only
weakly
affected
by gravity,
the outer flame shows significant
spatial
differences
for the two cases due to buoyancy-induced
entrainment,
since
advection of air into the outer reaction zone increases in the presence of
gravity. The presence of gravity induces more compact flames, influences
the velocity profiles in the post-inner flame region and increases the normal
strain rate. Although
the spatial differences between the O- and l-g flames
are more significant on the lean side, the state relationships
in that region
are relatively unaffected by gravity. On the other hand, the inner (rich-side)
reaction zone shifts toward less-rich locations in the presence of gravity.
possibly due to the enhanced buoyant mixing. The l-g flames exhihit a
larger energy loss in the form of CO and HI emissions.

00100986
boundary

Investigation
layer

of catalytic

combustion

within a fin

Griffin, G. 1. and Wood, D. G. Combustion & Flame, 1999. 118, (l-2), 312.
A mathematical
model of a catalytic fin, a flat plate coated with a catalyst,
operating
under steady-state
conditions
where air carrying a fuel flows
parallel to the surface, is developed. The model equations are derived from
the basic equations of change and model predictions
of fin and boundary
layer temperature
are compared with experimental
data for the combustion
of propane and carbon monoxide
(CO) over the flat plate coated with
platinum
(Pt)/alumina
catalyst.
Good qualitative
agreement
is found

Combustion

(burners, combustion

systems)

between the results of the experiments and the model predictions,

although
the model generally
predicts
higher fin temperatures
and ignition
of
reaction to occur at lower temperatures.

OOIOO987
Laser-induced
CH4-air mixtures

ignition

using a conical

cavity in

Morsy, M. H. et ni. Comhustio~i & Flame, 1999, 119. (4), 473-482.

A method that confines all the available energy in the vicinity of the ignition
point during a laser-induced
ignition
process is proposed.
It utilizes
multiple reflection
by a conical cavity surface when a small-diameter
laser
beam is directed into the cavity. Shadowgraphs
of the early stages of the
combustion process for quiescent methane/air
mixtures show a hot gas jet to
emerge from the cavity. During
subsequent
flame propagation,
both
similarities with and differences from conventional
spark ignition processes
are observed, depending
on the cavity size and the concentration
of
mixtures.
With laser cavity ignition,
the chamber
pressure
increases
relatively
rapidly and higher maximum
pressure can he achieved. As a
result, the combustion duration for laser cavity ignition is decreased relative
to laser-induced
spark ignition.
A model, which simulates flame kernel
development
and the subsequent combustion
process. is tested numerically
using the KIVA-II
code. The associated flow, pressure and temperature
profiles are evaluated and satisfactory
agreement
achieved between the
experiment
and calculated results.

Laser-induced
spark ignition of CH,/air mixtures
00100988
Phuoc, T. X. and White. F. P. Combustion & Name, 1999. 119. (3). 203216.
Laser-induced
spark ignition
of CHd-air
mixtures
was experimentally
investigated using a nanosecond pulse at IO64 nm from a Q-switched
NdYag laser. Laser irradiance in the order of 1012 to 1013 Wicmwas
found to
he sufficient to ignite a mixture having from 6.5 to 17% methane bv volume
(equivalence
ratio,
ER. from 0.66 to 1.05). The dependence
of the
breakdown
threshold
laser energy, E,,,,. on the gas pressure was in
agreement
with the electron
cascade theory.
Depending
on the Iascr
in the range from 0. I to ahout
energy, $,,. the spark absorption coefficient
100 cm
was calculated
using the electron-ion
inverse brrmsstrahlung
process. The minimum ignition energy was ahout one order of magnitude
higher than the minimum
ignition energy obtained by the electric spark
ignition. It had its lowest value remaining at about 3 to 4 mJ for a mixture
having 10 to 15% methane by volume (ER = 1.05X to 1.68) and it increased
sharply toward the far-lean and the far-rich sides of the stoichiometry.
The
average length and radius of the spark for a stoichiometric
or nearstoichiometrie
methane-air
mixture
were about 0.8 mm and 0.3 mm,
respectively. For lean or rich methane-air
mixtures. the average long axis of
the spark size varied from about 0.8 to 2 mm, whereas for the short axis it
varied from about 0.4 to 1.2 mm depending
on the methane
volume
fraction.
00100989
Liquids for fossil fuel combustion
and harmful gas reduction

improvement

Yamashita,
Y. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo
Koho JP II 21,574 [99 21,574] (Cl.
ClOLlO/OO), 26 Jan 1999, Appl. 97/213,797, 4 Jul 1997, 2 pp. (In Japanese)
Liquids containing harmless fermented material or their mixtures are added
to fossil fuels for combustion
improvement
and reduction
of harmful gas
emissions.

00/00990
The mobilisation of sodium
coal combustion and gasification

and potassium

during

Thompson,
D. and Argent, B. B. Fuel, 1999, 78, (14). 1679-1689.
The mobilization
of sodium and potassium during coal combustion
and
gasification
has been modelled using the FACT thermodynamic
databases
and computation
package. Account
has been taken of the formation
of
silicate and fused salt melts and consideration
givaen to deposition
taking
place during
the subsequent
cooling
of the gases formed.
Under
combustion
conditions,
sodium
and potassium
are predicted
to be
mobilized to a small extent. The mobilized fraction
is predicted to begin
to be deposited as salt melt from about 1100 K. The mobility agrees with the
limited amount of published data. Under gasifier conditions
the predicted
mobilization
is greater than observed for potassium-possibly
due to the
slowness of its release from clays.

00/00991
stationary

Modeling of lean premixed

gas turbines

combustion

in

Brewster, B. S. et al. Progress in Energv & Comhustiorf Sciertce, 1999. 25,

(4) 353-385.
Lean premixed combustion (LPC) of natural gas is of considerable
interest
in land-based gas turbines for power generation.
However, modeling such
combustots and adequately addressing the concerns of LPC, which include
emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide
and unburned
hydrocarbons, remains a significant
challenge.
In this paper, characteristics
of
published
simulations
of gas turbine
combustion
are summarized
and
methods of modelling
turbulent
combustion
are reviewed. The velocitycomposition
PDF method
is selected
for implementation
in a new
comprehensive
model that uses an unstructured-grid
flow solver. Reduced
mechanisms for methane combustion
are evaluated in a partially
stirred
reactor model. Comprehensive
model predictions of swirl-stabilized
LPC of
natural
gas ate compared
with detailed
measurements
obtained
in a
laboratory-scale
combustot.
The model is also applied
to industrial
combustor geometries.

Fuel and Energy Abstracts

March 2000

109