in
SI Engines, CI Engines, and Gas Turbines
Combustion Introduction
Combustion is the process of chemical reactions with
oxygen
Combustion is defined as a rapid exothermic reaction
that liberates substantial energy as heat and flames as
combustion reactions with the ability to propagate
through a suitable medium
Characterization of combustion involves measurements
of quantitative combustion characteristics, including
temperature, pressure, heat release, or the amount of
gaseous and particulate emission
Combustion studies involve some concepts and
definitions
Combustion Introduction
Some definitions
A chemical reaction is the exchange and/or rearrangement
of atoms between colliding molecules
In the course of chemical reaction, the atoms are conserved
but the molecules are not reactant molecules are
rearranged to become product molecules with simultaneous
release of heat
Atoms and molecules are conveniently counted in terms of
amount of substance or mole numbers (unit mol)
Combustion Introduction
Combustion research in the past was directed to fluid
mechanics that included global heat release by chemical
reaction
The heat release was often described simply with the help
of thermodynamics, which assumed infinitely fast chemical
reaction
This approach was useful to some extent for designing
stationary combustion processes; it was not sufficient for
treating transient processes like ignition or quenching or in
treating pollution formation
Combustion Introduction
In combustion processes, fuel and oxidizer (typically air)
are mixed and burned
There are several combustion categories based upon
whether the fuel and oxidizer is mixed first and burned
later (premixed) or whether combustion and mixing
occurs simultaneously (nonpremixed)
Each of these categories is further subdivided based on
whether the fluid flow is laminar (low Reynolds number) or
turbulent (high Reynolds number)
Combustion Systems
Flames
Laminar premixed flame
With premixed combustion the fuel-oxidizer mixture must
always be close to stoichiometric for reliable ignition and
combustion
The flame moves relative to the reactants, so separating
the reactants and products (velocity of about 0.5 m/s)
Flames
The burning of freely burning premixed laminar flat flames
into the unburnt mixture can be characterized by laminar
burning velocity or flame velocity or flame speed
The burning velocity depends only on the mixture
composition ( or ), the pressure and the initial temperature
is the fuel-air equivalence ratio a ratio of actual fuel-air
ratio to stoichiometric fuel-air ratio
is the inverse of , and is termed as the relative air-fuel
ratio
Flames
Non-premixed or diffusion laminar flames
The flame occurs at the interface between fuel and
oxidizer
The products of combustion diffuse into the oxidizer, and the
oxidizer diffuses through the products
Similar processes occur on the fuel side of the flame, and the
burning rate is controlled by diffusion
The term diffusion applies strictly to the molecular diffusion of
chemical species
Laminar counterflow
and coflow diffusion
flames
Flames
Non-premixed flames include more complex chemistry
than premixed ones, because the equivalence ratio covers
the whole range from 0 (air) to (pure fuel)
Rich combustion occurs on the fuel side and lean combustion
on the air side
Flames
Turbulent premixed flames
In this case, premixed flame fronts burn and propagate
into a turbulent fluid flow
If the turbulence intensity is not too high, curved laminar
premixed flame fronts are formed
The advantage of premixed combustion is that much
greater control of the combustion is possible
By lean premixing ( < 0.7), high temperatures are avoided
and hence combustion with low production of NO is
accomplished; also, a very small amount of soot is formed as
soot is largely a product of rich combustion
Flames
For premixed combustion the effect of turbulence is to
break up, or wrinkle the flame front
There can be pockets of burnt gas in the unburnt gas and
vice versa thus increasing the flame front area and speeds
up combustion
Flames
Turbulent non-premixed flames
In this case, turbulent convection mixes the fuel and air
together on a macroscopic basis
Molecular mixing at the small scales, i.e., molecular
diffusion, then completes the mixing process so that
chemical reactions can take place
Turbulence enhances the burning velocity
Fuel is injected as a fine spray into the air which is hot
enough to vaporize and ignite the fuel
The ordered air motion is also important because it
sweeps away the vaporized fuel and combustion products
from the fuel droplets
Flames
The flames can be further classified as steady or
unsteady
The distinguishing feature here is whether the flame
structure and motion change with time
Flames in engines are unsteady, and are turbulent
Combustion Stoichiometry
Ideal gas model
The gas species that make up the working fluids in internal
combustion engines (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, fuel vapor,
carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc.) can usually be treated
as ideal gases
The ideal gas law is:
~
~
R
pV mRT m T nR T
M
Combustion Stoichiometry
In combustion, oxygen is the reactive component of air.
It is usually sufficiently accurate to regard air as
consisting of 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent inert
gases taken as nitrogen (often called atmospheric or
apparent nitrogen)
For each mole of oxygen in air there are 3.773 moles of
atmospheric nitrogen
The molecular weight of air is 28.962, usually
approximated by 29
Because atmospheric nitrogen contains traces of other
species, its molecular weight is calculated to be 28.16
Thus, the value for the density of dry air at 1 atmosphere
(1.0133 x 105 Pa) and 25C is 1.184 kg/m3
Combustion Stoichiometry
The fuels most commonly used in internal combustion
engines (gasoline or petrol, and diesel fuels) are blends
of many different hydrocarbon compounds
These fuels are predominantly carbon and hydrogen
(typically about 86 percent carbon and 14 percent
hydrogen by weight) though diesel fuels can contain up
to about 1 percent sulfur
Other fuels of interest are alcohols (which contain
oxygen), gaseous fuels (natural gas and liquid petroleum
gas), and single hydrocarbon compounds (e.g., ethane,
propane, isooctane) which are often used in engine
research
Combustion Stoichiometry
By balancing the combustion reaction equation for a
particular fuel one can determine how much fuel and air
should be injected in order to completely burn both
A stoichiometric mixture contains the exact amount of
fuel and oxidizer such that after combustion is
completed, all the fuel and oxidizer are consumed to
form products
This ideal mixture approximately yields the maximum
flame temperature, as all the energy released from
combustion is used to heat the products
Combustion stoichiometry for a general hydrocarbon
fuel, CaHbOg, with air can be expressed as:
Combustion Stoichiometry
b g
b
b g
Combustion Stoichiometry
There are two typical approaches for systems with
multiple fuels
The first method develops the stoichiometry of combustion
using the general principle of atomic balance, making sure
that the total number of each type of atom (C, H, N, O) is
the same in the products and the reactants
The other method of balancing a fuel mixture is to first
develop stoichiometry relations for each component
individually then, multiply the individual stoichiometry
equations by the mole fractions of the fuel components
and add them
Combustion Stoichiometry
If less air than the stoichiometric amount is used, the
mixture is described as fuel rich
If excess air is used, the mixture is described as fuel lean
mf
Mf
F A
A s F s ma s a b g 4.76 M
a
4 2
Combustion Stoichiometry
Most hydrocarbon fuels have a stoichiometric fuel-air
ratio, (FAR)s, in the range of 0.050.07, i.e., the
stoichiometric AFR of gasoline is about 14.7
For most hydrocarbon fuels, 1420 kg of air is needed for
complete combustion of 1 kg of fuel
(FAR )actual
(FAR )s
1 : lean mixture
1 : stoichiometric mixture
1 : rich mixture
Combustion Stoichiometry
The amount of air in excess of the stoichiometric amount
is called excess air (EA) the percent excess air %EA is
defined as
ma
ma mas
%EA 100
100
1
mas
mas
Combustion Stoichiometry
Combustion Stoichiometry
In general, the products of combustion include many
different species in addition to the major species (CO2,
H2O, N2, O2), and the balance of the stoichiometric
equation requires the use of thermodynamic equilibrium
relations
However, assuming that the products contain major
species only (complete combustion) and excess air, the
global equation for lean combustion 1 is
1
b g
CaHb Og a (O2 3.76N2 )
4 2
b
3.76
b g
b g 1
aCO2 H2O
a N2 a 1 O2
2
4 2
4 2
Combustion Stoichiometry
In terms of %EA, may be replaced by
100
and the result is
%EA + 100
b g
%EA
CaHb O g
1 a (O2 3.76N2 )
4 2
100
b
b g
b g %EA
%EA
2
4 2
4 2 100
100
x CO2
x O2
a
%EA
a
b g %EA
100
b g x CO2
a 4 2 100
a 4 2 x
O2
Combustion Stoichiometry
For rich combustion (>1), the products may contain CO,
unburned fuels, and other species formed by the
degradation of the fuel
Often additional information on the products is needed for
complete balance of the chemical reaction
4 2
1
a
b
3.76
b g
CO2 H2O
a N2 1 CaHbO g
2
4 2
Combustion Thermodynamics
In a combustion process, fuel and oxidizer react to
produce products of different composition
The actual path by which this transformation takes place
is understood only for simple fuels such as hydrogen and
methane
For fuels with more complicated structure, the details are
not well defined
The first law of thermodynamics relates changes in
internal energy (or enthalpy) to heat and work transfer
interactions
Care must be exercised in relating the reference states at
which zero internal energy or enthalpy for each species or
groups of species are assigned
Combustion Thermodynamics
Consider a system of mass m which changes its
composition from reactants to products by chemical
reaction as indicated below
Applying the first law to the system between its initial and
final states gives
QR-P W R-P = UP UR
Combustion Thermodynamics
First consider a constant-volume process where the
initial and final temperatures are the same, T', then the
equation becomes
QR-P = U'P U'R = (DU)V, T'
The internal energy of the system has changed by an
amount (DU)V, T' which can be measured or calculated
Combustion processes are exothermic, therefore, the
systems internal energy decreases, i.e., QR-P and (DU)V, T'
are negative
Combustion Thermodynamics
For a constant-pressure process where the initial and
final temperatures are the same, T', the eqn can be
rewritten as
QR-P p(V'P V'R) = U'P U'R
or
QR-P = (U'P + pV'P) (U'R + pV'R)
= H'P H'R = (DH)p, T'
since for a constant pressure process
WR P pdV p(VP VR )
P
R
If the eqn is written per mole of fuel, (DH)p, T' is called the
increase in enthalpy at constant pressure and (DH)p, T' is
called the heat of reaction at constant pressure at T'
Combustion Thermodynamics
Note that the slope of
these lines increases with
increasing temperature;
also, the magnitude of
(DU)V, T' [or (DH)p, T']
decreases with increasing
temperature because cv,
(or cp) for the products is
greater than for the
reactants
Combustion Thermodynamics
The difference between (DH)p, T' and (DU)V, T' is
(DH)p, T' (DU)V, T' = p(VP VR)
Only if the volumes of the products and reactants in the
constant pressure process are the same are (DH)p, T'
and (DU)V, T' equal
If all the reactant and product species are ideal gases,
then the ideal gas law gives
(DH)p, T' (DU)V, T' = Ru(n'P n'R)T'
any inert gases do not contribute to (n'P n'R)
Combustion Thermodynamics
Combustion Thermodynamics
~o
ni D h
products
f,i
reac tan ts
~o
ni D h
f,i
mH2O
mf
hfg H2O
Combustion Efficiency
The combustion efficiency is defined as the fraction of
fuel energy supplied released during the combustion
processes
The exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine
contains incomplete combustion products as well as
complete combustion products
Under lean operating conditions the amounts of
incomplete combustion products are small
Under fuel-rich operating conditions these amounts
become more substantial since there is insufficient oxygen
to complete combustion
Combustion Efficiency
The engine can be analyzed as an open system which
exchanges heat and work with its surrounding
environment (the atmosphere)
Reactants (fuel and air) flow into the system; products
(exhaust gases) flow out
The net chemical energy release due to combustion
within the engine for a mass, m, is given by
~o
~o
Combustion Efficiency
The amount of fuel energy supplied to the control volume
around the engine which can be released by combustion
is mf QHV
Hence the combustion efficiency is given by
c
HR (TA ) HP (TA )
mf QHV
DQ
DS
TA
These equations combine to give
DW U - (DH TADS) = - DB
where B is the steady-flow availability function, H TAS
Usually pR = pA and TR = TA
The maximum work will be obtained when p P = pA and TP
= TA
Under these conditions,
A ,PA
or
(H TS )RT
A ,PA
] ( DG)TA ,PA
Wc
Wc
Wc
HR (TA ) HP (TA )
( DH)TA cmf QHV
Self-Ignition Temperature
If the temperature of an air-fuel mixture is raised high
enough, the mixture will self-ignite without the need of a
spark plug or other external igniter
The temperature above which this occurs is called the
self-ignition temperature (SIT)
This is the basic principle of ignition in a compression
ignition engine
Self-ignition (or pre-ignition, or auto-ignition) is not
desirable in an SI engine, where a spark plug is used to
ignite the air-fuel at the proper time in the cycle
When self-ignition does occur in an SI engine higher than
desirable, pressure pulses are generated which can cause
damage to the engine and quite often are in the audible
frequency range, termed as knock
Self-Ignition Temperature
If the temperature of a fuel is
raised above the self-ignition
temperature (SIT), the fuel
will spontaneously ignite after
a short ignition delay (ID)
time
The higher above SIT which
the fuel is heated, the shorter
will be ID
The values for SIT and ID for
a given air-fuel mixture are
ambiguous, depending on
many variables which include
temperature, pressure,
density, turbulence, swirl,
fuel-air ratio, presence of
inert gases, etc.
Flame Propagation
In normal combustion, the forward boundary of the
reacting zone is called the flame front
In stationary flames the gas moves through the flame,
rather than the flame through the gas usually seen in gas
turbines
Flame Propagation
The rate at which the flame moves into the unburned
portion of the charge is called the burning velocity
The rate at which the flame front is pushed forward by the
expansion of the burned gases is called the transport
velocity
Mb
p p1
M p2 p1
where,
Mb = mass burned
M = total mass of the charge
p1 = initial pressure
Flame Propagation
If it is assumed that the unburned portion of the charge is
compressed adiabatically and is a perfect gas, then
pVumu
Mb M Mu M
RTu
(k 1) / k
p
Also
Tu T1
p1
where the subscrcipt u refers to the unburned portion
Combining the above equations, we obtain
1/ k
p1Vumu p
p p1
1
p2 p1
MRT1 p1
Flame Propagation
Burning angle or burning time: is the period between
spark and peak pressure
Lag angle or lag time: is the period between ignition
spark and the appearance of a measurable rise of
pressure above the motoring-pressure curve
Effective burning angle or time: is the difference
between the burning angle and lag angle
Average flame speed: is the distance from the spark to
the most remote part of the combustion chamber,
divided by the burning time