Combustion characteristics of ammonia near-limit laminar flame

Senlin LÜ; Erjiang HU; Zuohua HUANG

doi:10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2024.27.047

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Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology) ›› 2025, Vol. 65 ›› Issue (9) : 1695-1704. DOI: 10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2024.27.047

Microgravity Combustion

Combustion characteristics of ammonia near-limit laminar flame

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Abstract

Objective: Ammonia fuel is a promising alternative fuel. Research on the near-limit combustion characteristics of ammonia is the basis for the efficient use of ammonia fuel and provides guidance for the construction and optimization of the detailed and comprehensive chemical reaction kinetic models of ammonia. Herein, the near-limit combustion characteristics of ammonia gas were investigated experimentally and computationally. Methods: The constant volume combustion bomb method was used to experimentally measure the laminar burning velocity (S_L) of the near-limit premixed ammonia/air/dilution mixture. A high-speed camera with a frame rate of 10 000 fps was employed to record images of the outwardly propagating spherical flame. MATLAB code was used to process the images and extract the flame radius. In addition, a corresponding computational study, including the prediction of the S_L of the near-limit ammonia/air/dilution premix and analysis of chemical reaction kinetics, was conducted with the CHEMKIN code package. During the simulation, CURV and GRAD values were set to 0.02 and at least 500 grid points were used. Results: The S_L values and flame images of NH₃/air, 95% (NH₃/air)/5% N₂, and 95% (NH₃/air)/5% Ar with an equivalence ratio (ϕ) range of 0.8—1.2 were obtained. A buoyancy effect on the flame of NH₃/air plus dilution gas (N₂/Ar) was observed, and N₂ suppressed flame propagation more than Ar. As ϕ increased, S_L values first increased and then decreased, and the S_L peak value (maximum) was at ϕ=1.1. For the NH₃/air premixed mixture, the experimental values were in overall good agreement with nine chemical reaction kinetic mechanisms of NH₃, and the predicted values of the Han 2020 mechanism were in the best agreement with the experimental values. For NH₃/air/dilution(N₂/Ar), the predicted values of the Mei 2021 mechanism were in the best agreement. Sensitivity and reaction pathway and flux analyses were performed under different dilution conditions by using the Mei 2021 mechanism. The reaction H+O₂$\rightleftharpoons$O+OH had a strong promoting effect on S_L, whereas the reaction NH₂+NO$\rightleftharpoons$N₂+H₂O had a strong inhibiting effect. The sensitivity coefficients, as well as the fluxes of each reaction branch, were slightly different under the two dilution conditions. By comparing adiabatic reaction temperatures, the increase in S_L for Ar dilution compared with that for N₂ dilution was found to be mainly due to the difference in thermophysical properties between Ar and N₂. Conclusions: N₂ has a stronger inhibitory effect on flame propagation than Ar, a buoyancy effect on the flame of the NH₃/air/dilution (N₂/Ar) premix exists, and a minimum S_L of approximately 2.9 cm/s is obtained. Numerical simulation results indicate that the experimental and simulated values are generally in good agreement. The Mei 2021 mechanism predicts the S_L of NH₃/air/dilution(N₂/Ar) well. A slight difference exists between the reaction pathways and sensitivity reaction coefficients for N₂ and Ar dilution, and the concentrations of the active free radicals O, OH, and H significantly affect laminar burning velocities.

Key words

ammonia / near-limit / laminar burning velocity / reaction pathways

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Senlin LÜ , Erjiang HU , Zuohua HUANG. Combustion characteristics of ammonia near-limit laminar flame[J]. Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology). 2025, 65(9): 1695-1704 https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2024.27.047

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