What is Combustion?

Combustion is a key element of many of modern societys critical technologies. Combustion accounts for approximately 85 percent of the worlds energy usage and is vital to our current way of life. Spacecraft and aircraft propulsion, electric power production, home heating, ground transportation, and materials processing all use combustion to convert chemical energy to thermal energy or propulsive force.
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Examples of combustion applications: Gas turbines and jet engines Rocket propulsion Piston engines Guns and explosives Furnaces and boilers Flame synthesis of materials (fullerenes, nanomaterials) Chemical processing (e.g. carbon black production) Forming of materials Fire hazards and safety
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Combustion is a complex interaction of: physical processes - fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer chemical processes - thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics Practical applications of the combustion phenomena also involve applied sciences such as aerodynamics, fuel technology, and mechanical engineering.

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 The transport of energy, mass, and momentum are the physical processes involved in combustion. The conduction of thermal energy, the diffusion of chemical species, and the flow of gases all follow from the release of chemical energy in the exothermic reaction. The subject areas most relevant to combustion in the fields of thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and chemical kinetics can be summarized as follows:

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Thermodynamics: Stoichiometry Properties of gases and gas mixtures Heat of formation Heat of reaction Equilibrium Adiabatic flame temperature

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Heat and Mass Transfer: Heat transfer by conduction Heat transfer by convection Heat transfer by radiation Mass transfer Fluid Dynamics: Laminar flows Turbulence Effects of inertia and viscosity Combustion aerodynamics
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Chemical Kinetics: Application of thermodynamics to a reacting system gives us - equilibrium composition of the combustion products, and - maximum temperature corresponding to this composition, i.e. the adiabatic flame temperature. However, thermodynamics alone is not capable of telling us whether a reactive system will reach equilibrium.
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Chemical Kinetics (contd): If the time scales of chemical reactions involved in a combustion process are comparable to the time scales of physical processes (e.g. diffusion, fluid flow) taking place simultaneously, the system may never reach equilibrium. Then, we need the rate of chemical reactions involved in combustion.

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Primary sources of combustion research literature: 1 Combustion and Flame (journal) 2 Combustion Science and Technology (journal) 3 Combustion Theory and Modelling (journal) 4 Progress in Energy and Combustion Science (review journal) 5 Proceedings of the Combustion Institute (Biennial Combustion Symposia (International) proceedings). 6 Combustion, Explosions and Shock Waves (journal translated from Russian)

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Fundamental Definitions
Chemical Reaction: exchange and/or rearrangement of atoms between colliding molecules Reactants Products The atoms are conserved (C, H, O) On the other hand, molecules are not conserved. H2 + 0.5(O2 + 3.76N2 ) H2 O + 1.88N2 Reactants Products
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CO + H2 O CO2 + H2

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Amount of substance or mole numbers (mol): 1 mol of a compound corresponds to 6.023 1023 particles (atoms, molecules, or any chemical species). Avogadros constant = 6.023 1023 Mole fraction i of species i with mole number of Ni is Ni i = S j=1 Nj

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 Mass fraction Yi of species i with mass of mi is Yi = mi

S j=1 mj

Molar or Molecular Mass, Mi (molecular weight is misleading and should not be used) - MCH4 = 16 g/mol - MH2 = 2 g/mol - MO2 = 32 g/mol
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 Mean molar mass, M , of a mixture of species denotes an average molar mass: M= i Mi

S = number of species in the system Yi = Mi Ni

S j=1

Mj Nj

Mi i Mj j

S j=1

Yi i = = Mi M 13

Yi /Mi
S j=1

Yj /Mj
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For a system of volume, V : Mass density (density), = m/V (kg/m3 ) Mean molar mass is given by: m = =M c N Chemical kinetics convention: concentrations c of chemical species are usually shown by species symbol in square brackets. cCO2 = [CO2 ]
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Molar density (concentration), c = N/V (kmol/m3 )

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For most conditions involved in combustion, it is satisfactory to use the perfect gas equation of state for the gas phase. P V = N Ro T (Pa)(m3 ) = (mol)(J/molK)(K) Ro = 8.314 J / mol K, universal gas constant P = pressure, Pa T = temperature, K
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When the gas phase temperatures are near or less than the critical temperatures, or when pressures are near or above the critical pressures, the density or concentration is not correctly predicted by the perfect gas relationship. Real gas equations should be used. - van der Waals - Peng-Robinson

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Basic Flame Types: Premixed Flames - Laminar - Turbulent Non-Premixed (Diffusion) Flames - Laminar - Turbulent Partially Premixed Flames - Laminar - Turbulent triple flames, edge flames,...
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Laminar (Turbulent) Premixed Flames: Fuel (in gaseous form) and oxidizer are homogeneously mixed before the combustion event Flow is laminar (turbulent) Turbulent premixed flames: - combustion in gasoline engines - lean-premixed gas turbine combustion

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Burned Unburned

- Cross-section of a gasoline engine combustion chamber.

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Stoichiometry: A premixed flame is stoichiometric if the premixed reactants contain right amount of oxidizer to consume (burn) the fuel completely. If there is an excess of fuel: fuel-rich system If there is an excess of oxygen: fuel-lean system Standard air composition commonly used for combustion calculations: O2 + 3.762N2
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Stoichiometry (contd): C3 H8 + 5(O2 + 3.762N2 ) 4H2 O + 3CO2 + 18.81N2 (A/F )stoich =air-to-fuel ratio (mass)= (mass of air)/(mass of fuel) (A/F )stoich =[5(32+3.762*28)]/(44) = 15.6 = (A/F )stoich /(A/F )actual = Fuel Equivalence Ratio
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Stoichiometry (contd):: = 1: stoichiometric combustion < 1: lean mixture, lean combustion > 1: rich mixture, rich combustion European convention (and to a certain extent Japanese) is to use Air equivalence ratio, : = 1/ In certain industries, excess air ratio, excess oxygen, and similar terminologies are also used.
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Laminar (Turbulent) Non- Premixed Flames: Fuel (in gaseous form) and oxidizer are mixed/come in to contact during the combustion process A candle flame is a typical laminar non-premixed (diffusion) flame Turbulent non-premixed flames: - hydrogen rocket engine - current aero gas turbines - diesel engines

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A candle flame.

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Air Inlet Inlet Port Design Chamber Design Turbocharge

AIR MOTION / TURBULENCE IN THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER

FUEL-AIR MIXING PROCESS

IGNITION

PARTIALLY "PREMIXED" COMBUSTION

MOSTLY NON-PREMIXED COMBUSTION

EXHAUST EMISSIONS

INJECTION AND SPRAY CHARACTERISTICS

Fuel Properties

EGR

Injection Timing Injection System Design Injection Duration Injection Rate

HEAT RELEASE RADIATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN HOT AND COLD POCKETS NOX & SOOT FORMATION SOOT OXIDATION

Processes in the diesel engine combustion.

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TURBULENT PREMIXED LAMINAR

Spark-ignited gasoline engine Low-NOx stationary gas turbine Flat flame Bunsen flame Aircraft turbine

TURBULENT NON-PREMIXED (DIFFUSION) LAMINAR

Hydrogen-oxygen rocket motor Diesel engine Pulverized coal combustion Candle flame Radiant burners for heating Wood fire

FUEL/OXIDIZER MIXING

FLUID MOTION

EXAMPLES

Examples of combustion systems. 26

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