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Oxidation of Ethylene–Air Mixtures at Elevated Pressures, Part 1: Experimental Results

Madeleine M. Kopp

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843

*Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3123 TAMU.

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Nicole S. Donato

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843

†Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3123 TAMU. Student Member AIAA.

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Eric L. Petersen

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843

‡Nelson-Jackson Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3123 TAMU. Senior Member AIAA.

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Wayne K. Metcalfe

Combustion Chemistry Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

§Postdoctoral Researcher, Combustion Chemistry Centre.

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Sinéad M. Burke

Combustion Chemistry Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

¶Postgraduate Student, Combustion Chemistry Centre.

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and

Henry J. Curran

Combustion Chemistry Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

**Director, Combustion Chemistry Centre.

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Published Online:8 May 2014https://doi.org/10.2514/1.B34890

Abstract

Shock-tube experiments have been performed to determine ignition delay times of undiluted ethylene–air mixtures for temperatures from 1003 to 1401 K, at equivalence ratios from 0.3 to 2.0, and at pressures from 1.1 to 24.9 atm. Ethylene was the focus of this study because of its importance in the oxidation of higher-order hydrocarbons. The data exhibited some interesting behavior not typically seen in other lower-order hydrocarbons. For example, the fuel-lean mixtures showed virtually no pressure dependence, whereas at stoichiometric and fuel-rich conditions the usual trend of decreasing ignition delay time with increasing pressure was seen. The results are compared with other experimental data available in the literature and to a chemical kinetics model that has been developed over the past few years using primarily high-pressure lower-order hydrocarbon ignition delay times. The original agreement between the model and experiments at the time the data were first obtained was fair at best, stressing the importance of the present data set for improving the understanding of the chemical kinetics of this important hydrocarbon species. A correlation for each mixture was developed with an ignition activation energy of around $42.4 kcal / mol$ for the fuel-lean and stoichiometric cases; this value reduced to $35.3 kcal / mol$ for the fuel-rich condition.

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Copyright © 2013 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of this paper may be made for personal or internal use, on condition that the copier pay the $10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 1533-3876/14 and $10.00 in correspondence with the CCC.

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The work at Texas A&M University was supported primarily by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. CBET-0832561. The assistance of Christopher Aul in performing some of the experiments is appreciated. The work at National University of Ireland, Galway was supported by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company.

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Received24 December 2012
Accepted26 October 2013
Published online8 May 2014

Oxidation of Ethylene–Air Mixtures at Elevated Pressures, Part 1: Experimental Results

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