COMBUSTION THEORY

Flame Theory

Outline

Lesson 6: Flame theory and Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Brian Moore, Shaun Murphy Downloaded and presented by Ly Ngoc Minh Lecturer at HUI
1

Combustion Chamber Chemistry Adiabatic Flame Temperature Example Problem

2

Types of Flames
Two basic categories
PrePre-mixed Diffusion

Premixed
Results from gaseous reactants that are mixed prior to combustion Flame propogates at velocities slightly less than a few m/s Considered constant pressure combustion Reacts quite rapidly
3 4

Both characterized as Laminar or Turbulent

Example: Spark Ignition Engine

Diffusion
Gaseous reactants are introduced separately and mix during combustion Energy release rate limited by mixing process Reaction zone between oxidizer and fuel zone
5

Laminar
Premixed
Ex. Bunsen Burner Flame moves at fairly low velocity Mechanically create laminar conditions

Diffusion
Ex. Candle Flame Fuel: Wax, Oxidizer: Air Reaction zone between wax vapors and air
6

Example: Diesel Engine

1 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com

Turbulent
Premixed
Heat release occurs much faster Increased flame propagation No definite theories to predict behavior

Flame Propagation
Initial spark causes pressure wave formation Flame propagation considered constant pressure Burned and Unburned regions Unburned portion may undergo autoignition, autoignition, known as Knock Knock
7 8

Diffusion
Can obtain high rates of combustion energy release per unit volume Ex. Diesel Engine Modeling is very complex, no well established approach

Chemistry Basics
Reactants
Fuel: HydroHydro-Carbon Octane (C8H18) Oxidizer: Dry Air (D.A) 21% O2 79% N2 3.76 mol N2 1 mol O2

Example Using Butane

Ideal Chemical Equation: C4H10 + O2

Products
CO2 H2O N2

CO2 + H2O

Balancing the Equation

Conservation of Mass: C4H10 + 6.5O2
9

4CO2 + 5H2O
10

Example Cont.
Practical Chemical Equation: Air used as oxidizer, not pure oxygen C4H10 + 6.5(O2+3.76N2) C4H10 + 31.03D.A. 4CO2 + 5H2O+24.44N2

Balancing Made Easy

CH + a(O2+3.76N2)

bCO2 + cH2O + dN2

a = +( /4)

b=

c=/2

d = 3.76a

4CO2 + 5H2O+ 31.03D.A -6.5O2

11

12

2 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com

Combustion Energy
U = Q - W Q = U + W W = PV Q = U + PV = H Q = Hprod - Hreact
13

Enthalpy
Enthalpy of Formation (hf)
Energy required to form the compound

Change in Enthalpy (h)

Difference in enthalpy between Product Temp. and Reference Temp.

h = h(Tprod) - h(Tref) Total Enthalpy (h) h = hf + h H = (nihi)

14

Adiabatic Assumptions
No heat transfer through cylinder walls All energy transferred to engine work & exhaust products Allows Adiabatic Flame Temperature (AFT) to be calculated Q=0 Hreact = Hprod
15

Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Highest possible temperature that can be achieved during combustion Never achieved in practice
No realistic combustion chamber is adiabatic Dissociation lowers temperature Analagous to Carnot cycle for Heat Engines

Useful design parameter

Upper limit of exhaust temp. is known

Calculation is an iterative process

16

AFT Example Calculation

Problem Statement: Liquid Methane (CH4) is burned at a constant pressure. The air and fuel are supplied at 298 K and 1 atm. Determine the adiabatic flame temperature for these conditions assuming complete combustion.

Calculations Cont. Cont.

3) Determine Enthalpy of Reactants

1)

Balance Chemical Equation

CH4 + 2(O2+3.76N2) CO2 + 2H2O+7.52N2

2) Energy Balance and Adiabatic Assumptions

Q = 0 = Hprod Hreact Therefore, Hreact = Hprod
17

hf, CH4 = -74.81 kJ/mol (from chart) hf, O2 = hf, N2 = 0 Hreact = (ni hi) (n = # of moles) Hreact = 1mol * ((-74.81 kJ/mol) Hreact = -74.81 kJ
18

3 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com

Calculations Cont.
4) Determine Enthalpies of Products Guess value for temperature required: try 1000K

Calculations Cont.
Enthalpy of Formation values: hf,CO2 = -393.5 kJ/mol hf,H2O = -241.8 kJ/mol hf,N2 = 0 kJ/mol h values: hCO2(Tprod) hCO2(Tref) = 33.41 kJ/mol hH2O(Tprod) hH2O(Tref) = 25.98 kJ/mol hN2(Tprod) hN2(Tref) = 21.46 kJ/mol
19 20

hCO2 = hf, CO2 + (hCO2(Tprod) hCO2(Tref)) hH2O = hf, H2O + (hH2O(Tprod) hH2O(Tref)) hN2 = hf, N2 + (hN2(Tprod) hN2(Tref))
Use tables provided to find hf and h

Calculations Cont.
5) Total Enthalpy of each molecule: h = hf + h

Calculations Cont.
6) Hprod << Hreact

hCO2 = -393.5 kJ/mol + 33.41 kJ/mol = -360.09 kJ/mol hH2O = -241.8 kJ/mol + 25.98 kJ/mol = -215.82 kJ/mol hN2 = 0 kJ/mol + 21.46 kJ/mol = 21.46 kJ/mol Total Enthalpy of Products:

Try Higher Temperature (2300 K)

hCO2 = -393.5 kJ/mol + 109.67 kJ/mol = -283.83 kJ/mol hH2O = -241.8 kJ/mol + 88.29 kJ/mol = -153.51 kJ/mol hN2 = 0 kJ/mol + 67.01 kJ/mol = 67.01 kJ/mol Hprod = (nihi) Hprod = 1( 283.83) + 2( 153.51) + 7.5( 67.01) Hprod = -88.28 kJ
22

Hprod = (nihi) Hprod = (1) -360.09 + (2) -215.82 + (7.5) 21.46 Hprod = -630.78 kJ
21

Calculations Cont.
7) Hprod < Hreact

Calculations Cont.
8) Interpolate to find proper value
T prod 2300 K 74.81 kJ ( 88.28 kJ ) Find (T prod 2400 K 2300 K 44.46 kJ ( 88.28 kJ )

Try Higher Temperature (2400 K)

hCO2 = -393.5 kJ/mol + 115.79 kJ/mol = -277.71 kJ/mol hH2O = -241.8 kJ/mol + 93.60 kJ/mol = -148.20 kJ/mol hN2 = 0 kJ/mol + 70.65 kJ/mol = 70.62 kJ/mol Hprod = (nihi) Hprod = (1) 302.05 + (2) -169.11 + (7.5) 56.14 Hprod = -44.46 kJ
23

)=

2331 K

24

4 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com

Summary
Premixed and Diffusion Flames
Laminar Turbulent

Homework Problem
Problem Statement: Liquid Octane (C8H18) is burned at a constant pressure. The air and fuel are supplied at 298 K and 1 atm. Determine the adiabatic flame temperature for these conditions assuming complete combustion.

Combustion Chemistry
Balancing Chemical equations First Law Energy Balance

Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Assumptions Determination Iteration
25 26

5 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com