Date of Completion

9-30-2016

Embargo Period

9-22-2016

Advisors

Dr. Xinyu Zhao, Dr. Baki Cetegen

Field of Study

Mechanical Engineering

Degree

Master of Science

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

Reduced mechanisms for jet fuels, including POSF10264, POSF10325, POSF10289, and n-dodecane as a surrogate, are extensively validated and investigated in perfectly stirred reactors (PSR). The ability of the reduced models to capture extinction limits and the important reaction pathways controlling the limit phenomena are investigated using a bifurcation analysis. In particular, extinction at conditions relevant to lean blow out (LBO) in jet engines is investigated.

It was found that the reduced models perform well over various equivalence ratios, pressures, and temperatures and can accurately capture extinction in PSR. The four jet fuels exhibited similar controlling reaction pathways, which involve only small molecules such as H, OH, HO2, and CO, at LBO conditions based on the results from the bifurcation analysis. The controlling reaction pathways for extinction were found to be sensitive to pressure and equivalence ratio, while the four jet fuels show nearly identical “S”-curve response near the extinction conditions. The four fuels showed nearly identical LBO performance in a PSR and thus it is likely that any large differences in LBO performance of the fuels in diffusive environments can be primarily attributed to the differences in their physical properties, such as diffusivity, viscosity and boiling point.

Major Advisor

Dr. Tianfeng Lu

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