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iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

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Oxidation of n-butylcyclohexane in the low temperature region

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Title
Oxidation of n-butylcyclohexane in the low temperature region
Author(s)
Natelson, Robert Harris
Advisor(s)
Miller, David L.; Cernansky, N. P.
Keywords
Mechanical engineering; Jet planes -- Fuel; Engines, Fuel
Date
2010-05
Publisher
Drexel University
Thesis
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering -- Drexel University, 2010
Abstract
For optimizing fuel flexibility, emissions, fuel economy, and power output, the use of chemical kinetic models coupled with computational fluid dynamics offers the potential for improving the design of combustion systems. The development of kinetic models requires studying the combustion of the fuels at well-defined experimental conditions. Because real fuels contain hundreds of components, using surrogates of key representative components has been recognized as an approach for developing models of real fuel combustion. The present effort began with a focus on developing surrogates for jet and diesel fuels in the low temperature region, which is critical to autoignition in combustion systems. Surrogates composed of n-decane, n-butylcyclohexane, and n-butylbenzene were tested in preignition oxidation experiments in a pressurized flow reactor at temperatures of 600-800 K and in autoignition experiments in a single cylinder research engine. The alkylcyclohexane exhibited interesting behavior similar to alkanes. As a representative alkylcyclohexane, n-butylcyclohexane was further studied in the flow reactor with sampling followed by measurement of stable intermediate species using a gas chromatograph / flame ionization detector / mass spectrometer. The measured species indicated that the n-butyl chain and the cyclohexane ring interact at low temperatures and result in low temperature reactivity similar to linear alkanes. A semi-global chemical kinetic model, composed of 30 species and 45 reactions, was developed to explain the behavior of n-butylcyclohexane oxidation in the low temperature region. The model includes a kinetic mechanism file and thermochemistry file and predicts the low temperature reactivity of n-butylcyclohexane oxidation. For further refinement of the underlying chemistry and to aid current jet fuel surrogate work, a semi-detailed chemical kinetic mechanism, composed of 41 species and 73 reactions, was developed and incorporated into an existing jet fuel surrogate model. The model with the added mechanism predicts the low temperature reactivity.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/3259
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