Shock tube ignition of ethanol, isobutene and MTBE: Experiments and modeling

  • Henry J. Curran
  • , Mary P. Dunphy
  • , John M. Simmie
  • , Charles K. Westbrook
  • , William J. Pitz

Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer)Articlepeer-review

124 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ignition of ethanol, isobutene and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been studied experimentally in a shock tube and computationally with a detailed chemical kinetic model. Experimental results, consisting of ignition delay measurements, were obtained for a range of fuel/oxygen mixtures diluted in Argon, with temperatures varying over a range of 1100-1900 K. Mixtures ranged from very lean to very rich, including equivalence ratios of 0.1-4.0 for isobutene, 0.25-1.5 for ethanol, and 0.15-2.4 for MTBE. The numerical model consisted of a detailed kinetic reaction mechanism with more than 400 elementary reactions, chosen to describe reactions of each fuel and the smaller hydrocarbon and other species produced during their oxidation. The overall agreement between experimental and computed results was excellent, particularly for mixtures with greater than 0.3% fuel. The greatest sensitivity in the computed results was found to falloff parameters in the dissociation reactions of isobutene, ethane, methane, and ethyl and vinyl radicals, to the C3H4 and C3H5 reaction submechanisms in the model, and to the reactions in the H2-O2-CO submechanism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)769-776
Number of pages8
JournalSymposium (International) on Combustion
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1992

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