The goals of this research were first to examine flame quenching in tubing smaller than the
quench diameter, and then to place lower size limits on microcombustor and microreactor
systems by studying a catalytic microcombustor burning propane. In the first set of
experiments, flame quenching was examined as a function of wall temperature for various
hydrocarbon fuels. This was accomplished by creating a wall temperature profile along a
tube, allowing a flame to propagate down the tube, and measuring the temperature of the tube
wall coincident with the flame front. This wall quench temperature was plotted as a function
of both the equivalence ratio and tube diameter. Fuels tested included propane, hexane,
kerosene and diesel. Results showed that quench diameter was reduced by elevating the wall
temperature and that the quench temperature increased for increasing mixture flow velocities.
Flames were produced in tubes down to 0.8 mm in diameter. In the second set of experiments,
a catalyst was used in combination with fuel preheating to obtain a self-sustaining combustion
reaction in a chamber approximately 0.25 mm³ in size. Propane was used in this experiment.
Results demonstrated that a stable self-sustaining reaction can be obtained in the microscale
regime and that reaction temperatures are on the order of 900°C. This research not only aided
in the characterization of hydrocarbon combustion in small diameter channels but also showed
promise for development of microcombustor systems. / Graduation date: 2002
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/29716 |
| Date | 21 September 2001 |
| Creators | Hatfield, Jonathan M. |
| Contributors | Peterson, Richard |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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