Chemical kinetic factors of hydrocarbon oxidation are examined in a variety of ignition problems. Ignition is related to the presence of a dominant chain branching reaction mechanism that can drive a chemical system to completion in a very short period of time. Ignitio n in laboratory environments is studied for problems including shock tubes and rapid compression machines. Modeling of the labo...

Catalytic ignition of CH4, CO, and H2 oxidation on platinum and palladium at atmospheric pressure is studied numerically. Two simple configurations are simulated: the stagnation flow field over a catalytically active foil and a chemical reactor with a catalytically active wire inside. The simulation includes detailed reaction mechanisms for the gas phase and for the surface. The gas-phase trans...

Humans have a profound effect on fire regimes by increasing the frequency of ignitions. Although ignition is an integral component of understanding and predicting fire, to date fire models have not been able to isolate the ignition location, leading to inconsistent use of anthropogenic ignition proxies. Here, we identified fire ignitions from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS)...

The effects of NO and NO2 produced by using a plasma jet (PJ) of a N2/O2 mixture on ignition of hydrogen, methane, and ethylene in a supersonic airflow were experimentally and numerically investigated. Numerical analysis of ignition delay time showed that the addition of a small amount of NO or NO2 drastically reduced ignition delay times of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels at a relatively low in...

Piezoelectric initiators are a unique form of ignition for energetic material because the current and voltage are tied together by impact loading on the crystal. This study examines the ignition response of an energetic composite composed of aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) nano-powders to the arc generated from a lead zirconate and lead titanate (PZT) piezocrystal. The mechanical s...

In recent years, the industry has shifted toward down-sizing and turbo-charging spark ignition (SI) engines in an effort to increase fuel conversion efficiency. However, this has given rise to a destructive phenomenon known as sporadic pre-ignition (SPI). At low cranking speeds and high loads, engines have been observed to knock violently for brief and infrequent intervals. If allowed to contin...

A rapid compression machine (RCM) test bench is developed in this study. The performance characterization and auto-ignition performance tests are conducted at an initial temperature of 293 K, a compression ratio of 9.5 to 16.5, a compressed temperature of 650 K to 850 K, a driving gas pressure range of 0.25 MPa to 0.7 MPa, an initial pressure of 0.04 MPa to 0.09 MPa, and a nitrogen dilution rat...

Lagrangian PDF investigations are performed of the Sandia piloted flame E and the Cabra H2/N2 lifted flame to help develop a deeper understanding of local extinction, re-ignition and auto-ignition in these flames, and of the PDF models’ abilities to represent these phenomena. Lagrangian particle time series are extracted from the PDF model calculations and are analyzed. In the analysis of the r...

A new rocket ignition mechanism developed at Utah State University, arc-track ignition, is very promising, but its underlying physics are poorly understood. An engineering/physics joint team was formed to investigate the process and suggest avenues for improvement of the technology. The objectives of the team evolved over the course of seven months of research. By the nature of this approach, u...

Ignition of an ethylene fueled cavity in a supersonic flow was achieved through the application of two energy deposition techniques: a spark discharge and pulse detonator (PD). High-frequency shadowgraph and chemiluminescence imaging showed that the spark discharge ignition was passive with the ignition kernel and ensuing flame propagation following the cavity flowfield. The PD produced a high-...