Modes of reaction front propagation and end-gas combustion of hydrogen/air mixtures in a closed chamber

Modes of reaction front propagation and end-gas combustion of hydrogen/air mixtures in a closed chamber are numerically investigated using an 1-D unsteady, shock-capturing, compressible and reacting flow solver. Different combinations of reaction front propagation and end-gas combustion modes are observed, i.e., 1) deflagration without end-gas combustion, 2) deflagration to end-gas autoignition, 3) deflagration to end-gas detonation, 4) developing or developed detonation, occurring in the sequence of increasing initial temperatures. Effects of ignition location and chamber size are evaluated: the asymmetric ignition is found to promote the reactivity of unburnt mixture compared to ignitions at center/wall, due to additional heating from asymmetric pressure waves. End-gas combustion occurs earlier in smaller chambers, where end-gas temperature rise due to compression heating from the deflagration is faster. According to the xi-epsilon regime diagram based on Zeldovich theory, modes of reaction front propagation are primarily determined by reactivity gradients introduced by initial ignition, while modes of end-gas combustion are influenced by the total amount of unburnt mixture at the time when autoignition occurs. A transient reactivity gradient method is provided and able to capture the occurrence of detonation. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.