Fuel-rich n-heptane oxidation: A shock tube and laser absorption study

The chemical kinetics of n-heptane (n-C-7-H-16) - an important reference compound for real fuels - oxidation are well studied at stoichiometric and lean conditions. However, there is only limited information on the n-heptane chemical kinetics in fuel-rich combustion. In order to verify the accuracy of chemical kinetic models at these conditions, the oxidation of rich n-heptane mixtures has been investigated. Combustion of n-C2H16/O-2/Ar mixtures at equivalence ratios, phi, of 2.0 and 3.0 behind reflected shock waves has been studied at temperatures ranging from 1066 to 1502 K and at pressures ranging from 1.4 to 6.2 atm. Reaction progress was monitored by recording pressure and absorption time-histories of ethylene (C2H4) and n-heptane at a location 2 cm from the endwall of a 14-cm inner diameter shock tube. Ethylene and n-heptane absorption time-histories were measured, respectively, using absorption spectroscopy at 10.532 mu m from a tunable CO2 laser and at around 3.4 mu m from a continuous wave distributed feedback interband cascade laser (ICL). The measured absorption time-histories were compared with modeled predictions from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) detailed n-heptane reaction mechanism. To the best of our knowledge, current data are the first time-resolved n-heptane and ethylene concentration measurements conducted in a shock tube at these conditions. (C) 2017 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.