The experimental study of autoignition of tetralin at intermediate-to-high temperatures

Tetralin or 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (C10H12) is a naphthenic-aromatic hydrocarbon. It is also adopted as a component for the formulation of transportation fuel surrogates. In this study, the ignition delays of tetralin/air mixtures are measured in a heated shock tube at moderate to high temperatures ranging from 830 to 1380 K, at pressures of 6, 10, 20 bar and under fuel-lean, stoichiometric and fuel-rich conditions. The dependence of ignition delays on temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio is analyzed and a four-parameter correlation is developed. The mechanism in current form showed less reactivity as compared to the experimental data. It is, therefore, modified by adjusting the rate constants of most sensitive reactions at both high and low temperatures. The mechanism showed noticeable improvements at low temperatures and high pressures. The sensitivity analyses are conducted to identify the reactions governing the fuel ignition under different pressures and equivalence ratios. The important reaction pathways are identified at both low and high temperatures to understand the underlying chemical kinetics.