Fundamental Mechanisms, Predictive Modeling,

and Novel Aerospace Applications of Plasma Assisted Combustion

AFOSR

MURI Review Meeting

Andrey Starikovskiy Princeton University

November 6, 2012

Main Tasks

Thrust 1. Experimental studies of nonequilibrium air-fuel plasma kinetics using advanced non-intrusive diagnostics

Task 1: Low-to-Moderate (T=300-800 K) temperature, spatial and time-dependent radical species concentration and temperature measurements in nanosecond pulse plasmas in a variety of fuel-air mixtures pressures (P=0.5-5 atm), and equivalence ratios

Task 4: Moderate-to-high (T=800 – 1800 K) temperature PAC oxidation kinetics in Discharge Shock Tube Facility at pressures up to 10 bar

Task 5: PAC oxidation and combustion initiation at high pressure, high temperature conditions (RCM)

Thrust 2. Kinetic model development and validation Task 8: Development and validation of a predictive kinetic model of non-equilibrium plasma fuel oxidation

and ignition Task 9: Mechanism Reduction and Dynamic Multi-time Scale Modeling of Detailed Plasma-Flame Chemistry

Thrust 3. Experimental and modeling studies of fundamental nonequilibrium discharge processes

Task 10: Characterization and Modeling of Nanosecond Pulsed Plasma Discharges

Thrust 4. Studies of diffusion and transport of active species in representative two-dimensional reacting flow geometries

Task 13: Ignition and flameholding in high-speed non-premixed flows Task 14: High Fidelity Modeling of Plasma Assisted Combustion in Complex Flow Environments

PAC: New Dimensions in Combustion

P, atm

0.02 1 40

T, K

250

2500

S/I

f

0.1

3.0

E/n

10

B/S

0.1

1

3

0.3

What is Different at High P

N2 + e N2(C3Pu) + e

N2(C3Pu) + O2 N2 + O(

3P) + O(1D)

N2(C3Pu) N2 (B

3Pg) + hn

N2(B3Pg) + O2 N2 + O(

3P) + O(3P)

H2 + {O(3P); O(1D)} OH + H

HO2; H2O2 …….

Plasma Assisted Oxidation P = 1atm; T = 300-800 K

Discharge Development

1 10 100 10001E-3

0,01

0,1

1

ion

O2(4.5 eV)

O2(dis)

N2(el)

O2(a+b)

O2(v)

N2(v)

tr+rot

N2:O

2 = 4:1

En

erg

y l

os

s f

rac

tio

n

E/N, Td

E/n, Td

I, A

Influence of Vibrational Excitation on Low-Temperature Kinetics

N2 + e = N2(C3) + e

N2(C3) + O2 = N2 + O + O

O2 + e = O + O + e

N2 + e = N2(v) + e

N2(v) + HO2 = N2 + HO2(v)

HO2(v) = O2 + H

Synergetic Effect of High and Low Electric Fields

Influence of Vibrational Excitation on Low-Temperature Kinetics

Measured and calculated OH decay time. P = 1 atm.

a) 3%H2 + air; b) 0.3%C4H10 + air.

3000K

1000K

300K

0.01atm 1atm 100atm

Flames

(Ju, Sutton)

Flow Reactors

(Yetter,

Adamovich)

Shock Tube

(Starikovskiy)

RCM

(Starikovskiy)

MW+laser

(Miles)

JSR

(Ju) Streamer

(Adamovich)

Forrestal Gas and Plasma Dynamic Lab 9 Months Ago

Forrestal Gas and Plasma Dynamic Lab 4 Months Ago

Forrestal Gas and Plasma Dynamic Lab 0 Months Ago

3000K

1000K

300K

0.01atm 1atm 100atm

Flames

(Ju, Sutton)

Flow Reactors

(Yetter,

Adamovich)

Shock Tube

(Starikovskiy)

RCM

(Starikovskiy)

MW+laser

(Miles)

JSR

(Ju) Streamer

(Adamovich)

Rapid Compression Machine: P = 10-70 atm, T = 650-1200 K

Driving chamber

Speedcontrol

chamber

Combustionchamber

Oil reservoirPiston lock chamber

g

N2

Fast active valve

P=30 bar of N2

P=1 bar

Solenoid

Piston

Oil

Scheme of the RCM

Pressure Measurements

Kistler 6025B

piezoelectric

pressure transducer

- range 0-250 bar

- linearity 0.1%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Time (ms)

Pre

ss

ure

(b

ar)

compression ignition delay

Temperature Calculations

• We assumed adiabatic core presence during measurement time.

• i- initial values, c- values after compression.

• Uncertainty < 2K

( ) 1ln (ln )

( )

c

i

T

c

i T

p Td T

p T

Gas Compression in RCM

Ini tial pos i tion

Co l d g a s

Ho t g a s (c o re )

Final pos i tion

Bottom plate

Piston

Piston

Length of the pis ton s trok e

Clearance height

Useful Range of Time

0

4

8

12

16

20

165 170 175 180 185 190 195

Time, ms

Pre

ssu

re, b

ar

6mm, 1032K, 12.21 bar

9mm, 1025 K, 11.95 bar

Useful Range of Time

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 30 60 90 120 150 180

Time (ms)

Pre

ssur

e (b

ar)

13mm, 958 K,19.77 bar

9mm, 967 K, 20.87 bar

Useful Range of Time

0

50

100

150

200

250

0,9 0,95 1 1,05 1,1

1000/T(K)

Au

toig

nit

ion

de

lay

tim

e,

ms

9mm

13mm

clearance

height, mm

time, ms

6

SDBD Plasma Ignition at High Pressure

ICCD images of the

discharge at 1 atm dry air.

Negative polarity of the high-

voltage electrode, 22 kV, 25

ns duration, f = 40 Hz

[Kosarev et al, 2009].

Mixture C2H6:O2=2:7 at 1 bar

and ambient initial

temperature was

successfully ignited in ~100

ms in relatively large volume

[Sagulenko et al, 2009].

Rapid Compression Machine: Plasma-Assisted Ignition

Plasma RCM: Electrode Geometries

localized

nanosecond

spark

nanosecond

SDBD

Plasma RCM: Regimes of Discharge Development

PAC at High Pressure: ER = 0.4

T2 = 794 K

P2 = 32.0 bar

Propane

Surface DBD

E < 50mJ

High-Pressure PAC: Lean Conditions

High Pressure PAC: Discharge Before Compression Stroke

T2 = 836 K, P2 = 40 bar. Discharge before compression

High-Pressure PAC: Lean Conditions

Discharge 20 ms before compression

PAC at High Pressure: ER = 1

T2 = 713 K

P2 = 26.5 bar

Propane

Surface DBD

E < 50mJ

High-Pressure PAC: ER = 1

High Pressure PAC: ER = 1 Discharge 20 ms Before Compression

T2 = 672 K, P2 = 20 bar

High Pressure PAC: ER = 1 Discharge 20 ms Before Compression

Comparison of Different Types of Discharges

Plasma-Assisted Ignition at High Pressures

CH4 + O CH3 + OH CH3 + OH CH2O+H2 CH3 + O2 CH2O + OH CH3 + O2 +M CH3O2 + M

T2 = 672 K, P2 = 20 bar. T2 = 794 K, P2 = 32 bar

Ignition delay time for

modified mixtures, f=1.0,

EGR=30%. Discharge 20ms

before compression stroke

Kinetics of Ignition Development

Stage 1. Discharge in

Methane‐Air mixture at temperature ~ 330 K, 1 atm.

Production of metastable

components. Stage 2. Fast adiabatic

compression to a

temperature of 800‐950 K. Metastable components

decomposition and ignition

development.

3000K

1000K

300K

0.01atm 1atm 100atm

Flames

(Ju, Sutton)

Flow Reactors

(Yetter,

Adamovich)

Shock Tube

(Starikovskiy)

RCM

(Starikovskiy)

MW+laser

(Miles)

JSR

(Ju) Streamer

(Adamovich)

Shock Tube with Discharge Section. U ≤ 150 kV, M ≤ 3 – MIPT

Test Section of the Shock Tube 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

100

101

102

103

104

105

I

II

III

autoignition

autoignition, experimentautoignition, calculations

PAI, calculations

PAI, calculations

PAI, experiments

PAI, experiments

PAIPAI

Ign

itio

n d

ela

y t

ime

, s

1000/T5, K

PAC Kinetics at High T, Low P

Shock Tube with Discharge Section. U ≤ 500 kV, M ≤ 5 – Princeton

Hypersonic Shock Tunnel - MIPT

4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5

108

109

1010

Inte

nsi

ty,

W/k

g

Velocity, km/s

Non-equilibrium Peak

Intensity, CO:N2=7:3

Discharge Formation and Flame Stabilization in High Speed Flow - SCRAMJets

Princeton Shock Tube/Shock Tunnel

Operating regimes for Princeton’s combustion-driven Shock Tube/Shock Tunnel in Air

Comparison with others

3000K

1000K

300K

0.01atm 1atm 100atm

Flames

(Ju, Sutton)

Flow Reactors

(Yetter,

Adamovich)

Shock Tube

(Starikovskiy)

RCM

(Starikovskiy)

MW+laser

(Miles)

JSR

(Ju) Streamer

(Adamovich)

Physics of Nonequilibrium

Systems Laboratory

DBD Discharges Development

Physics of Nonequilibrium

Systems Laboratory

DBD Discharges: 20 kV, 10kHz, 10th pulse

10 Torr 50 Torr

100 Torr 200 Torr

DBD Discharges: 20kV, 10kHz, 10 Torr Pulse N5

DBD Discharges: 20kV, 10kHz, 100th pulse

100 Torr 200 Torr

10 Torr 20 Torr 50 Torr

DBD Discharges: 20 kV, 10kHz ICCD gate 50 ns

Side view: T0=500 K, ϕ=0.3 Side view: T0=300 K, ϕ=0.0, pulse#10

End view: T0=500 K, ϕ=0.3 End view: T0=300 K, ϕ=0.0

200 Torr -

instabilities

Major International Collaborations and International Projects

Nickolay Aleksandrov (MIPT, Russia) Sergey Pancheshnyi (ABB, Austria) Svetlana Starikovskaya (LPP, France) PROJECTS: PARTNER UNIVERSITY FUND “Physics and Chemistry of Plasma-Assisted Combustion” (Princeton-LPP) RUSSIAN FEDERAL PROGRAM “Plasma-Assisted Combustion Ultra-Lean Fuel-Air Mixtures for Energy Devices Efficiency Increase” (Princeton-MIPT)

PUBLICATIONS BOOKS Aeronautics and Astronautics. Edited by: Max Mulder; TUDelft, The Nethrlands . ISBN 978-953-307-473-3. 2011

A.Starikovskiy, N.Aleksandrov

Plasma-Assisted Ignition and Combustion

http://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronautics

http://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronauticshttp://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/aeronautics-and-astronautics

PUBLICATIONS - 2012 A.Starikovskiy, N.Aleksandrov. Plasma-assisted ignition and combustion. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science (2012), doi:10.1016/j.pecs.2012.05.003 N.L.Aleksandrov, E.M.Anokhin, S.V.Kindysheva, A.A.Kirpichnikov, I.N.Kosarev, M.M.Nudnova, S.M.Starikovskaia and A.Yu.Starikovskii. Plasma decay in air and O2 after a high-voltage nanosecond discharge. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 45 (2012) 255202 (10pp) A.Starikovskiy, N.Aleksandrov, A.Rakitin. Plasma-Assisted Ignition and Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-829 A.Starikovskiy, A.Rakitin, G.Correale, A.Nikipelov, T.Urushihara, T.Shiraishi. Ignition of hydrocarbon-air mixtures with non-equilibrium plasma at elevated pressures. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-828 A.Yu. Starikovskiy, S.V.Pancheshnyi, A.E.Rakitin. Periodic Pulse Discharge Self-focusing and Streamer-to-Spark Transition in Under-critical Electric Field. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-665 N.Aleksandrov, E.Anokhin, S.Kindusheva, A.Kirpichnikov, I.Kosarev, M.Nudnova, S.Satikovskaia, and A.Starikovskiy. Plasma Decay in Air Excited by High-Voltage Nanosecond Discharge. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-511 M.Nudnova, S.Kindusheva, N.Aleksahdrov, A.Starikovskiy. Fast Nonequilibrium Plasma Thermalization in N2-O2 Mixtures at Different Pressures. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-510 A.Yu. Starikovskiy, V.P. Zhukov, V.A. Sechenov. Ignition Delay Times of Jet-A/Air Mixtures. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-501 M.M.Nudnova, A.Yu.Starikovskiy. Ozone formation in pulsed SDBD at wide pressure range. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012, AIAA-2012-407 A. Starikovskiy. Kinetics of Plasma-Assisted Oxidation and Ignition below Self-Ignition Threshold. 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 9-12, 2012. AIAA-2012-244

SUMMARY Major Results

1. Rapid Compression Machine is assembled;

2. Plasma Shock Tube is assembled;

3. Shock Tunnel is assembled;

4. Plasma assisted ignition demonstration up to P = 40 atm;

5. DBD discharge development is analyzed

Future Plans

1. High-temperature kinetics of PAC;

2. High-pressure kinetics of PAC;

3. Physics of pulsed discharges – nano- and picosecond scale;

4. Kinetics of nonequilibrium plasma – role of plasma density;

5. Plasma-assisted flame stabilization for GTEs and SCRAMJets.