The Effect of Elevated Pressure on Soot Formation in a Laminar Jet Diffusion Flame

Abstract

Soot volume fraction (f[subscript sv]) is measured quantitatively in a laminar diffusion flame at elevated pressures up to 25 atmospheres as a function of fuel type in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of pressure on the soot formation process. Methane and ethylene are used as fuels; methane is chosen since it is the simplest hydrocarbon while ethylene represents a larger hydrocarbon with a higher propensity to soot. Soot continues to be of interest because it is a sensitive indicator of the interactions between combustion chemistry and fluid mechanics and a known pollutant. To examine the effects of increased pressure on soot formation, Laser Induced Incandescence (LII) is used to obtain the desired temporally and spatially resolved, instantaneous f[subscript sv] measurements as the pressure is incrementally increased up to 25 atmospheres. The effects of pressure on the physical characteristics of the flame are also observed. A laser light extinction method that accounts for signal trapping and laser attenuation is used for calibration that results in quantitative results. The local peak f[subscript sv] is found to scale with pressure as p[superscript 1.2] for methane and p[superscript 1.7] for ethylene.