Ignition of Quiescent Lean Propane–Air Mixtures at High Pressure by Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges

D. A. Xu, D. A. Lacoste, C. O. Laux*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    52 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    We present an experimental study of lean mixture ignition by nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharges. The plasma is created in a lean propane/air mixture at pressure up to 10 bar and equivalence ratio 0.7, premixed in a constant volume vessel. We characterize the initial spark radius, the ignition kernel development and the flame propagation as a function of pressure (up to 10 bar) and the pulse energy (1–6 mJ per pulse). Comparisons with a conventional igniter show that better results are obtained with NRP discharges in terms of flame propagation speed, in particular at high pressure, due to the increased wrinkling of the flame front that is induced by NRP discharges.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)309-327
    Number of pages19
    JournalPlasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing
    Volume36
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jan 1 2016

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

    Keywords

    • High pressure
    • Ignition
    • Lean mixtures
    • Nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges
    • Plasma assisted combustion

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • General Chemical Engineering
    • Condensed Matter Physics
    • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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