Microwave effects on premixed flames
It has been proposed in the literature that microwave heating of combustion-generated plasmas in internal-combustion engines can be used to increase the rate of combustion of dilute mixtures. Experiments were conducted on fuel-lean laminar flames held above a porous burner flowing premixed mixtures of fuel (propane, ethylene, or methane) and oxidizer (air or oxygen-argon mixtures). A flame was positioned in a cavity resonated with microwaves at a frequency of about 2.4 GHz, with electric field intensities ranging to over 100,000 V/m. For the lean-mixture air flames (0.6 less than equivalence ratio less than 0.8) examined in this study, burning velocity enhancement increased with electric field intensity to a maximum value of 6 percent. It is concluded that the enhancement can be explained in terms of simple microwave heating of the bulk gases in the flame zone, which yields a greater flame temperature.
- Research Organization:
- GM Research Labs., Warren, MI
- OSTI ID:
- 6201229
- Journal Information:
- Combust. Flame; (United States), Journal Name: Combust. Flame; (United States) Vol. 56; ISSN CBFMA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
330100* -- Internal Combustion Engines
CAVITY RESONATORS
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENGINES
EQUIPMENT
FLAME PROPAGATION
FUEL-AIR RATIO
HEAT ENGINES
HEATING
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
MICROWAVE RADIATION
PLASMA HEATING
RADIATIONS
RESONATORS