Difisionflames

305

Q p , m i nk3/p2u:.
~
This means that the minimum energy is increased as the inverse of the
laminar flame speed cubed. In other words, much more energy is required when u,is low.
The typical level of energy required to ignite the mixture in a spark-ignition engine is
around 30 ml. As shown above, ut is dependent on the initial temperature of the reactants,
and the equivalence ratio of the charge (because this affects the adiabatic temperature rise,
and hence T J . This means that the strongest spark is needed when the engine is cold, and
also if the engine is running lean. This dependence also explains why it is attractive to
develop stratified charge engines, with a rich mixture zone around the spark-plug. The
typical variation of minimum energy to ignite a mixture is shown in Fig 15.10.

Air-fuel ratio

Fig. 15.10 Minimum ignition energy against air-fuel ratio

15.7 Diffusion flames

The previous sections all related to premixed flames of the type found in Bunsen burners,
or spark-ignition engines. The other major class of flames is called diffusion flames; in
these flames the rates of reaction are not controlled by the laminar flame speed but the rate
at which the fuel and air can be brought together to form a combustible mixture. This type
of combustion occurs in
0

open flames, when mixing with secondary air enables combustion of a rich premixed
core to continue to completion;
gas turbine combustion chambers, when the liquid fuel sprays are mixed with the air in
the combustion chamber;
diesel engines, when the injected fuel has to mix with the air in the chamber before
combustion can take place.

A typical arrangement of a diffusion flame might be that shown in Fig 15.11. This is a
simple example of a jet of hydrogen passing into an oxygen atmosphere. The principle is
the same if the fuel is a more complex gaseous one passing into air; the major difference
will be that the products of combustion will be more complicated. The three sections
across the jet (at A, B and C) show the way in which the oxygen diffuses into the jet,
usually by turbulent mixing brought about by the jet entraining the surrounding oxygen. At
section A the hydrogen and oxygen are completely separate, as indicated by the mass
fraction curves. By section B, some way from the end of the nozzle, the hydrogen has
been mixed with the oxygen just outside the jet diameter due to turbulent entrainment.

306 Combustion andflames

There has not yet been any mixing of hydrogen and oxygen in the potential core. Some
combustion has also taken place by this section, as indicated by the mass fraction of water.
Section C is located almost at the end of the mixing zone, after the end of the potential
core, and there is no pure hydrogen left in the jet. The edge of the mixing zone is now well
within the diameter of the jet.
Considering the concentration of hydrogen and oxygen along the centre-line of the jet, it
can be seen that there is pure hydrogen right up to the end of the potential core. After that
the hydrogen and oxygen on the centre-line combine to form water, and it is not until the
end of the mixing zone that the oxygen concenwation starts to rise again, as the water and
oxygen mix and dilute each other.
In this example it has been assumed that the oxygen and hydrogen burn as soon as they
come intimately in contact. This presupposes that the chemical reaction rate is much faster
than the diffusion rates; this is usually a reasonable assumption.
A similar, but more complex analysis may be made of the injection of diesel fuel into
the cylinder of a diesel engine. In this case the entrainment of the fuel and air does not take
place in the gaseous phase, but occurs because the droplets of fuel leaving the nozzle
impart their momentum on the surrounding air by aerodynamic drag. Once the fuel and air
are mixed it is possible for the droplets to evaporate to create a combustible mixture. The
details of diesel combustion are beyond this course, but the principles are similar to the
combustion of gaseous jets. Gas turbine combustion chambers work in a similar way, with
a spray of fuel entraining primary air to initiate the combustion, and subsequent
entrainment of secondary air to complete the process. Individual combustion systems will
now be considered.

Fig. 15.11 Combustion of a jet of hydrogen in an oxygen atmosphere

Engine combustion systems

307

15.8 Engine combustion systems

Different engines have different combustion systems which reflect the way in which the
fuel and air are brought together. These systems will be described briefly.
15.8.1

SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES

In spark-ignition engines the fuel and air are usually premixed prior to admission to the
engine cylinder. This is done either in a carburettor, or more commonly now by a port or
manifold fuel injection system. [Some of the two- and four-stroke engines being
investigated for use in cars do have direct injection into the engine cylinder using an airblast injector. These engines will not be considered here, but are a hybrid between the
fully premixed spark-ignition engine and the diesel engine in their combustion mechanism.] All these systems prepare the charge prior to it entering the cylinder, although it is
probable that the fuel enters the cylinder with a large proportion in the liquid phase. Under
fully warmed-up conditions this fuel will have evaporated by the time of ignition. At startup this will not be the case, and enrichment, beyond stoichiometric, is done to ensure that
the light fractions of the fuel give a combustible mixture; the remaining liquid fuel causes
high levels of unburned hydrocarbons (uHCs). It was stated above that a high level of
turbulent gas motion in the cylinder will increase the flame speed, and this can be
achieved by various mechanisms. In older engines the shape of the piston and cylinder
head produced a squish motion as the piston approached tdc, which enhanced the
turbulence in the region of the spark plug, and increased the flame speed (see Fig 15.12).

(a)

(b)

Fig. 15.12 Squish flow in bath tub combustion chamber: (a) piston at mid-stroke; (b) piston
approaching tdc and squishing gas from top land region

Other designs have been proposed, including the May combustion chamber
(Figs 15.13(a) and (b)) which produces a high level of turbulence by squeezing the gas
into a small combustion chamber under either the intake or exhaust valve. While this
system produces high turbulence it occurs too late to achieve its aims. A May chamber was
fitted to a Jaguar engine and produced better fuel economy by enabling leaner mixtures to
be used. More modem engines attempt to increase the turbulence levels around the spark
plug by the break-up of barrel swirl or tumble. The gas entering the engine has a
combination of swirl (vortex motion in a horizontal plane) and barrel swirl (vortex motion

308

Combustion andflames

in the vertical plane) (see Figs 15.13 (c) and (d)). Swirl momentum is preserved during
compression, but is not very useful for spark-ignition engine combustion. Barrel swirl
cannot be preserved as ordered motion because the shape of the vortex is destroyed as the
aspect ratio of the combustion chamber changes: barrel swirl is broken down into smaller
scale motion which enhances the flame speed.

Fig. 15.13 High activity cylinder heads for spark-ignition engines: (a) May combustion chamber note combustion chamber under valve; (b) May combustion chamber with piston near tdc - note
squishing of charge into compact chamber; (c) modem pent-roof (4 valve) head - note barrel swirl
set up in cylinder; (d) pent-roof chamber with piston near tdc - note high activity of gas around
Plug

Further features which must be borne in mind with spark-ignition engine combustion
cllamkrs are:
(i)

reducing zones where combustion can be quenched (see top land region in
Fig 15.11);

Engine combustion systems

309

(ii) limiting zones which might trap the end gases and cause detonation;
(iii) reducing crevice volumes where uHCs might be trapped, e.g. around top ring
groove.
15.8.2 DIESEL ENGINES

The design of diesel engine combustion chambers is different from that of spark-ignition
engines because of the nature of the diesel process. Fuel is injected into the diesel engine
cylinder, in liquid form, through a high pressure injector. This fuel enters the engine as a
jet, or jets, which has to entrain air to enable evaporation of the fuel and subsequent
mixing to a point where hypergolic combustion occurs. The mixing and combustion
processes are similar to those shown in Fig 15.11 for a gaseous jet. The droplet size of the
fuel varies but is of the order of 20 pm; the size depends on the injection nozzle hole size
and the fuel injection pressure, which might be 0.20 mm and 700 bar in a small high-speed
direct injection diesel engine. The prime considerations in the design of a combustion
chamber for a diesel engine are to obtain efficient mixing and preparation of the fuel and
air in the time available in the cycle.
The majority of small diesel engines for passenger cars use the indirect injection (idi)
process. In these engines, see Fig 15.14(b), the fuel is injected not directly into the main
combustion chamber but into a small swirl chamber (e.g. Ricardo Comet V) connected to
the main chamber by a throat. This approach was adopted because it was possible to
achieve good mixing of the fuel and air in the pre-chamber due to the high swirl velocities
that could be generated there as air was forced into the pre-chamber by the piston
travelling towards tdc. This approach had a further advantage that relatively simple fuel
injection equipment could be used, with a single hole nozi..le and low preysure ;njection
pump. Combustion of the rich mixture commences in the pre-chamber, and the burning
gases enter the main chamber (which contains pure air) and generate high turbulence
which ensures good mixing of the burning plume and the secondary air. Such combustion
systems are very tolerant of fuel quality, need relatively simple fuel injection equipment,
Fuel injector

Fuel injector

(a)

Swirl chamber

(b)

Fig. 15.14 Some combustion chamber arrangements for diesel engines: (a) basic schematic of
direct injection diesel engine; (b) basic schematic of indirect injection diesel engine

310 Combustion andflames

and can be run at relatively low air-fuel ratios before producing black smoke. Their
disadvantage is that their fuel economy is about 10% or more worse than their direct
injection counterparts.
Direct injection (di) diesel engines (shown schematically in Fig 15.14(a)) dominate the
larger size range. Nearly all truck diesel engines are direct injection, as are those for rail
and marine applications. The bottom limit of size for di diesel engines is reducing all the
time, and four cylinder engines as small as 2 litres are available for van and car
applications. The largest di diesel engines have quiescent combustion chambers, in which
there is no organised air motion. The mixing of the fuel and air is achieved by the multiple
fuel jets entraining air into themselves and bringing about the necessary mixing. More than
six holes might be used in the fuel injector nozzle to give good utilisation of the air in the
chamber. The relatively low engine speed of large engines allows sufficient time for
combustion to occur. As the engine bore size reduces so the engine speed increases, and
the time available for combustion becomes shorter. Also, the appropriate size of injector
hole reduces, until it reaches the limit that can be achieved by production techniques
(around 0.18 mm diameter). The increased engine speed, and reduced time for mixing,
requires that the rate of mixing of the fuel and air is enhanced above that which can be
achieved using a quiescent combustion chamber. The mixing rate can be increased by
imparting air motion to the charge, and this is done in the form of swirl in the diesel
engine. The fuel jets injected into a swirling flow have the peripheral fuel stripped off to
form a combustible mixture, which is where ignition is initiated. Figure 15.15 shows the
ignition points located by high speed photography in a high speed di engine.

Fig. 15.15 Sprays and combustion initiation points in a small di diesel engine: H = high swirl;
M = medium swirl; L = low swirl

Figure 15.15 also shows that the fuel jets impact upon the wall of the piston bowl. This
also plays an important contribution in the mixing of the fuel and air, and is necessary at
present because high enough mixing rates cannot be achieved in the centre of the bowl
itself.

Engine combustion systems 31 1

The design of combustion systems for diesel engines must aim at optimising the
overall combustion process. This takes place in two distinct modes: pre-mixed and
diffusion combustion. The first fuel that is injected into the cylinder is not ready to
ignite until it has evaporated and produced the necessary conditions for hypergolic
combustion. This takes a finite time, referred to as the ignition de2ay period, during
which the fuel is prepared but not yet ignited. At the end of this period there is rapid
combustion of the premixed fuel and air, which gives rise to a high rate of heat release
and produces high temperatures in the combustion chamber. This period has a major
effect on the amount of NO, produced in the engine. Typical equations for the ignition
delay period are
(15.15a)

or
[ E A ( l / R T - 1/17190)(21.2/(p - 12.4))0.631

ti, = (0.36 + 0.22Vp)e

deg crankangle

( 15.15b)

where

Vp = mean piston speed (m/s)

p = pressure (bar)
T =temperature (K)
E , = activation energy = 618840/(CN
CN = cetane number

+ 25)

Both eqns (15.15a) and (15.15b) have a similar form, and are related to the Arrhenius
equation introduced in Chapter 14 to define the rate equations. Equation (15.15b) is a
more recent formulation than eqn (15.15a), and has a more complex structure. Both
equations are the result of experimental tests on engines with a range of fuels, and cannot
be extended far beyond the regime under which they were evaluated, but they do give a
basic structure for ignition delay. It should be noted that eqn (15.15b) contains a term for
the cetane number of the fuel. The value of E , reduces as the cetane number increases and
this means that the ignition delay is inversely related to cetane number. A mechanical
method for limiting the overall ignition delay is to use two-stage or split injection. In this
type of system a small quantity of pilot fuel is injected into the cylinder some time prior to
the main injection process. The pilot charge is prepared and ready to ignite before the main
charge enters the chamber, and in this way the premixed combustion is limited to the pilot
charge.
After the premixed period is over, the main combustion period commences, and this is
dominated by diffusion burning, controlled by the mixing of the fuel and air. Whitehouse
and Way (1970) attempted to model both periods by the two equations given below.
Reaction rate:
( 15.16a)

and preparation rate:

P = Kmi(-x)mi(Po*)

( 15.16b)

3 12 Combustion and flames

where
pq

= partial

pressure of oxygen

P = rate of preparation of fuel by mixing

R = rate of reaction
mi = mass of fuel injected
mu= mass of fuel unburned
These equations result in instantaneous heat re-sase patterns o the form shown in
Fig 15.16. One of the diagrams has a short ignition delay, and it can be seen that the
instantaneous rate of heat release does not reach such a high level as for the long delay.
This is because the time for the physical and chemical processes to enable the fuel to reach
a hypergolic state is less, and consequently less fuel is available for spontaneous ignition.
The long delay results in a large amount of fuel burning spontaneously, with high
temperature rises, high rates of pressure rise (dplda) and a high level of noise generation.
This initial period is governed by the rate of reaction, R. After the premixed phase has
taken place, the temperatures inside the combustion chamber are high and the rate of
reaction is much faster than the rate of preparation, P. At this stage the combustion process
is governed by eqn (15.16b), which models a diffusion process. During this process the
rate of combustion is controlled by the rate at which the fuel and air mix, and in this phase
the hydrocarbon fuel in the centre of the jet is burning in insufficient oxygen. The fuel
pyrolyses and forms the precursors of the carbon particles produced in the exhaust system.
It is important to mix the burning fuel with the air at the appropriate rate to ensure that the
carbon produced during the combustion process is consumed before the exhaust valve
opens.

a,

Crankangle, a

Fig. 15.16 Effect of ignition delay on rate of heat release diagram

15.8.3

GAS TURBINES

Combustion in gas turbines takes place at essentially constant pressure, although there is
a small pressure drop through the chamber which should be taken into account when

Engine combustion systems

313

undertaking design. The overall air-fuel ratio in the combustion chamber will be around
40: 1, although there will be regions in which much richer mixtures exist. Figure 15.17 is
a schematic section of an annular combustion chamber, which will be located
circumferentially around the body of the gas turbine. Annular combustion chambers have
advantages over the older types of tubular combustors in terms of pressure loss and
compactness.

Dilubon

Nozzle

Snout

Intermediate

hole

Diluhon hole

Fig. 15.17 Section through aero gas turbine annular combustion chamber

The combustion in the chamber takes dace in a number of regions. When considering the
-,ombustion pmcess it is useful to remember that the three parameters - temperature,
turbulence, time - have to be optimised to achieve good, clean combustion. The air enters
the chamber through the diffuser, where its velocity is reduced and the air-flow is
distributed between the primary air entering tht cnout and the secondary air entering the
inner and outer annuli. The snout imparts a high swirl into the flow to induce a strong
recirculation region in the primary zone; this swirl enables the residence time in the primary
zone to be lengthened without making this region excessively long. It also promotes good
mixing through turbulence. The fuel injector will be either a high pressure spray atomiser or
an air-blast injector. Sometimes a smaller pilot injector is used to assist ignition. Ignition is
achieved by means of a powerful plasma jet igniter. In the primary combustion zone the
air-fuel ratio will be approximately stoichiometric (15 : l), and the adiabatic temperature
rise will take the temperature up to about 2000 K, at which temperature NO, will be formed.
The gas will leave the primary zone and then be diluted with secondary air bleeding through
the side walls of the chamber: the charge is then in the intermediate zone. This air will
induce further turbulence and supply more oxygen to complete the burning of the soot
formed during the rich primary combustion. The secondary air will also lower the gas
temperature to about 1800 K, and reduce the amount of NO, produced. Next, the gases will
enter the dilution zone where they will be further diluted, and their temperature will be
reduced to about 1300-1400 K. The design of the dilution zone will also reduce the
circumferential temperature distribution. Finally the cooling air which has been passed down
the outside of the combustion chamber will be mixed in with the hot gases, and the products
will be passed to the turbine through the nozzle, whch matches the flow from the
combustion chamber to the requirements of the turbine.

314 Combustion and flames

15.9 Concluding remarks

The physical phenomena which affect combustion have been introduced. The differences
between homogeneous, pre-mixed reactants and heterogeneous reactants, and their effect on
combustion, have been described. It has been shown that pre-mixed combustible mixtures
exhibit a characteristic combustion velocity called the laminar flame speed. The laminar
flame speeed is related to the mixture strength and the temperature of the reactants, but is
too slow for most engineering applications and must be enhanced by turbulence to achieve
levels appropriate for powerplant. The level of turbulence must be balanced against the
other combustion properties to ensure that the flame is not extinguished.
Diffusion flames which occur in heterogeneous mixtures have been described, and it has
been shown that these rely on the mixing of the fuel and oxidant to achieve combustion of
the mixture.
Examples have been given of combustion chambers for petrol and diesel engines, and
gas turbines. The general principles derived in this chapter have been used to analyse their
operation.

PROBLEMS
1 (a)

One of the main problems encountered in the design of a diesel engine combustion
system is the mixing of the air and fuel sufficiently rapidly to ensure complete
combustion. Explain, using diagrams, how these problems are catered for in the design of
(i) large automotive diesel engines;
(ii) the smallest automotive diesel engines.
Give two relative advantages of each type of combustion system.
(b) Compare and contrast the combustion systems of diesel and spark ignition
engines in the forms they are applied to passenger cars.

2 (a) What is meant by the terms

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

a global reaction;
an elementary reaction;
a reaction mechanism.

(b) Describe the steps required to form a chain reaction and explain why chain
reactions are important in combustion.
(c) A reaction is found to be 25 times faster at 400 K than at 300 K. Measurements
of the temperature exponent yielded a value of 0.7. Calculate the activation energy of
the reaction. How much faster will the reaction be at 1000 K?

3 A combustible mixture of gas and air is contained in a well insulated combustion

bomb. It is ignited at a point and a thin flame propagates through the mixture,
completely burning the reactants. This mechanism produces multiple zones of
products. Prove that the temperature of an element of gas mixture which burned at
pressure pb has a temperature T ( p, Pb) at a pressure p > Pb: