Abstract
The hetero-/homogeneous combustion of fuel-rich H-2/O-2/N-2 mixtures (equivalence ratios phi = 2.5-6.5) was investigated experimentally and numerically in a platinum-coated channel at pressures p = 114 bar. One-dimensional Raman measurements of major gas-phase species concentrations over the catalyst boundary layer assessed the heterogeneous combustion processes, while planar laser induced fluorescence (LIF) of OH at pressures below similar to 5 bar and of hot-O-2 at pressures above similar to 5 bar (wherein OH-LIF was not applicable) determined the onset of homogeneous ignition. Simulations were carried out using a 2-D code with detailed hetero-/homogeneous chemical reaction schemes and transport. Both Raman measurements and numerical simulations attested a transport-limited catalytic conversion of the deficient O-2 reactant over the gas-phase induction zones. The agreement between measured and predicted homogeneous ignition distances was better than 12%, thus establishing the aptness of the employed hetero/homogeneous chemical reaction mechanisms. Analytical homogeneous ignition criteria revealed that the catalytic reaction pathway introduced a scaling factor 1/p to the homogeneous ignition distances. This outcome, in conjunction with the intricate pressure dependence of the gaseous ignition chemistry of hydrogen, yielded shorter homogeneous ignition distances at 14 bar compared to 1 bar. The practical implication for gas turbine burners utilizing the catalytic-rich/gaseous-lean combustion concept was that the high operating pressures of such systems prcimoted the onset of homogeneods Ignition within the catalytic module. Sensitivity analysis has finally identified the key catalytic and gaseous reactions affecting homogeneous ignition. (C) 2017 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.