This article was downloaded by: [University of Manitoba Libraries]

On: 18 June 2014, At: 07:49

Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954
Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,
UK

Combustion Science and

Technology
Publication details, including instructions for
authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gcst20

FLAME STRUCTURE AND

BURNING SPEED OF JP-10 AIR
MIXTURES
a

FARZAN PARSINEJAD , CHRISTIAN ARCARI &

HAMEED METGHALCHI*

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Department , Northeastern University , Boston,
Massachusetts, USA
Published online: 25 Jan 2007.

To cite this article: FARZAN PARSINEJAD , CHRISTIAN ARCARI & HAMEED METGHALCHI*
(2006) FLAME STRUCTURE AND BURNING SPEED OF JP-10 AIR MIXTURES, Combustion
Science and Technology, 178:5, 975-1000, DOI: 10.1080/00102200500270080
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00102200500270080

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the
information (the Content) contained in the publications on our platform.
However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,
or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views
expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the
Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with
primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any
losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,
and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or

indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the

Content.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.
Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,
sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is
expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Combust. Sci. and Tech., 178: 9751000, 2006

Copyright Q Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0010-2202 print/1563-521X online
DOI: 10.1080/00102200500270080

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

FLAME STRUCTURE AND BURNING SPEED

OF JP-10 AIR MIXTURES

FARZAN PARSINEJAD
CHRISTIAN ARCARI
HAMEED METGHALCHI*
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department,
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The burning speed and flame structure of Jet Propellant (JP)-10 fuelair mixtures have been studied using two similar constant volumes: a
cylindrical vessel with end windows and a spherical chamber. Both
vessels are equipped with a central ignition, pressure transducer
for measuring pressure rise during combustion process and ionization probes for monitoring flame arrival time. Both spherical and
cylindrical chambers can be heated up to 500 K. The spherical vessel
can withstand 425 atm pressures while the maximum allowable
pressure for cylindrical chamber is 50 atm due to the two windows
at end caps. A thermodynamic model has been developed to calculate burning speed using dynamic pressure rise in the spherical vessel. The model considers a central burned gas core of variable
temperature surrounded by a preheat zone, an unburned gas shell
with uniform temperature and a thermal boundary layer at the wall.
The model also includes losses associated with thermal radiation
from burned gas to the wall and heat losses to the electrodes and
the wall. Measurements in the spherical chamber start when the flame
radius is almost half of the chamber radius (about 3.8 cm), where ratio
of flame radius to flame thickness is larger than 25, hence curvature
and flame thickness effects can be neglected. Shadowgraph photographic observations were made through the end windows in the

Received 10 August 2004; accepted 16 June 2005.

This work was supported by the Naval Research Office, Grant number N00014-03-10640 under technical monitoring of Dr. Gabriel Roy.


Address correspondence to metghal@coe.neu.edu
975

976

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

cylindrical chamber using a high-speed Charged Coupled Device

(CCD) camera with variable speed of up to 8000 frames=second.
Burning speeds of JP-10 air mixtures have been measured in a pressure range of 155 atm, temperature range of 450700 K and equivalence ratios of 0.71. A correlation for burning speed as a function
of temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio has been developed.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

Keywords: burning speed, JP-10, flame structure

INTRODUCTION
Missile fuels usually consist of pure synthesized hydrocarbons or mixtures of a few pure synthesized hydrocarbons for use in air breathing
missile engines. These hydrocarbons are compounds of high energy content per unit volume tailored to meet the operational requirements of
their assigned system. These include Ram Jet (RJ)-4, RJ-5, RJ-6, JP-9
and JP-10. JP-9 is an Air Force fuel that was specified for use in the
Air Launched Cruise Missile. JP-10 is a fuel meeting the 54C. Air
Force operational requirements and has replaced JP-9 as the operational
fuel for the Air Launched Cruise Missile. JP-10 is a high density synthetic fuel which is a single molecule C10H16. It is prepared by hydrogenating commercially available di(cyclopentadiene), which yields the solid
material endo-tetrahydrodi(cyclopentadiene). The intermediate structure
is then isomerized in the presence of catalyst to produce pure JP-10
(Coordinating Research Council, 1983). This fuel is used in volume-limited combustion chambers such as those of supersonic combustion ramjets and is of interest to the U.S. Navy for its propulsion systems. To
model the effects of JP-10 on both the emissions and performance of
combustors, knowledge of its fundamental combustion properties,
especially its burning speed, autoignition characteristics and the combustion chemistry is needed.
Williams et al. (Li et al., 2001; Varatharajan and Williams, 2003)
have studied the chemistry of JP-10 ignition and has come up with a simple kinetic model as well as a developed chemistry for JP-10 detonation.
Shepherd and his co-workers (Cooper and Shepherd, 2002; Austin and
Shepherd, 2003) have studied the detonation characteristics of JP-10
and similar fuel blends and have measured and reported the vapor pressure of JP-10 as a function of temperature < http:==www.galcit.caltech.
edu=EDL=projects=pde=JP10web.xls>. His study shows that the vapor
pressure of JP-10 is low at room temperature. They have studied the

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

977

decomposition of JP-10 through thermal and catalytic cracking mechanisms at elevated temperature. They also reported the feasibility of burning premixed JP-10 air mixtures at high equivalence ratios (Cooper and
Shepherd, 2002) and have estimated the laminar burning speed of stoichiometric JP-10 air mixture at 100 kpa and 398 K to be almost
64 cm=sec (Cooper and Shepherd, 2002).
The laminar burning speed is a fundamental property of homogenous fuel=oxygen=diluent gas mixtures. It is of basic importance both
for developing and testing chemical kinetic models of hydrocarbon oxidation for a wide range of practical applications including engines, burners, explosions, and chemical processors. Currently there is no data on
burning speed of JP-10 for the range of pressure and temperature
encountered in practical combustors.
A number of different methods have been used to experimentally
determine the laminar burning speed. They can be characterized as being
either constant pressure (Iijima and Takeno, 1986; Egolfopoulos and
Law, 1990; Vosen, 1990) or constant volume methods (Metghalchi and
Keck, 1980, 1982; Shebeko et al., 1995; Daly et al., 2001). The constant
pressure experiments, such as those made using flat flame burners, are
limited to a relatively narrow range of temperatures and are most useful
for obtaining data at atmospheric pressure. The disadvantages of the
constant pressure experiments are that they provide data at only a single
condition in each experiment and they require significant corrections for
conductive heat loss to the burner. Recently there have been efforts to
measure the heat loss to the burner (Bosschaart and de Goey, 2003)
and calculate the adiabatic burning speed, but the measurements could
only be done at low pressures and room temperature. The constant volume methods, such as combustion in a spherical chamber, cover a much
wider range of temperatures and pressures, provide a range of data along
an isentrope in a single experimental run, and require very little correction for heat loss or other effects. Metghalchi and co-workers (Elia
et al., 2001; Rahim et al., 2002; Kahraman et al., 2003; Parsinejad and
Metghalchi, 2003) have used the spherical combustion chamber method
for the determination of laminar burning speeds for a relatively wide
range of fuels, equivalence ratios, diluent concentrations, pressures and
temperatures.
Over the past several years a number of experimental (Hunter et al.,
1994; Davis et al., 1998) and theoretical (Warnatz, 1984; Habik et al.,
1999) studies have been done on the measurement of laminar burning

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

978

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

speed for various fuel=oxidizer=diluent mixtures over a range of equivalence ratios. However, these measurements and theoretical studies have
been performed only at low pressure and high temperature (Hunter
et al., 1994; Davis et al., 1998) or at low temperature and high pressure
(Warnatz, 1984; Habik et al., 1999). There are many practical applications that run at high pressures and temperatures; hence there is a need
to measure burning speed experimentally over a range of temperatures
and pressures.
This paper reports measurements of the burning speed of JP-10 air
mixtures over wide range of equivalence ratios (0.71), temperatures
(450700 K) and pressures (155 atm). The measured burning speed data
have been fitted to a power law relation.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Burning speed measurements were made in the existing spherical combustion chamber. The spherical chamber consists of two hemispheric
heads bolted together to make a 15.24 cm inner diameter sphere. The
chamber was designed to withstand pressures up to 425 atm and is fitted
with ports for spark electrodes, diagnostic probes, and ports for filling
and evacuating it. A thermocouple inserted through one of the chamber
ports was used to measure the initial temperature of the gas inside the
chamber. A Kistler 603B1 piezo-electric pressure transducer with a
Kistler 5010B charge amplifier was used to obtain dynamic pressure
vs. time records from which the burning speed was determined. Ionization probes mounted flush with the wall located at the top and bottom of
the chambers were used to measure the arrival time of the flame at the
wall and to check for spherical symmetry and buoyant rise.
The spherical vessel is housed in an oven which can be heated up to
500 K. Liquid fuel is stored in a 115 cc heated pressure vessel and is
transferred through a heated line inside the oven to the spherical chamber. Several thermocouples are located on the line from the fuel reservoir
to the vessel to monitor temperature of the fuel passageway. A heated
strain gauge (Kulite XTE-190) in the oven is used to measure partial
pressure of fuel in the vessel. Figure 1 is a drawing of the spherical vessel
and the locations of three ionization probes, pressure transducer and
thermocouple are shown in this figure.
The companion cylindrical chamber is made of SAE4140 steel with
an inner diameter and length of 133.35 mm. The two end windows are

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

979

Figure 1. Spherical combustion vessel.

34.93 mm thick Pyrex with a high durability against pressure and temperature shocks as well as having very good optical properties. This
chamber was designed to operate over the same temperature range as
the spherical chamber. However, since there is one window at each
end cap of the chamber, the maximum allowable pressure in the vessel
cannot exceed 50 atm. This vessel is equipped with access ports similar
to those in the spherical vessel. The primary purpose of this facility is
to permit optical observation of the flame shape and structure under
conditions as close as possible to those in the spherical chamber and
to insure the initial development of the flame and pressure rise are identical in both chambers.
Two band heaters and a rope heater wrapped around the cylindrical
vessel are used to heat up the vessel to 500 K. This chamber is equipped
with a heated liquid fuel line system, a pressure strain gauge and thermocouples similar to the spherical vessel. Figure 2 is a drawing of the

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

980

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Figure 2. Cylindrical combustion vessel and heating system.

cylindrical chamber with heating system. Figure 3 shows the liquid fuel
heating and injecting system.
A Z-type Schlieren=Shadowgraph (Kahraman et al., 2003; Parsinejad
and Metghalchi, 2003) ensemble has been set up to visualize the flame
propagation. A high speed CCD camera (1108-0014, Redlake Inc.)
with a capture rate of up to 8000 frames per second is placed very
close to the focal point of the second mirror. The capture rate and
shutter speed of the camera were optimized depending on the burning
speed of the mixture and the brightness of the flame.
The light source for the optical system is a 10-Watt Halogen lamp
with a condensing lens and a small pinhole of 0.3 mm in diameter, which
provides a sharp and intense illumination throughout the whole system.
Two aluminized spherical mirrors with 1=8 wavelength surface accuracy,
over-coated with silicon monoxide and mounted in metal-stands with a
diameter of 152.4 mm and focal length of 1524 mm, are placed on two
sides of the chamber.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

981

Figure 3. Liquid fuel evaporation system.

The gas handling system used with these facilities consists of a vacuum pump for evacuating the system and a valve manifold connected to
gas cylinders for preparation of the fuel=oxidizer=diluent mixtures.
Partial pressures of the fuel mixtures were measured using Kulite strain
gauge pressure transducers in the 015 atm range. Two spark plugs with
extended electrodes were used to ignite the mixture at the desired
location in the chambers. An electronic ignition system controlled by
the data acquisition program provides a spark with the necessary energy.
The data acquisition program synchronizes the ignition with the dynamic
pressure recording and Shadowgraph photography.
The data acquisition system consists of a Data Translations 16 bit
data acquisition card, which records the pressure change of the combustion event at a rate of 250 kHz. The analog to digital converter card
receives the pressure signal from the charge amplifier and the signals
from the ionization probes. All signals are recorded by a personal computer and an output data file is automatically generated. The output data
files include the dynamic pressure and its corresponding time. The initial
data file contains information about the partial pressures and initial

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

982

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

temperature of all the fuel, oxygen and diluent. An oscilloscope is used to

monitor the ignition signal and the outputs of the ionization probes and
the pressure transducer to insure that the various sensors are working
and that the system has fired properly.
The test procedure begins by evacuating the vessel and gas handling
system using the vacuum pump. The chamber then is filled with JP-10
vapor to the desired pressure and air is added. The vessel and the fuel
tank are at the same temperature during the filling. After the chamber
is filled with the proper mixture, several minutes are allowed for the
system to become quiescent before it is ignited. This will prevent any
turbulence inside the vessel. Six thermocouples on the liquid line are
used to make sure that temperature along the filling line is never below
the condensation temperature for JP-10. At least three runs at each
initial condition are made to provide a good statistical sample. Based
on statistical analysis, it was found that three runs are sufficient to
achieve a 95% confidence level (Rahim, 2002).
THEORETICAL MODEL
The theoretical model used to calculate the burning speed from the pressure rise is based on one previously developed by Metghalchi and co-workers (Metghalchi and Keck, 1982; Rahim et al., 2002) and has been
modified to include corrections for heat losses to electrodes and radiation
from the burned gas to the wall as well as including the temperature gradient in the preheat zone. It is assumed that gases in the combustion chamber can be divided into burned and unburned regions separated by a
reaction layer of zero thickness as shown schematically in Figure 4. The
burned gas in the center of chamber is divided into n number of shells
where the number of shells used is proportional to the combustion duration. Burned gases temperatures in shells are different from each other
and they are in chemical equilibrium in each shell at their corresponding
temperatures. The burned gas is surrounded by the unburned gas in preheat zone (dph ) with variable temperature. Core unburned gas with uniform temperature surrounds the preheat zone gases. A boundary layer
(dbl ) separates core unburned gas from vessel wall. It is further assumed
that: the burned and unburned gases are ideal, the unburned gas composition is frozen, the pressure throughout the chamber is uniform, compression of both burned and unburned gases is isentropic, and the heat
flux due to the temperature gradient in the burned gas is negligible. For

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

983

Figure 4. Three different regions of gases in the combustion chamber.

the conditions of interest in the present work, all these assumptions have
been validated by numerous experiments in constant volume chambers
and internal combustion engines carried out over the past several decades.
Burned Gas Mass Fraction and Temperature
For spherical flames, the temperature distribution of the gases in
the combustion chamber and the burned gas mass fraction can be

984

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

determined from the measured pressure using the equations for conservation of volume and energy together with the ideal gas equation of state
pv RT

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

where p is the pressure, v is the specific volume, R is the specific gas constant and T is the temperature.
The mass conservation equation is
m mb mu qb Vb qu Vu

pi Vc  Ve
RTi

where m is the mass of gas in the combustion chamber, mb is the burned

gas mass, mu is the unburned gas mass, Vc is the volume of the combustion
chamber, Ve is the electrode volume, and the subscript i denotes initial
conditions. Subscripts b and u represent burned and unburned conditions
respectively. q is average density and V is the volume of the gas.
The total volume of the gas in the combustion chamber is
Vi Vc  Ve Vb Vu

where
Vb

mb

v 0 T 0; pdm0

mb
0

0
vbs
T 0; pdm0  Veb

is the volume of the burned gas, vbs is the specific volume of isentropically
compressed burned gas,
Z
0
Veb
vbs
 v 0 dm0
5
eb

is the displacement volume of the electrode boundary layers,

Z m
Vu
v 0 T 0; pdm0 m1  xb vus  Vwb  Vph

mb

is the volume of the unburned gas, xb mb =m is the burned gas mass fraction, vub is the specific volume of isentropically compressed unburned gas,
Z
Vwb
vus  v 0 dm0
7
wb

is the displacement volume of the wall boundary layer,

Z
Vph
vus  v 0 dm0
ph

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

985

is the displacement volume of the preheat zone ahead of the reaction

layer.
The energy conservation equation is

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

Ei  Qe  Qw  Qr Eb Eu

where Ei is the initial energy of the unburned gas, Qw is the conduction

heat loss to the wall, Qe is the conduction heat loss to the electrodes, Qr is
the heat loss due to radiation from the burned gas,
Z mb
Z mb
0
Eb
e0 T 0; pdm0
ebs
T 0; pdm0  Eeb
10
0

is the energy of the burned gas, ebs is the specific energy of isentropically
compressed burned gas,
Z
0
Eeb
ebs
 e0 dm0
11
eb

is the energy defect of the electrode boundary layer,

Z m
Eu
e0 T 0; pdm0 m1  xb eus  Ewb Eph

12

mb

is the energy of the unburned gas, eus is the specific energy of isentropically compressed unburned gas,
Z
Ewb
eus  e0 dm0
13
wb

is the energy defect of the wall boundary,

Z
Eph
eus  e0 dm0

14

ph

is the energy defect of the preheat layer.

Using the perfect gas relation
e  hf

pv
c1

15

where hf is the enthalpy of formation of the gas at 0 Kelvin and c cp =cv

is the specific heat ratio, and assuming constant specific heats for the
gases in the boundary layers and the preheat zone, the integrals in

986

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Eqs. (11), (13), and (14) may be evaluated approximately to give

Z
vbs  v 0 dm0
pVeb

Eeb p
c

1
c
eb
b
b1

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

Ewb p

Eph p

Z
Z

16

vus  v 0 dm0
pVwb

c

1
c
wb
u
u1

17

pVph
vus  v 0 dm0

cu  1
cu  1
ph

18

A relationship between the wall heat transfer and the displacement

volume for a gas subject to a time dependent pressure has been derived
by Keck (1981). In the case of rapidly increasing pressure such as that
occurring during constant volume combustion, the terms representing
compression work on the boundary layer may be neglected and resulting
equations are
Qe

pVeb
Eeb
cb  1

19

Qw

pVwb
Ewb
cu  1

20

in which we have used Eqs. (16) and (17). Note that, to this approximation, the heat loss to the wall exactly equals the energy defect in the
boundary layer.
Substituting the relation dm qdV into Eqs. (5), (7), and (8) we
obtain
Veb 2pre rb deb

21

Vwb 4prc2 dwb

22

Vph 4prb2 dph

23

where re is the radius of the electrodes, rb is the radius of the burned gas,
rc is the radius of the combustion chamber,
deb

Z rbZ
0

1
0

qr; g
qbs  1

dg dr
rb

24

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

987

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

is the displacement thickness of the electrode boundary layer in which g

is the radial distance from the electrode,

Z

qr; g
dwb
dr
25
wb qus  1
is the displacement thickness of the wall boundary layer, and

Z

qr; g
dph
dr
ph qus  1

26

is the displacement thickness of the preheat zone. Using the approximation

Z
0







qr; g
Tb
ab rb  r 1=2
dg
qus  1
Tw  1
r_b

27

Equation (24) can be integrated over r to give

2
deb 
3

ab r b
r_b

1=2

Tb
Tw  1


28

where ab is the thermal diffusivity of the burned gas, Tw is the wall

temperature, and Tb is the burned gas temperature.
The wall boundary layer displacement thickness can be calculated
using the expression derived by Keck (1981)

Z z
12
a s1=2 1 Z z
1
u
c
0
0c
00 00
dwb
z
z  z
z dz
dy0
29
p
0
z0
where au is the thermal diffusivity of the unburned gas, s is a characteristic burning time, y t=s is the dimensionless time, and z p=pi is the
dimensionless pressure.
The displacement thickness of the preheat zone has been evaluated
assuming an exponential temperature profile



qus
Tb
1
 1 eau rrb =r_b
30
qr
Tu
Substituting Eq. (30) into Eq. (26) we obtain
!
1
2
1
Z

Tb
r
au rrb =r_b
1
e
1
dr
dph 
rb
Tu

31

988

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

r >> au =r_b , Eq. (31) can be integrated approximately to give






au
Tb
Tb
dph  
 1 ln
Tu
Tu
r_b

32

Note that the displacement thickness of the preheat zone is negative

while those of the thermal boundary layers are positive.
The radiation heat loss from the burned gas was calculated using
Z t
Qr
33
Q_ r t 0 dt 0 4ap Vb rTb4
0

where ap is the Planck mean absorption coefficient and r is the Stefan

Boltzmann constant (Tien, 1968; Egolfopoulos, 1994; Samaniego et al.,
1995; Siegel and Howell, 2002).
Finally combining Eqs. (3), (4), and (6) gives
Z

xb

vbs T 0; p  vus dx 0 vi  vus

Veb Vwb Vph

m

34

and combining Eqs. (9), (10), (12) and (18)(20) gives

Z

xb

ebs T 0; p  eus dx 0 ei  eus

pVph =cu  1  Qr
m

35

where vi (Vc Ve)=m and ei Ei=m are the initial specific volume and
energy of the unburned gas in the chamber. Eqs. (34) and (35) contain
the three unknowns p(t), xb(t), and Tb(t). Given pressure, p(t), as a function of time, they can be solved numerically using the method of shells to
obtain the burned mass fraction, xb(t), as a function of time and the
radial temperature distribution T(r,t). The mass burning rate, m_ b mx_ b
can be obtained by numerical differentiation of xb(t) (Rahim et al.,
2002). The thermodynamic properties of the burned and unburned
used in the calculations were obtained from the JANAF Tables and
STANAJAN code (JANAF, 1986; Reynolds, 1986).
Burning Speed, Flame Speed and Gas Speed
Burning speed may be defined
Sb

mx_
m_ b

q
qu Ab
u Ab

36

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

989

where Ab is the area of a sphere having a volume equal to that of the

burned gas. This expression is valid for smooth, cracked, or wrinkled
flames of any shape. For smooth spherical flames

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

m_ b

d
qb Ab r_ Vb q_ b
dtqb Vb

37

where qb is the average value of the burned gas density. Differentiating

the mass balance equation


qu
mb m  qu Vu
38
qb Vc  Ve  Vb
qb
with respect to time and neglecting the small contribution from the
derivative of qu =qb , we obtain


qu
39
m_ b
Vc  Ve  Vb q_ b  qb Ab r_b
qb
where
Ab 4prb2  2pre2

40

is area of the reaction zone, re is the electrode radius and rb is given by the
equation


4
Vb
41
prb3  2pre2 rb
3
Using Eq. (37) to eliminate q_ b in Eq. (39), gives





qu
Sf r_b Sb qu =qb  yb
qb  1

42

where Sf is the flame speed and yb Vb =Vc  Ve is the burned gas volume fraction and, note that for yb 0; Sf qu =qb Sb and for yb 1,
Sf Sb .
The gas speed is defined by
u g Sf  Sb
Substituting Eq. (42) into Eq. (43) we obtain



qu
ug Sb
1  yb
qb  1

43

44

Another consideration in burning speed measurement is the effect of

flame curvature and stretch rate. Corrections for stretch rate should be

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

990

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

applied to the burning speed calculation as has been suggested by many

investigators (Sivashinski et al., 1982; Law et al., 1986; Kwon et al., 1992;
Bradley et al., 1998; Kwon et al., 2002). However the curvature and
stretch corrections are most important when flame radius is small and
flame thickness is of a similar order to the flame radius. The effect of
flame thickness is negligible for a flame radius greater than three centimeters. This condition will be achieved by the time that pressure begins
to rise, which is the starting point for our calculations. Hence this correction diminishes as the flame grows and gets thinner. Flame front thickness can be calculated using the Rallis and Garforth (1980) relation
df

4:6k
qu c p Sb

45

where k is the average thermal conductivity of the species, qu is the

density of unburned gas, and c p is the average specific heat of the species.
To calculate the average thermal conductivity, k the thermal conductivity of each species is required. Thermal conductivity of each species is
calculated using the Lennard-Jones parameters a and e=k, and using relations by Hirschefelder et al. (1967). It is important to note that having
the ratio of 25 and higher for the ratio of flame radius to flame thickness
minimizes stretch effects on burning speed. Figure 5 shows the normalized flame radius with respect to flame thickness as a function of normalized flame radius with respect to chamber radius for a stoichiometric
mixture of JP-10 with air and at initial temperature and pressure of
450 K and 1 atm. It can be observed that for normalized radii larger than
0.5 (flame radius of 3.8 cm) when the pressure rise starts, this ratio is larger than 25 and it increases as the flame radius increases; consequently
the stretch corrections are small and negligible. All of our measurements
have been made for normalized flame radii larger than 0.5.
Minimum ignition energy of 52 mJ was introduced to the premixed
mixture from the centered spark plugs. The effect of ignition energy
through spark discharge has been studied by Bradley and Harper
(1994). They pointed out that the influence of spark energy on burning
speed rapidly decreases with increasing of the flame radius and fully
diminishes at radii larger than 56 mm. Spherical vessel and pressure
method were our sole means of burning speed measurements in this
study. Since all measurements in spherical vessel start after the pressure
rise in the vessel which happens at radii larger than 3.8 cm and minimum
ignition energy was applied, the effect of spark ignition energy does not

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

991

Figure 5. Ratio of flame radius to flame thickness vs. normalized flame radius for stoichiometric JP-10=air mixture at initial pressure and temperature of 1 atm and 450 K.

have any contribution in burning speed measurements using pressure

method.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Mixtures of JP-10 and air of equivalence ratios between 0.71 have been
burned at initial temperature of 450 K and initial pressures of 110 atm.
Final temperature and pressure can reach 700 K and 55 atm respectively
depending on the initial conditions and mixture equivalence ratio. Pressure time data, the primary output from the experiments, for the case of
stoichiometric JP-10=air at Pi 1 atm and Ti 450 K measured in
spherical vessel is shown in Figure 6. Ionization probe signals are also
shown in the figure, which help us to learn the arrival time of the flame
to vessel wall. As can be seen, ionization probes signals are very close to
peak pressure and there is no sign of buoyancy effect. Figure 7 shows
flame pictures of stoichiometric JP-10 air mixture at initial temperature
of 450 K. The frame rate of the CCD camera has been set on 1000 frames
per second. The camera can capture images of the entire chamber. These

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

992

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Figure 6. Pressure time history for stoichiometric JP-10=air at initial pressure and temperature of 1 atm and 450 K in spherical vessel.

pictures are shown here to report our observation of flame propagation

in a constant volume vessel. Discussion about instabilities on the flame
and auto-turbulization is beyond the scope of this study. Law and
co-workers (Kwon et al., 2002; Jomaas et al., 2005) and Bradley and
co-workers (1996) have investigated the parameters that are important
in instability analysis.
One of the important parameters for the outwardly expanding flames
is the Karlovitz number, which is the non-dimensional stretch rate and is
defined as Ka 2=RdR=dt=Sb =df , where t is time and R is the flame
radius. Bechtold and Matalon (1987) demonstrated the effect of stretch
on the instability of the outwardly expanding flames and concluded that
positive stretch tends to stabilize flames. Flame thickness also has strong
influence on the hydrodynamic stability. The thinner the flame, the
weaker is the influence of curvature and consequently the stronger is
the destabilizing propensity (Kwon et al., 2002). The time, normalized
pressure (with respect to initial pressure) and Karlovitz number are given
for each snapshot. Note that except for the early stages (t < 56 ms)

993

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

Figure 7. Shadowgraph pictures of stoichiometric JP-10=air at 1, 2 and 5 atm initial

pressures.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

994

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

pressure and temperature increase as flame expands and consequently

flame thickness and flame front speed are not constant through the whole
process. Pressure is measured using the Kistler 603B1 piezo-electric
pressure transducer and corresponding temperature can be calculated
using the ideal gas law relation Tu =T0 P=P0 11=c .
Figure 7a (Left column) shows the snapshots of JP-10 air flame with
initial pressure of 1 atm. It can be observed that the flame is smooth from
the beginning of ignition till it hits the wall after 30 ms with no evidence
of wrinkles or cracks on the surface. The final pressure in the last snapshot is 5 atm and the corresponding unburned gas temperature is 650 K.
Flame thickness at this time is about 0.04 mm. Figure 7b shows flame
propagation for initial pressure of 2 atm. Few small cracks form on the
flames surface probably as a consequence of disturbance caused by spark
plug discharge and their sizes grow but no evidence of cell emerging on
the flame surface exist till the end of the process (t 35 ms). This combustion process produced a final pressure and temperature of 11 atm and
675 K, respectively. At this point flame thickness is about 0.015 mm. The
initial pressure is 5 atm in Figure 7c. A few large cracks form at early
stages (t 6 ms) where pressure is almost constant. These cracks grow
as flame expands and around the Ka 0.037 and pressure ratio of
2.13 small cells emerge on the flame surface. Flame thickness is about
0.0015 mm at this point.
The measured burning speed data from spherical vessel (pressure
method) have been fitted to the following power law relation
Sb Sb0 1 a1 1  / a2 1  /2

Tu
Tu0

a 

P
P0

b
47

where Sb0 is the burning speed at reference point (P0 1 atm,

Tu0 450 K and / 1) in cm=s, / is the mixture equivalence ratio, Tu
is the unburned gas temperature in K, Tu0 is the reference temperature
and is equal to 450 K, P is the mixture pressure in atm and P0 is the reference pressure and is equal to 1 atm. a1, a2, a and b are constant. Using
a least squares method, the values for these constants and their RMS
fluctuations have been calculated as following
Sb0  DSb0

a1  Da1

a2  Da2

a  Da

b  Db

62  1:52

1:51  0:05

0:89  0:02

2:02  0:13

0:16  0:01

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

995

The above correlation is valid for the range of 0:7 < / < 1; 450 K <
T < 700 K and 1atm < P < 55atm. The correlation and the constants for
power of pressure ratio and temperature ratio clearly show that the burning speed of JP-10 is directly proportion to temperature and inversely
proportion to pressure.
The power law fit results have been plotted in Figures 8, 9 and 10. In
these figures the symbols are experimental data and the continuous curve
is the fitted curve. Figure 8 illustrates laminar burning speed measurement of stoichiometric JP-10 air at initial pressure of 1 atm and initial
temperature of 450 K for equivalence ratios of 0.81. There was no
ignition at / 0:7. Note that the burning speed has been plotted along
the isentrope, i.e., pressure is increasing based on the relation on the
upper left corner of the figure.
In Figure 9, the burning speed of JP-10 air mixtures for equivalence
ratios of 0.71 with initial pressure and temperature of 5 atm and 450 K
respectively have been plotted along the isentropes. The effect of initial
pressure on burning speed is shown in Figure 10. It can be seen that the

Figure 8. Laminar burning speed for JP-10=air at 1 atm and 450 K initial pressure and
temperature.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

996

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Figure 9. Burning speed for JP-10=air at initial pressure and temperature of 5 atm
and 450 K.

Figure 10. Burning speed of stoichiometric JP-10=air at initial temperature of 450 K.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

997

burning speed has an inverse relation to the initial pressure of the

unburned mixture.
As mentioned earlier the effects of heat loss through radiation and
losses to electrodes have been added to the previous burning model. It
was noticed that the effect of radiation for the whole range of equivalence ratio on the measured burning speed is not significant (less than
1%). The contribution of spark effect and losses to electrodes are also
negligible at the window of our measurements which spans from the time
flame radius is more than 3 cm.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Using two constant volume chambers, measurements of the burning
speed of JP10-air mixtures have been made over a range of conditions.
These conditions include higher temperatures and pressures than have
ever been previously used in such experiments. Flame structure has also
been observed, using the cylindrical vessel which can be useful to learn
about the onset of instabilities on flame. A comprehensive thermodynamic model has been developed that incorporates correction for heat
losses to electrodes and radiation loss to previous models and is incorporated with the pressure measurements in spherical vessel. The effects
of radiative heat transfer on the burning speed of JP-10 for the range of
the equivalence ratio of 0.71 was shown to be negligible.
A power law correlation for the burning speed of JP-10 air mixtures
in the range of 0:7 < / < 1; 450 K < T < 700 K and 1atm < P < 55 atm
was developed using a least square method. This correlation shows that
burning speed of JP-10 has an inverse relation with pressure but is
directly proportional to temperature.
REFERENCES
Austin, J.M. and Shepherd, J.E. (2003) Detonations in hydrocarbon fuel blends.
Combustion and Flame, 132, 7390.
Bechtold, J.K. and Matalon, M. (1987) Hydrodynamic and diffusion effects on
the stability of spherically expanding flames. Combustion and Flame, 67, 7790.
Bosschaart, K.J. and de Goey, L.P.H. (2003) Detailed analysis of the heat flux
method for measuring burning velocities. Combustion and Flame, 132,
170180.
Bradley, D. and Harper, C.M. (1994) The development of instabilities in laminar
explosion flames. Combustion and Flame, 99, 562572.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

998

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Bradley, D., Gaskel, P.H., and Gu, X.J. (1996) Burning velocities, markstein
lenghths, and flame quenching for spherical methane air flames: A computational study. Combustion and Flame, 104, 176198.
Bradley, D., Hicks, R.A., Lawes, M., Sheppard, C.G.W., and Woolley, R. (1998)
The measurement of laminar burning velocities and markstein numbers for
iso-octane-air and iso-octane-n-heptane-air mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures in an explosion bomb. Combustion and Flame, 115,
126144.
Chase, M.W. Jr., Davies, J.R. Jr., Fulrip, R.A., McDonald, R.A., and Syverud,
A.N. JANAF Thermochemical Tables, Third Edition, edited by American
Chemical Institute and American Institute of Physics, 1986.
Cooper, M. and Shepherd, J.E. Thermal and catalytic cracking of JP-10 for pulse
detonation engine applications, Explosion Dynamics Laboratory Report
FM2002.002, California Institute of Technology, December 2002.
Daly, C.A., Simmie, J.M., Wurmel, J., Djebaili, N., and Paillard, C. (2001)
Burning velocities of dimethyl ether and air. Combustion and Flame, 125,
13291340.
Davis, S.G., Law, C.K., and Wang, H. (1998) Experimental and kinetic modeling
study of propyne oxidation. Proceeding of Combustion Institute, 27, 305312.
Egolfopoulos, F.N. (1994) Geometric and radiation effects on steady and
unsteady strained laminar flames. Proceeding of Combustion Institute, 25,
13751381.
Egolfopoulos, F.N. and Law, C.K. (1990) Chain mechanisms in the overall reaction orders in laminar flame propagation. Combustion and Flame, 80, 716.
Elia, M., Ulinski, M., and Metghalchi, M. (2001) Laminar burning velocity of
methane-air-diluent mixtures. ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas
Turbines and Power, 123, 190196.
Habik, S., El-Sherif, S.A., Cho, P., and Abata, D.L. (1999) Developed reduced
reaction mechanisms for practical high hydrocarbon fuels. Combustion
Science and Technology, 148, 93133.
Handbook of aviation fuel properties, Prepared by Coordinating Research Council Inc., Warrendale, Pa., Society of Automotive Engineers, 1983.
Hirschfelder, J.O., Curtiss, C.F., and Bird, R.B. (1967) Molecular Theory of
Gases and Liquid, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
Hunter, T.B., Wang, H., Litzinger, T.A., and Frenklach, M. (1994) The oxidation
of methane at elevated pressures: Experiments and modeling. Combustion
and Flame, 97, 201224.
Iijima, T. and Takeno, T. (1986) Effects of temperature and pressure on burning
velocity. Combustion and Flame, 65, 3543.
Jomaas, G., Law, C.K., and Bechtold, J.K. (2005) On Transition to Cellularity in
Expanding Spherical Flames: Experimental and Theoretical Comparison,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 0713726.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

JP-10-AIR MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS

999

Kahraman, S., Parsinejad, F., and Metghalchi, H. Burning Speed Measurement of

Mixtures of ethane=Ethane=Propane=Butane with Air, Proceeding of the 3rd
Joint Meeting of the U.S. Sections of the Combustion Institute, UIC,
Chicago, March 1619, 2003.
Keck, J.C. (1981) Thermal boundary layer in a gas subject to a time dependent
pressure. Letters in Heat and Mass Transfer, 8(4), 313319.
Kwon, O.C., Rozenchan, G., and Law, C.K. (2002) Cellular instabilities and selfacceleration of outwardly propagating spherical flames. Proceeding of Combustion Institute, 29, 17751783.
Kwon, S., Tseng, L.K., and Faeth, G.M. (1992) Laminar burning velocities and
transition to unstable flames in H2=O2=N2 and C3H8=O2=N2 mixtures.
Combustion and Flame, 90, 230246.
Law, C.K., Cho, P., Mizomoto, M., and Yoshida, H. (1986) Structure of the stabilizing region of a laminar jet diffusion flame. Proceeding of Combustion
Institute, 21, 18031825.
Li, S.C., Varatharajan, B., and Williams, F.A. Chemistry of JP-10 Ignition,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, April 2001, 23512356.
Metghalchi, M. and Keck, J.C. (1980) Laminar burning velocity of propane-air
mixtures at high temperature and pressure. Combustion and Flame, 38, 143154.
Metghalchi, M. and Keck, J.C. (1982) Burning velocities of mixtures of air with
methanol, isooctane, and indolene at high pressure and temperature. Combustion and Flame, 48, 191210.
Parsinejad, F. and Metghalchi, M. An Investigation on the Burning Speed of JP-10
Air Mixtures Higher Temperature and Pressure, Proceeding of ESSCI, Penn
State University, University Park, Oct. 2003.
Rahim, F. (2002) Determination of Burning Speed for Methane=Oxidizer=Diluent
Mixtures, Ph.D. Thesis, Northeastern University, Boston.
Rahim, F., Elia, M., Ulinski, M., and Metghalchi, M. (2002) Burning velocity
measurements of methane-oxygen-argon mixtures and its application to
extend the methane-air burning velocity measurements. International Journal
of Engine Research, 3(2), 8192.
Rallis, C.J. and Garforth, A.M. (1980) Determination of laminar burning
velocity. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 6, 303329.
Reynolds, W.C. (1986) Stanford University Report. Stanford University.
Samaniego, J.M., Egolfopoulos, F.N., and Bowman, C.T. (1995) Length of
natural gas-oxygen non-premixed flames. Combustion Science and Technology,
109, 183203.
Shebeko, Y., Tsarichenko, A., Trunev, A., Navzenya, V., Papkov, S., and Zaitzev, A.
(1995) Burning velocities and flammability limits of gaseous mixtures at
elevated temperatures and pressures. Combustion and Flame, 102, 427437.
Siegel, R. and Howell, J. (2002) Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer, 4th ed.,
Taylor and Francis, New York, NY.

Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 07:49 18 June 2014

1000

F. PARSINEJAD ET AL.

Sivashinski, G.I., Law, C.K., and Joulin, G. (1982) On stability of premixed

flames in stagnation-point flow. Combustion Science and Technology, 28,
155159.
Tien, C.L. (1968) Radiation properties of gases. Advances in Heat Transfer, 5,
253324.
Varatharajan, B. and Williams, F.A. Chemistry of Hydrocarbon Detonation, Proceeding of 16th ONR Propulsion Meeting, USC, Los Angeles, June 2003.
Vosen, S.R. (1990) Hydroxylammonium nitrate-based liquid propellant combustion-interpretation of strand burner data and the laminar burning velocity.
Combustion and Flame, 82, 376388.
Warnatz, J. (1984) Experimental investigations and computational simulation
of acetylene-oxygen flames from near stoichiometric to sooting conditions.
Proceeding of Combustion Institute, 20, 845856.