Fuel-oxidant configuration

Since diffusion rates vary with pressure and the rate of overall combustion reactions varies approximately with the pressure squared, at very low pressures the flame formed will exhibit premixed combustion characteristics even though the fuel and oxidizer may be separate concentric gaseous streams. Figure 6.1 details how the flame structure varies with pressure for such a configuration where the fuel is a simple higher-order hydrocarbon [1], Normally, the concentric fuel-oxidizer configuration is typical of diffusion flame processes. 

For a fuel-oxidant configuration shown in Equation 9.3 at a given temperature and pressure, the theoretical equilibrium open-circuit potential of a given oxidation-reduction reaction within the cell is determined by Equation 9.4 known as Nemst equation ... 

The counterflow configuration has been extensively utilized to provide benchmark experimental data for the study of stretched flame phenomena and the modeling of turbulent flames through the concept of laminar flamelets. Global flame properties of a fuel/oxidizer mixture obtained using this configuration, such as laminar flame speed and extinction stretch rate, have also been widely used as target responses for the development, validation, and optimization of a detailed reaction mechanism. In particular, extinction stretch rate represents a kinetics-affected phenomenon and characterizes the interaction between a characteristic flame time and a characteristic flow time. Furthermore, the study of extinction phenomena is of fundamental and practical importance in the field of combustion, and is closely related to the areas of safety, fire suppression, and control of combustion processes. 

Now it is important to stress that, whereas the laminar flame speed is a unique thermochemical property of a fuel-oxidizer mixture ratio, a turbulent flame speed is a function not only of the fuel-oxidizer mixture ratio, but also of the flow characteristics and experimental configuration. Thus, one encounters great difficulty in correlating the experimental data of various investigators. In a sense, there is no flame speed in a turbulent stream. Essentially, as a flow field is made turbulent for a given experimental configuration, the mass consumption rate (and hence the rate of energy release) of the fuel-oxidizer mixture increases. Therefore, some researchers have found it convenient to define a turbulent flame speed, S T as the mean mass flux per unit area (in a... 

A similar distinction between a system with pre-electrolysis with only one electrode (in this case anodic) process, and a system with simultaneous anodic and cathodic processes (in which anode and cathode are on opposite walls of a microchannel so that each liquid is only in contact with the desired electrode potential, analogous to the fuel cell configurations discussed above) was made by Horii et al. (2008) in their work on the in situ generation of carbocations for nucleophilic reactions. The carbocation is formed at the anode, and the reaction with the nucleophile is either downstream (in the pre-electrolysis case) or after diffusion across the liquid-liquid interface (in the case with both electrodes present at opposite walls). The concept was used for the anodic substitution of cyclic carbamates with allyltrimethylsilane, with moderate to good conversion yields without the need for low-temperature conditions. The advantages of the approach as claimed by the authors are efficient nucleophilic reactions in a single-pass operation, selective oxidation of substrates without oxidation of nucleophile, stabilization of cationic intermediates at ambient temperatures, by the use of ionic liquids as reaction media, and effective trapping of unstable cationic intermediates with a nucleophile. 

Now it is important to stress that, whereas the laminar flame speed is a unique thermochemical property of a fuel-oxidizer mixture ratio, a turbulent flame speed is a function not only of the fuel-oxidizer mixture ratio, but also of the flow characteristics and experimental configuration. Thus, one encounters great difficulty... 

There is a class of nonporous materials called proton conductors which are made from mixed oxides and do not involve transport of molecular or ionic species (other than proton) through the membrane. Conduction of protons can enhance the reaction rate and selectivity of the reaction involved. Unlike oxygen conductors, proton conductors used in a fuel cell configuration have the advantage of avoiding dilution of the fuel with the reaction products [Iwahara ct al., 1986]. Furthermore, by eliminating direct contact of fuel with oxygen, safety concern is reduced and selectivity of the chemical products can be improved. The subject, however, will not be covered in this book. 

Mixed Fuel and Oxidant Fuel Cell Configuration... 

The mixed fuel and oxidant fuel cell design is similar to the monolithic fuel cell configuration except that there is only one reactant flow channel for both the fuel and the oxidant (Fig. Two approaches to this fuel... 

Fig. 5 Mixed fuel and oxidant fuel cell configuration. (From Ref.. )...

For gaseous flames, the LES/FMDF can be implemented via two combustion models (1) a finite-rate, reduced-chemistry model for nonequilibrium flames and (2) a near-equilibrium model employing detailed kinetics. In (1), a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is solved together with the FMDF equation for all the scalars (mass fractions and enthalpy). Finite-rate chemistry effects are explicitly and exactly" included in this procedure since the chemistry is closed in the formulation. In (2). the LES/FMDF is employed in conjunction with the equilibrium fuel-oxidation model. This model is enacted via fiamelet simulations, which consider a laminar counterflow (opposed jet) flame configuration. At low strain rates, the flame is usually close to equilibrium. Thus, the thermochemical variables are determined completely by the mixture fraction variable. A fiamelet library is coupled with the LES/FMDF solver in which transport of the mixture fraction is considered. It is useful to emphasize here that the PDF of the mixture fraction is not assumed a priori (as done in almost all other flamelet-based models), but is calculated explicitly via the FMDF. The LES/FMDF/flamelet solver is computationally less expensive than that described in (1) thus, it can be used for more complex flow configurations. 

Fig. 7. Solid oxide fuel cell configurations. A Siemens-Westinghouse tubular cell B Tubular integrated interconnector concept. Similar interconnected systems exist in planar geometry C Planar SOFC designs, differing only in gas flow manifolding.

Pintle flows are classified as fuel-centered or oxidizer-centered, depending on which propellant flows inside the pintle tip. Typically, smaller engines utilize fuel-centered configurations and larger engines are oxidizer-centered [4]. When... 

The fuel cell configuration with tubular cells uses fine-grain solid MgO electrolyte and molten electrolyte. The electrode surfaces are coated with metallic powders, such as silver (Ag) for the air or oxygen cathode and iron (Fe), Ni, or a zinc oxide/ silver (ZnO/Ag) mixture for the fuel anode. The structural details of a fuel cell with tubular configuration are illustrated in Figure 3.2. This particular fuel cell... 

VIII. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Configurations and Perfonnance... 

VIII. SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL CONFIGURATIONS AND PERFORMANCE... 

Distance of deflagration to-detonation transition or pre- detonation distance (FDD) Distance from the flame source to the place of detonation onset. FDD depends on an explosive volume configuration, type of fuel-oxidizer mixture, presence of flow turbulence sources in the path of the flame propagation. 

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