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A. R. Hoffman, S. A. Skeen and R. L. Axelbaum
Washington University in St. Louis
Advisor: Richard Axelbaum
Abstract
An experimental study has been conducted to determine the effects of introducing CO2 in diffusion flames on soot particle inception. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between the stoichiometric mixture fraction, Zst, and soot inception limits in flames where N2 is present as an inert. Half-height sooting limits (based on particle luminosity) were observed as Zst was varied by fuel dilution and oxygen enrichment in laminar, co-flow ethylene diffusion flames. Experiments were conducted for normal and inverse flames using CO2 and N2 as inert. In normal flames, sooting limits required higher adiabatic temperatures when CO2 was used instead of N2. This inhibitory effect of CO2 on soot inception increases for increasing Zst. Furthermore, direct temperature measurements show that sooting limits occur at higher temperatures for both normal and inverse flames when CO2 is used, at least for low-Zst conditions. This demonstrates that CO2 addition has the effect of inhibiting soot inception in diffusion flames.
Adam R. Hoffman is a sophomore engineering student at Brown University, Class of 2010. He will most likely choose to concentrate in Mechanical Engineering. At Brown, Adam is particularly active with Engineers Without Borders and the Brown Animal Rights Club. His home town is St. Louis, Missouri.
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