Combustion characteristics and stability of premixed methane-air mixtures in catalytic microreactors are studied numerically, using a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model with detailed chemistry and multicomponent transport. In order to understand how to design microreactors with enhanced stability and robustness, the reaction and transport of methane-air mixtures are studied, and the role of operating conditions is evaluated. The primary focus is on computational fluid dynamics as a means of understanding energy management at small scales. It is shown that an appropriate choice of the flow velocity is crucial in achieving the self-sustained operation. Large gradients in temperature and species concentration are observed, despite the small scales of the system. The flow velocity plays a dual, competing role in flame stability. Low flow velocities reduce the heat generation, whereas high flow velocities reduce the convective time-scale. There is a narrow regime of flow velocities that allows self-sustained operation. When a low-power system is desired, highly insulating materials should be preferred, whereas a high-power system would favor highly conductive materials. Engineering maps are constructed, and design recommendations are finally made.
| Published in | World Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 2, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13 |
| Page(s) | 85-95 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Catalytic Microreactors, Reactor Design, Combustion Characteristics, Flame Stability, Heat Transfer, Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling
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APA Style
Junjie Chen, Deguang Xu. (2017). Combustion Characteristics and Stability of Methane-Air Mixtures in Catalytic Microreactors. World Journal of Applied Chemistry, 2(3), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13
ACS Style
Junjie Chen; Deguang Xu. Combustion Characteristics and Stability of Methane-Air Mixtures in Catalytic Microreactors. World J. Appl. Chem. 2017, 2(3), 85-95. doi: 10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13,
author = {Junjie Chen and Deguang Xu},
title = {Combustion Characteristics and Stability of Methane-Air Mixtures in Catalytic Microreactors},
journal = {World Journal of Applied Chemistry},
volume = {2},
number = {3},
pages = {85-95},
doi = {10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjac.20170203.13},
abstract = {Combustion characteristics and stability of premixed methane-air mixtures in catalytic microreactors are studied numerically, using a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model with detailed chemistry and multicomponent transport. In order to understand how to design microreactors with enhanced stability and robustness, the reaction and transport of methane-air mixtures are studied, and the role of operating conditions is evaluated. The primary focus is on computational fluid dynamics as a means of understanding energy management at small scales. It is shown that an appropriate choice of the flow velocity is crucial in achieving the self-sustained operation. Large gradients in temperature and species concentration are observed, despite the small scales of the system. The flow velocity plays a dual, competing role in flame stability. Low flow velocities reduce the heat generation, whereas high flow velocities reduce the convective time-scale. There is a narrow regime of flow velocities that allows self-sustained operation. When a low-power system is desired, highly insulating materials should be preferred, whereas a high-power system would favor highly conductive materials. Engineering maps are constructed, and design recommendations are finally made.},
year = {2017}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Combustion Characteristics and Stability of Methane-Air Mixtures in Catalytic Microreactors AU - Junjie Chen AU - Deguang Xu Y1 - 2017/08/22 PY - 2017 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13 DO - 10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13 T2 - World Journal of Applied Chemistry JF - World Journal of Applied Chemistry JO - World Journal of Applied Chemistry SP - 85 EP - 95 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2637-5982 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20170203.13 AB - Combustion characteristics and stability of premixed methane-air mixtures in catalytic microreactors are studied numerically, using a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model with detailed chemistry and multicomponent transport. In order to understand how to design microreactors with enhanced stability and robustness, the reaction and transport of methane-air mixtures are studied, and the role of operating conditions is evaluated. The primary focus is on computational fluid dynamics as a means of understanding energy management at small scales. It is shown that an appropriate choice of the flow velocity is crucial in achieving the self-sustained operation. Large gradients in temperature and species concentration are observed, despite the small scales of the system. The flow velocity plays a dual, competing role in flame stability. Low flow velocities reduce the heat generation, whereas high flow velocities reduce the convective time-scale. There is a narrow regime of flow velocities that allows self-sustained operation. When a low-power system is desired, highly insulating materials should be preferred, whereas a high-power system would favor highly conductive materials. Engineering maps are constructed, and design recommendations are finally made. VL - 2 IS - 3 ER -
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