Tutorials Manual

Chapter 2: Combustion in Gas-phase Processes
Tutorials Manual
Figure 2-31
HCCI Engine—EGR Heat Loss Comparison
2.5 Simulating a Shock-tube Experiment
Mechanism development often involves analyzing experimental data to understand
the chemical reactions and extract rate parameters. Shock tube experiments are often
used to obtain chemical kinetic data at high temperatures, which is especially relevant
to combustion modeling.
2.5.1 Shock-heated Air (Shock)
2.5.1.1 Problem Description
Shock tube experiments are commonly used to study reaction paths and to measure
reaction rates at elevated temperatures. We can apply the Normal Shock Reactor
Model to validate the reaction mechanism or kinetic parameters derived from such
experiments.
In this tutorial, we want to reproduce one of the shock tube experiments done by
Camac and Feinberg. 15 Camac and Feinberg measured the production rates of nitric
oxide (NO) in shock-heated air over the temperature range of 2300 K to 6000 K. They
also assembled a reaction mechanism with kinetic parameters derived from their
experimental results. The reaction N 2 +M=N+N+M in their mechanism has a
different temperature dependency when the third body is a nitrogen atom (N). To
properly incorporate different temperature dependencies for different third bodies, we
exclude N from participating as a third body in the original reaction, i.e., the effective
15. M. Camac and R.M. Feinberg, Proceedings of Combustion Institute, vol. 11, p. 137-145
(1967).
RD0411-C20-000-001 55 © 2007 Reaction Design