IGNITION OF A PROPANE-AIR STOICHIOMETRIC MIXTURE BY A PLASMA JET GENERATOR WITH A DIVERGENT NOZZLE

Studies of plasma jet injection into a propane-air mixture counterflow have been performed regarding enhancing combustion and ignition by plasma jets. A computational model that we have used is discussed that involves a realistic equation of state, plasma radiation associated with plasma formation inside the plasma jet as well as coupling between the internal nozzle and external flow fields. A one-step effective propane-oxygen chemical reaction model with energy release was used for simulating ignition and combustion. Our model uses an implicit free- Lagrange method for the computations. Results of computations demonstrated ignition of propane-air mixtures stimulated by plasma jet generators each with a power of 15 kW. The incident propane-air stoichiometric mixture temperature was 1000 К. This concept can be applied for creation of quasi-planar jets in a real scramjet using a row of such plasma generators For analysis of ignition and combustion properties of the hydrocarbons in air it is necessary choose the key chemical reactions leading to them. The literature on propane combustion is rather vast and includes different approaches to combustion modeling 7-13