Deflagration Characteristics of N2-Diluted CH4-N2O Mixtures in the Course of the Incipient Stage of Flame Propagation

In this study, experimental measurements in a spherical combustion bomb were performed in order to investigate the flame propagation in N2-diluted CH4-N2O mixtures with stoichiometric equivalence ratio, at several initial pressures (0.5–1.75 bar) and ambient initial temperatures. Methane was chosen as a test-fuel, since it is the main component of natural gas, a fuel often used as a substitute to gasoline in engines with internal combustion and industrial plants. The method approached in this study is based on a simple examination of the cubic law of pressure rise during the early (incipient) period of flame propagation. The incipient stage defined by a pressure rise equal or smaller than the initial pressure, was divided into short time intervals. The burnt mass fractions (obtained using three different Equations) and flame radii at various moments of the flame propagation in the course of the incipient stage were calculated. The cubic law coefficients and corresponding laminar burning velocities at considered time intervals were also reported.