Burning Behaviour of High-Pressure CH₄-H₂-Air Mixtures

Experimental characterization of the burning behavior of gaseous mixtures has been carried out, analyzing spherical expanding flames. Tests were performed in the Device for Hydrogen-Air Reaction Mode Analysis (DHARMA) laboratory of Istituto Motori—CNR. Based on a high-pressure, constant-volume bomb, the activity is aimed at populating a systematic database on the burning properties of CH₄, H₂ and other species of interest, in conditions typical of internal combustion (i.c.) engines and gas turbines. High-speed shadowgraph is used to record the flame growth, allowing to infer the laminar burning parameters and the flame stability properties. Mixtures of CH₄, H₂ and air have been analyzed at initial temperature 293÷305 K, initial pressure 3÷18 bar and equivalence ratio  = 1.0. The amount of H₂ in the mixture was 0%, 20% and 30% (vol.). The effect of the initial pressure and of the Hydrogen content on the laminar burning velocity and the Markstein length has been evaluated: the relative weight and mutual interaction has been assessed of the two controlling parameters. Analysis has been carried out of the flame instability, expressed in terms of the critical radius for the onset of cellularity, as a function of the operating conditions.