A reduced mechanism for biodiesel surrogates with low temperature chemistry for compression ignition engine applications

• Published in: Combustion theory and modelling Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 369 - 385
• Main Authors: Luo, Zhaoyu, Plomer, Max, Lu, Tianfeng, Som, Sibendu, Longman, Douglas E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2012
• Subjects: auto-ignition; biodiesel; compression-ignition engine simulation; low temperature chemistry; mechanism reduction
• ISSN: 1364-7830; 1741-3559
• DOI: 10.1080/13647830.2011.631034

Biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines. It is a renewable energy source that can be used in these engines without significant alteration in design. The detailed chemical kinetics of biodiesel is however highly complex. In the present study, a skeletal mechanism with 123 species and 394 reactions for a tri-component biodiesel surrogate, which consists of methyl decanoate, methyl 9-decanoate and n-heptane was developed for simulations of 3-D turbulent spray combustion under engine-like conditions. The reduction was based on an improved directed relation graph (DRG) method that is particularly suitable for mechanisms with many isomers, followed by isomer lumping and DRG-aided sensitivity analysis (DRGASA). The reduction was performed for pressures from 1 to 100 atm and equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 2 for both extinction and ignition applications. The initial temperatures for ignition were from 700 to 1800 K. The wide parameter range ensures the applicability of the skeletal mechanism under engine-like conditions. As such the skeletal mechanism is applicable for ignition at both low and high temperatures. Compared with the detailed mechanism that consists of 3299 species and 10806 reactions, the skeletal mechanism features a significant reduction in size while still retaining good accuracy and comprehensiveness. The validations of ignition delay time, flame lift-off length and important species profiles were also performed in 3-D engine simulations and compared with the experimental data from Sandia National Laboratories under CI engine conditions.