Ethane-air laminar coflow non-smoking diffusion flames have been studied at pressures up to 3.34 MPa to determine the effect of pressure on soot formation, flame temperatures and physical flame properties. The spectral soot emission (SSE) diagnostic was used to obtain spatially resolved (both radially and axially) soot volume fraction and soot temperature measurements at pressures of 0.20 to 3.34 MPa. In general, temperature profiles of a given height were found to decrease with increasing pressure. Pressure was found to enhance soot formation with decreased sensitivity as pressures were increased. A power law relation between maximum soot volume fraction and pressure was found to be fvmax & prop;P 2.39 for 0.20 & le; P & le; 1.52 MPa and fvmax & prop;P 1.10 for 1.52 & le; P & le; 3.34 MPa. The integrated line-of-sight soot volume fraction was found to vary as fvline, max & prop;P 2.32 for 0.20 & le; P & le; 0.51 MPa, fvline, max & prop;P 1.44 for 0.51 & le; P & le; 1.52 MPa and fvline, max & prop;P 0.95 for 1.52 & le; P & le; 3.34 MPa. The variation of maximum carbon conversion to soot, as a percentage of the fuel's carbon, was etas, max & prop; P2.23 for 0.20 & le; P & le; 1.13 MPa, etas, max & prop; P1.12 for 0.51 & le; P & le; 1.52 MPa and etas, max & prop; P0.41 for 1.52 & le; P & le; 3.34 MPa. The maximum value of carbon conversion was found to be eta s, max = 27.61% at P = 3.34 MPa.

An experimental study was conducted using axisymmetric co-flow laminar diffusion flames of methane-air, methane-oxygen and ethylene-air to examine the effect of pressure on soot formation and the structure of the temperature field. A liquid fuel burner was designed and built to observe the sooting behavior of methanol-air and n-heptane-air laminar diffusion flames at elevated pressures up to 50 atm. A non-intrusive, line-of-sight spectral soot emission (SSE) diagnostic technique was used to determine the temperature and the soot volume fraction of methane-air flames up to 60 atm, methane-oxygen flames up to 90 atm and ethylene-air flames up to 35 atm. The physical flame structure of the methane-air and methane-oxygen diffusion flames were characterized over the pressure range of 10 to 100 atm and up to 35 atm for ethylene-air flames. The flame height, marked by the visible soot radiation emission, remained relatively constant for methane-air and ethylene-air flames over their respected pressure ranges, while the visible flame height for the methane-oxygen flames was reduced by over 50 % between 10 and 100 atm. During methane-air experiments, observations of anomalous occurrence of liquid material formation at 60 atm and above were recorded. The maximum conversion of the carbon in the fuel to soot exhibited a strong power-law dependence on pressure. At pressures 10 to 30 atm, the pressure exponent is approximately 0.73 for methane-air flames. At higher pressures, between 30 and 60 atm, the pressure exponent is approximately 0.33. The maximum fuel carbon conversion to soot is 12.6 % at 60 atm. For methane-oxygen flames, the pressure exponent is approximately 1.2 for pressures between 10 and 40 atm. At pressures between 50 and 70 atm, the pressure exponent is about -3.8 and approximately -12 for 70 to 90 atm. The maximum fuel carbon conversion to soot is 2 % at 40 atm. For ethylene-air flames, the pressure exponent is approximately 1.4 between 10 and 30 atm. The maximum carbon conversion to soot is approximately 6.5 % at 30 atm and remained constant at higher pressures.

Methane-air, ethane-air, and n-heptane-air over-ventilated co-flow laminar diffusion flames were studied up to pressures of 2.03, 1.52, and 0.51 MPa, respectively, to determine the effect of pressure on flame shape, soot concentration, and temperature. A spectral soot emission optical diagnostic method was used to obtain the spatially resolved soot formation and temperature data. In all cases, soot formation was enhanced by pressure, but the pressure sensitivity decreased as pressure was increased. The maximum fuel carbon conversion to soot, etamax, was approximated by a power law dependence with the pressure exponent of 0.92 between 0.51 and 1.01 MPa, and 0.68 between 1.01 and 2.03 MPa with etamax=9.5% at 2.03 MPa for methane-air flames. For ethane-air flames, the pressure exponent was 1.57 between 0.20 and 0.51 MPa, 1.08 between 0.51 and 1.01 MPa, and 0.58 between 1.01 and 1.52 MPa where etamax=23% at 1.52 MPa. For nitrogen-diluted n-heptane-air flames, etamax=6.5% at 0.51 MPa.

An experimental study was conducted using axisymmetric co-flow laminar diffusion flames of methane-air, methane-oxygen and ethylene-air to examine the effect of pressure on soot formation and the structure of the temperature field. A liquid fuel burner was designed and built to observe the sooting behavior of methanol-air and n-heptane-air laminar diffusion flames at elevated pressures up to 50 atm. A non-intrusive, line-of-sight spectral soot emission (SSE) diagnostic technique was used to determine the temperature and the soot volume fraction of methane-air flames up to 60 atm, methane-oxygen flames up to 90 atm and ethylene-air flames up to 35 atm. The physical flame structure of the methane-air and methane-oxygen diffusion flames were characterized over the pressure range of 10 to 100 atm and up to 35 atm for ethylene-air flames. The flame height, marked by the visible soot radiation emission, remained relatively constant for methane-air and ethylene-air flames over their respected pressure ranges, while the visible flame height for the methane-oxygen flames was reduced by over 50 % between 10 and 100 atm. During methane-air experiments, observations of anomalous occurrence of liquid material formation at 60 atm and above were recorded. The maximum conversion of the carbon in the fuel to soot exhibited a strong power-law dependence on pressure. At pressures 10 to 30 atm, the pressure exponent is approximately 0.73 for methane-air flames. At higher pressures, between 30 and 60 atm, the pressure exponent is approximately 0.33. The maximum fuel carbon conversion to soot is 12.6 % at 60 atm. For methane-oxygen flames, the pressure exponent is approximately 1.2 for pressures between 10 and 40 atm. At pressures between 50 and 70 atm, the pressure exponent is about -3.8 and approximately -12 for 70 to 90 atm. The maximum fuel carbon conversion to soot is 2 % at 40 atm. For ethylene-air flames, the pressure exponent is approximately 1.4 between 10 and 30 atm. The maximu.

Arclength continuation methods were incorporated into a code for predicting the structure of sooting, opposed-jet flames. The code includes complex chemistry, detailed particle dynamics, particle chemistry and radiation. The code was used to predict soot production over a wide variation in strain rates for both ethylene/air and methane/air diffusion flames. Predicted values (both peak and spatial distributions) agree well with experimental measurements in ethylene flames. Particle size distributions are also predicted using the aerosol equations from MAEROS, but no data is available for comparison. Also, the soot dynamical equations were imbedded into a separate code to describe soot production in a coflow, laminar, diffusion flame which includes treatment of detailed, gas phase chemistry. Predictions were compared to measurements made in a methane, coflow flame. Reasonable agreement between the predictions and measurements was obtained, although a factor of three underprediction of the soot volume fractions is likely due to uncertainties in inlet conditions and an inability to match closely bulk flame parameters such as temperature. Predicted peak soot production occurred around 1720K and particle oxidation was dominated by superequilibrium concentrations of hydroxyl radicals. Several PAH-forming sequences were examined and compared to the traditional acetylene-addition sequence. A sequence involving benzyl-propargyl combination was found to compete with the traditional mechanism and it should be included in future analyses. The algorithms for treating sectional soot dynamics and growth/oxidation rates were modified to include effects at high pressure. Continuum effects and limitations to gaseous diffusion were included in the opposed jet code. Predicted variations in soot production due to pressure changes from 4 to 10 atmospheres were made for an ethylene-air.