This program investigates ignition of nonhomogenous systems, such as those found in practical combustion devices, by looking at ignition in a counterflow. During the reporting period, major effort was expanded on ignition in a nonpremixed turbulent counterflow where a hot air jet ignites an ambient temperature fuel jet. Specifically, the non-reacting turbulent flow was first investigated experimentally to provide data in support of other ignition and turbulence modeling studies. Subsequently, experiments were conducted to determine the ignition temperatures over a range of fuel concentrations, pressures, and strain rates. Preliminary modeling of turbulent ignition was also accomplished by first solving for the flow field using a Reynolds stress model and then solving for the chemistry by using a joint scalar PDF equation and Monte Carlo techniques. This two step approach is possible because of the small amount of heat release prior to ignition.

This program studies fundamental chemical kinetics as well as its individual and coupled effects with aerodynamics on laminar nonpremixed ignition and flame propagation for hydrocarbons, through experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches. During the reporting period, three projects were undertaken, namely: (1) Experimental determination of high-pressure laminar flame speeds and kinetic modeling of carbon-monoxide I hydrogen combustion; (2) experimental and computational determination of the ignition temperatures and reaction mechanism of 1,3-butadiene at atmospheric and elevated pressures; and (3) experimental and computational studies on the ignition of the butene isomers.

Abstracts are given for 6.1 basic research in chemical propulsion sponsored by the Army Research Office and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Combustion Theory delves deeper into the science of combustion than most other texts and gives insight into combustions from a molecular and a continuum point of view. The book presents derivations of the basic equations of combustion theory and contains appendices on the background of subjects of thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, fluid dynamics, and transport processes. Diffusion flames, reactions in flows with negligible transport and the theory of pre-mixed flames are treated, as are detonation phenomena, the combustion of solid propellents, and ignition, extinction, and flamibility pehnomena.

This book summarizes the main advances in the mechanisms of combustion processes. It focuses on the analysis of kinetic mechanisms of gas combustion processes and experimental investigation into the interrelation of kinetics and gas dynamics in gas combustion. The book is complimentary to the one previously published, The Modes of Gaseous Combustion.

Volume II of the High Speed Aerodynamics and Jet Propulsion series. This volume includes treatments of all aspects of combustion necessary to the development of jet and rocket engines. Originally published in 1956. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.