Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Low Temperature Ignition Processes From a Nanosecond Pulsed Discharge at Quiescent Conditions

Vyaas Gururajan, Riccardo Scarcelli, Sayan Biswas, Isaac Ekoto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent interest in nonequilibrium plasma discharges as sources of ignition for the automotive industry has not yet been accompanied by the availability of dedicated models to perform this task in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) engine simulations. The need for a low-temperature plasma (LTP) ignition model has motivated much work in simulating these discharges from first principles. Most ignition models assume that an equilibrium plasma comprises the bulk of discharge kernels. LTP discharges, however, exhibit highly nonequilibrium behavior. In this work, a method to determine a consistent initialization of LTP discharge kernels for use in engine CFD codes like CONVERGE is proposed. The method utilizes first principles discharge simulations. Such an LTP kernel is introduced in a flammable mixture of air and fuel, and the subsequent plasma expansion and ignition simulation is carried out using a reacting flow solver with detailed chemistry. The proposed numerical approach is shown to produce results that agree with experimental observations regarding the ignitability of methane-air and ethylene-air mixtures by LTP discharges.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number031010
JournalJournal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
Volume145
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Vehicle Technologies Program (Award No. DE-AC02-06CH11357

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • ignition
  • kinetics
  • non-equilibrium
  • plasma

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