Kinetics of Combustion Related Processes

1. Kinetics of Combustion Related Processes Investigator: John H. Kiefer, Department of Chemical Engineering Prime Grant Support: U. S. Department of Energy • Program involves use of shock tube with laser schlieren (LS), dump tank, GC/MS analysis and time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry as diagnostics for exploration of reaction rates and energy transfer processes over an extremely wide range of T and P • We are interested primarily in energy transfer and the kinetics of unimolecular reactions at combustion temperatures, in particular the phenomena of unimolecular incubation and falloff • Measure density gradients in shock waves. • dr/dx directly proportional to rate of reaction • Technique has outstanding resolution, sensitivity and accuracy • Allows rate measurement for faster reactions and higher temperatures than any other technique • Measured non-statistical (non-RRKM) reaction rates for CF3CH3 dissociation; only such experimental study to date • Measured rates in very fast relaxation, incubation and dissociation for a large number of important combustion species • Developed a complete chemical kinetic model for ethane dissociation, a particularly important reaction in combustion systems • Estimated the heat of formation of t-butyl radical in neopentane (C5H12) dissociation; consequently developed a complete kinetic model • Future work: Study toluene decomposition, falloff in pyrolle and stilbene, extended use of our simple method to extract energy transfer rates