Abstract |
The purpose of this work has been to investigate the processes leading to the formation of nitric oxide in a vertical, co-axial, atmospheric pressure, methane-air diffusion flame burner; which models many of the physio-chemical processes occurring in combustion systems using fuel sprays, for example diesel engines, and gas turbines. Experimentally, radial concentration profiles of nitric oxide have been determined in this burner at prescribed axial locations. Major conclusions: Nitric oxide is formed in diffusion flames in the high temperature zone and diffuses towards both the fuel-rich and oxidant-rich regions; the nitric oxide concentration profiles can be adequately predicted by using the Zeldovich mechanism in conjunction with equilibrium relations between the atomic and molecular species for oxygen and nitrogen. This presupposes that the flame structure can be properly established. |