Kinetic study on laminar burning velocities and ignition delay times of C1-C4 alkanes

Laminar burning velocities and ignition delay times of methane, ethane, propane and n-butane were determined experimentally in a constant volume bomb and a shock tube at different pressures and temperatures. The effects of flame kinetics and high temperature ignition kinetics on C1-C4 alkanes were also conducted. The experimental results showed that of these four alkanes have the same behaviors on the laminar burning velocity and ignition delay time. Methane ignites and burns the slowest, ethane the fastest, and propane and n-butane have intermediate and similar reactivity. The detailed kinetic models (USC Mech 2.0) of C1-C4 alkanes were used to simulate the experiments. The dominant elementary reactions on flame kinetics are almost the same for four alkane-air flames. The sensitive elementary reactions on ignition delay time are different for these four alkanes.