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Combustion Lecture 1.pptx 2

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
22 views19 pages

Combustion Lecture 1.pptx 2

Lecture notes

Uploaded by

Bohboo Angii
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is Combustion?

Combustion is a rapid chemical reaction between an oxidizer and a fuel, producing heat and light during
the process. A fuel is any combustible material such as wood, petroleum, or even metals. An oxidizer is
a (chemical) substance which reacts with the fuel to burn. As the word implies, oxygen is the most
common oxidizer. During combustion, the chemical energy stored in the fuel (energy in chemical bonds)
is transformed into heat energy. A very common example is a birthday candle, Fig. 1-1, where chemical
energy stored in the candle wax is converted into both heat and light.
What is Combustion?
What is fire? Fire or flame is the visible effect of the process of
combustion. It occurs somewhere between the oxygen in the air
and the fuel. After the chemical reaction, the products are
completely different from the starting material. The fuel needs to
be heated to its ignition temperature before combustion can
occur. The reaction will keep going as long as there is enough
fuel, heat, and oxygen, or also known as the fire triangle.
What is fire? Fire or flame is the visible effect of the process of
combustion. It occurs somewhere between the oxygen in the air
and the fuel. After the chemical reaction, the products are
completely different from the starting material. The fuel needs to
be heated to its ignition temperature before combustion can
occur. The reaction will keep going as long as there is enough
fuel, heat, and oxygen, or also known as the fire triangle.
Fire Classification
Class A – fires involving combustion of ordinary cellulosic materials
Class B – fires involving flammable liquids
Class C – fires involving energized electrical equipment or wires
Class D – fires involving combustible metals
Class K – fires involving cooking oils
Saponification: process of chemically converting the fatty
acid contained in a cooking medium ( oil or grease ) to soap or
foam
What is fire? Fire or flame is the visible
effect of the process of combustion. It
occurs somewhere between the oxygen in
the air and the fuel. After the chemical
reaction, the products are completely
different from the starting material. The
fuel needs to be heated to its ignition
temperature before combustion can
occur. The reaction will keep going as long
as there is enough fuel, heat, and oxygen,
or also known as the fire triangle.
The reaction generates heat, and this heat sustains the fire. The heat
of the flame will also keep the remaining fuel at ignition temperature.
The fire will keep burning as long as there is enough fuel and oxygen.

Fuel + oxygen (from the air) = combustion products (mainly CO2 +


H2O) + heat energy
Classifications of Combustion Phenomena
Complete vs Incomplete Combustion: In complete combustion, the
products are only water and carbon dioxide (no smoke or other
products). In most cases, the flame is typically blue. This happens when
there is enough oxygen to combine completely with the fuel gas.
Most homes make use of methane gas (CH4), commonly known as
natural gas, for cooking. In order to start the flame, the gas is heated (by
another flame or Figure 1 - 5. Incomplete combustion produces yellow
flame and smoke. spark). If there is enough oxygen in the air, the
methane molecules will break apart and reform totally as water and
carbon dioxide.
Otherwise, if there is not enough
oxygen available during the
combustion process, incomplete
combustion occurs. Incomplete
combustion still produces water
and carbon dioxide, but with the
addition of carbon (C) and carbon
monoxide (CO). The carbon
accumulates in the pan or kettle
creating a thin black layer of soot.
In this type of combustion, less
heat energy is released.
Incomplete combustion produces
smoke, and the flame is typically
yellow to red orange in color.
Premixed vs Nonpremixed Combustion:
We know that a combustion system consists of two reactants: an oxidizer
and a fuel. It is required that the reactants are brought together and
mixed at the molecular level before reaction can take place. Therefore,
the process of mixing is an essential element in influencing combustion.
Premixing is important for efficient combustion, so that the molecules of
the reactant can spread around those of the other reactant. It implies that
at least one of the reactants should be in the liquid or gaseous form.
Premixed vs Nonpremixed Combustion:
The importance of molecular mixedness has a great influence on the
design of combustion systems. For example, motorcycles use a carburetor
to premix air and vaporized gasoline, while cars with diesel engines do not
take advantage of premixing, but instead uses a fuel injector. In premixed
systems, the reactants are already well mixed before reaction is started.
Otherwise, in nonpremixed systems the reactants are initially separated
and are mixed together through the process of diffusion and the bulk
convective motion, in a common region where mixing and reaction take
place.
A Bunsen flame, shown in Figure 1-6, gives an illustration of both premixed
and nonpremixed flames. Here, air is entrained through the adjustable air
intake port as the fuel gas exits from the fuel orifice. The air is then mixed
with the fuel gas as they travel along the burner tube. Assuming that the
air flow rate can be controlled, then the resulting flame can either be fuel
rich or fuel deficient depending on whether the fuel or oxygen can be
totally consumed. If the mixture is deficient in fuel, then the excess oxygen
will pass through the flame unreacted and will be “exhausted” to the
atmosphere. However, if it is fuel rich, the excess fuel can further react
with the oxygen in the ambient air after passing through the premixed
flame.
Laminar versus Turbulent Combustion: A
flame is also classified by the nature of
the flow, whether it is turbulent or
laminar. In turbulent flow streamlines do
not exist such that at any point in the
flame the flow quantities randomly
fluctuates. While in laminar flow distinct
streamlines exist for the bulk, convective
motion. Figure 1-7 shows the difference
between laminar and turbulent flame.
Applications of Combustion Engineering

(a) Steam Engine


(b) Power Plants
(c) Process Engineering
(d) Internal and External Combustion Engines
(e) Gas Turbines
(f) Transportation Systems (such as aviation)

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