Scribd
Upload
53 views

Experiments in Aerospace Engineering - Ii (Ae 351A) : Experimental Investigations On Premixed Lpg-Air Flame

This document describes an experiment to study the temperature profile and burning velocity of a premixed LPG-air flame. Thermocouples are used to measure the 2D temperature contour across the flame at different equivalence ratios. Burning velocity is calculated using Gouy's method by measuring the flame area from digital photos. Key steps include calibrating thermocouples, measuring flow rates, taking temperature readings on a grid, and processing flame images to calculate surface area and burning velocity.

Uploaded by

Arihant Jha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
53 views

Experiments in Aerospace Engineering - Ii (Ae 351A) : Experimental Investigations On Premixed Lpg-Air Flame

This document describes an experiment to study the temperature profile and burning velocity of a premixed LPG-air flame. Thermocouples are used to measure the 2D temperature contour across the flame at different equivalence ratios. Burning velocity is calculated using Gouy's method by measuring the flame area from digital photos. Key steps include calibrating thermocouples, measuring flow rates, taking temperature readings on a grid, and processing flame images to calculate surface area and burning velocity.

Uploaded by

Arihant Jha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KANPUR

EXPERIMENTS IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING – II (AE 351A)


EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ON PREMIXED LPG-AIR FLAME

LIST OF SYMBOLS:
ф - Equivalence Ratio
Ru - Universal Gas Constant (kJ/kmol.K)

𝑄̇ - Indicated flow rate on the rotameter (LPM)

𝜌 - Density of the metered gas (kg/m3)

ṁ - Mass flow rate of the gas (kg/s)

Mw-gas - Molecular weight of the metered gas (kg/kmol)

𝑃0 - Atmospheric pressure (Pa)


T0 - Ambient temperature (K)
Su - Burning velocity (cm/s)

OBJECTIVE:
1) To determine the 2-D temperature contour across the flame.
2) To study the effect of equivalence ratio on flame temperature.
3) To calculate the burning velocity using Gouy’s method.

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENT:
Fine gage S-Type thermocouples are made of Pt-10%Rh/Pt, which are used when fast and accurate
temperature measurements are required. The diameter of these wires is 0.125 mm, and the response
time is 0.08 secs. These fine wire diameters enable accurate temperature measurements, keeping
the heat losses to minimum. In addition to that, the small junction bead permits accurate pin-
pointing of the measured location.
To calibrate this S-Type thermocouple, a Nagman’s temperature calibrator is used. Model 1200HN
is a semi-portable, multi-hole, dry block type, high-temperature calibrator which can generate
temperatures up to 1200 K. Consequently, a voltage is generated because of the temperature
difference (Seebeck effect).
Temperature at various uniformly distributed points is measured with S-type thermocouple in a
simple premixed flame. Rotameters are used to measure the air and fuel flow rates. A needle valve
in the flow line is used to control the discharge. Air is supplied from a single-piston reciprocating
compressor.
Burning velocity is calculated using Gouy’s Method for which the flame area is obtained using
digital photographs.
PRECAUTIONS:
1) Turn on the air compressor and then the LPG cylinder. LPG cylinder knob should be completely
turned ON to avoid pressure losses.
2) To avoid spilling of the fuel (LPG), ignite the burner and then set the required flow rate in the
rotameters.
3) While moving the traverse, do not touch the thermocouple, as it the most delicate part of the
experimental setup.
4) Turn off the LPG cylinder first, and then the air compressor.

Pressure Gauges Frame Thermocouple

2D Traverse
Mechanism

Rotameters

Pressure regulators Burner

Fig.1 Experimental set-up


PROCEDURE:
1. Before starting the experiment, familiarize yourself with various components of the test set-up
and the instruments used for experimentation.
2. Familiarize with basic principles of data acquisition and processing.
3. Note down the ambient temperature and pressure.
4. When the air compressor and the LPG-cylinder are turned ON, note down the gauge pressures
from the control line.
5. To understand the nature of the flame, equivalence ratio was varied from fuel rich to
stoichiometric to fuel lean conditions.
6. At a particular equivalence ratio (say ф = 0.95), use a grid format and move the traverse
2-dimensionally along with the coordinates given in the grid and measure the temperature at those
points.
7. Take flame images using a digital camera at the chosen equivalence ratio (ф = 0.95).
8. At a point 3 cm above the burner rim along the axis, fix the thermocouple and vary the
equivalence ratio.
9. After taking all the readings, tightly close all the valves and the ports.

FORMULAE:

a) Rotameter Calculations.

𝑄̇ = Rotameter reading (LPM)


𝑃0
𝜌=𝑅 (kg/m3)
𝑔𝑎𝑠 ×𝑇0

Rgas = Ru/Mw-gas (kJ/kg.k)

Mass flow rate of gas:


𝑄̇
𝑚̇ = × 𝜌 (kg/s)
60,000

b) Burning Velocity Calculations:

Measure the surface area of the flame front

1. From the flame photograph, get a processed black & white image from Matlab (see Fig. 3a).

2. Connect the flame tip to the other end of the flame such that it forms a right-angled triangle as
shown in the Fig. 3b.
3. Calculate tan(α) using the pixel count for AB and BC.
Pixel count of BC
tan(α) = Pixel count of AB

4. Use the value of α, to calculate the flame height H (for do = 10 mm).

5. Calculate the surface area of the conical surface AC : Af = 𝜋𝑟(√𝐻 2 + 𝑟 2 ) (r = do/2)

H
C
do B
do/2

(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Method to calculate flame area.

Area of the burner opening = Ao = 𝜋𝑟 2 (r = do/2)

The total volume flow rate of gas (air + LPG) = Ao×Vo

The average flow velocity in the burner opening = Vo

Total area of the flame front, Af, moves with velocity Su w.r.t the unburned mixture, thus:

Ao×Vo = Af×Su
2α

Su
Y
α
Vo X

Fig. 3 Schematic of the flame front. Su = burning velocity, 2α = cone angle.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

1) Plot a 2-D temperature contour plot in a longitudinal plane, with x and y-axis as per the
generated grid (Hint: use TEC-PLOT 360, Triangulate).

2) Plot temperature vs. equivalence ratio (ф) at a position 3 cm above the burner rim along the
axis. (x = 0, y = 3 cm)
3) Calculate the flame area and the burning velocity using Gouy’s method for the chosen
equivalence ratio.
APPENDIX:

Universal gas constant (Ru) : 8.3145 (kJ/kmol.K)

Molecular weight of Air (Mw-air): 28.97 (kg/kmol)

Molecular weight of Lpg (Mw-lpg) : 51.57 (kg/kmol)

Mixture composition (vol. %) of LPG (approx.)


Propane C3H8 44.7
Isobutane C4H10 54.8
Ethane C2H6 0.7
Avg. mol wt. 51.57 kg/kmol

Stoichiometric fuel-air ratio = 0.0643 kg of LPG/kg of air.

References
1) R Gupta, V Garg, Dr. A Kushari. “Spectroscopic Analysis of a Premixed LPG-air
Flame”, IITK, Kanpur 208 016, 2004.
2) “FLAMES Their structure, Radiations, and Temperature”, Gaydon, A.G., Wolfhard H.G.,
Chapman & Hall LTD.
3) Combustion, Flames & Explosions of Gases, Bernard Lewis, Guenther von Elbe, Ph.D
4) Dinesh Kumar. S.J., “Experimental Investigations of LPG-Air Pre-mixed Flames”, M.E
Thesis, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi.

You might also like