Vietnam National University - HCMC

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Faculty of Transportation Engineering


EXPERIMENT REPORT

Course: Aerospace Engineering Lab 1

Class: TR3077 - Semester 231

Instructor: Dr. Le Thi Hong Hieu

Student name Student ID

Trần Thanh Tuấn Khôi 2051047
Nguyễn Ngọc Hoàng Chiến 2052895
Nguyễn Đức Minh 2152763
Nguyễn Thái Duy Khang 2052521
HO CHI MINH CITY - 11/2023
 WORK ASSIGNMENT

Work contribution
Student’s name
In experiment In report

Trần Thanh Tuấn Khôi

Analyze and make

conclusion about the
result.

1. Assume an
Nguyễn Ngọc Hoàng Chiến alternative
responsibility for the Organize the format and
execution of the layout of the laboratory
experimental report.
procedure.
2. Grasp the
Nguyễn Đức Minh
fundamental tenets Create graphs to
underlying the illustrate and elucidate
experiment and the experiment's
compile empirical findings effectively.
observations.

Nguyễn Thái Duy Khang

Compute empirical data
and substantiate the
necessary air-gas flow
rate.

Figure 1: Students doing the experiment

1
 Table of Contents

I. Theory....................................................................................................................6

1. Basic theory....................................................................................................6

2. Experiment objectives....................................................................................7

3. Experiment equipment....................................................................................8

4. General equipment operation.........................................................................8

II. Experiment.........................................................................................................10

1. Experiment requirements..............................................................................10

2. Experiment operation...................................................................................10

3. Processing methods......................................................................................11

3.1 Calculate Primary Air/Fuel Ratio........................................................11

3.2 Digitalize the flowmeter calibration curves.........................................11

3.3 Error analysis.......................................................................................13

4. Experiment result..........................................................................................14

4.1 Data processing....................................................................................15

4.2 Data illustration....................................................................................16

4.3 Error analysis.......................................................................................16

4.4 Conclusion...........................................................................................17

III. Discussion.........................................................................................................18
 List of Figure

Figure 1 : Students doing the experiment...........................................................................2

Figure 2 : ‘Fuidge’ flame diagram of the stability limit of the fuel and air mixture
combustion......................................................................................................................6

Figure 3 : Combustion test device C551, the plastic tube, and the ignition system...........7

Figure 4 : The relation between the flow rate on the scale (cm) and the actual flow rate
(m3/s) of fuel and air......................................................................................................8

Figure 5 : Correction factor K for the mixture of Propane and Butane..............................8

Figure 6 : Flame propagation velocity under the ambient air temperature and pressure
condition for 3 types of fuel: Propane, Methane, and coal gas.......................................9

Figure 7 : Interface of the PlotDigitizer software.............................................................11

Figure 8 : Flowmeter calibration curves of gas ...............................................................11

Figure 9 : Flowmeter calibration curves of air.................................................................12

Figure 10 : : The relation between the flame velocity and the mixing ratios...................15
 List of Table

Table 1 : Experimental data of flame velocity according to the different mixing ratios..15

Table 2 : Error processing for air/fuel mixing ratio.........................................................16

Table 3 : Error processing for flame propagation velocity...............................................16

 Lesson 1: Combustion – Flame propagation

Exercise 2: Measure the flame propagation velocity according to

the mixing ratio

I. Theory

1. Basic theory

Combustion occurs in the presence of fuel and air under the right conditions (including
ignition). Consider the equation of the chemical reaction for the combustion of
methane CH4 in the gaseous form as follows:

CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O

The chemical reaction is complete when the volume ratio of CH4/O2 is 1:2. If this ratio
is more than 1:2, the combustion is rich in fuel; conversely, if this ratio is less than 1:2,
the combustion process is fuel-poor. In addition, the combustion of the fuel and air
mixture depends on the heat load (Burner loading - heat released per unit area) at the
place where the flame occurs. Heat load BL (MW/m2) is calculated as follows:
3 3
The calorific value of fuel (MJ /m )× The flow of fuel (m /s)
BL=
Plain Areaof Combustion(m2 )

The flame's color and form can be used to qualitatively evaluate the combustion
process. The following steps are included in the combustion process's stability limit:

- The combustion process of rich fuel manifests as a yellow flame. From root to
tip, the flame changes color from yellow to blue when the fuel flow rate is
maintained while the air flow rate is increased. When only the flame's tip is still
yellow, this is known as yellow tipping, or YT, and it represents the transition's
limit stage. In order to sustain combustion with a suitable mixing ratio for full
combustion, this is the limit state.

- Complete blue flame will arise from further increases in the airflow rate. The
blue flame will emerge from the fusion tube's surface at the proper ratio (Lift off -
LO). When the combustion mixture's velocity approaches the flame propagation
velocity, this phenomena takes place. If the rate of airflow increases further, the
 mixture's velocity will surpass the velocity of the flame, causing the flame to rise
from the surface and eventually go out. This is the transition state that marks the
end of the combustion process and the limit state of the fuel-poor combustion
process.

- When the mixing ratio is higher than the value of the LO phenomena, light back
(LB) happens. When the heat load is low, the flame propagation velocity will be
higher than the combustion mixture velocity if the fuel flow rate is maintained
constant and the airflow rate is raised. If the area where combustion is occurring
is big enough, the flame burning in the fuel-poor stage will typically return to the
source of the combustion mixture to sustain combustion.

To determine the stability limit of the flame, it is necessary to burn a mixture of fuel
and air with different volume ratios. Then express this ratio according to the heat load
with different flame states (Fuidge diagram – example Figure 2).

Figure 2: ‘Fuidge’ flame diagram of the stability limit of the fuel and air mixture combustion

2. Experiment objectives

The experiment is a qualitative and quantitative survey of the basic characteristics of

the combustion process through factors affecting the flame such as the mixing ratio of
the fuel and air mixture, and the heat load (Burner loading). Experimental content
includes:

- Determine the characteristics of the yellow tip, lift off and light back;
 - Build a characteristic diagram for the survey of the flame stability, known as the
Fuidge diagram;

- Investigation of methods to enhance the stability limit of flame;

- Measure the flame propagation velocity according to the mixing ratio.

3. Experiment equipment

C551 combustion test equipment is described in Figure 3, including a flow control

panel, a fuel source (gas tank 50% Propane + 50% Butane, calorific value 46 MJ/m 3),
plastic tubes for observing and measuring the flame propagation velocity, and ignition
system.

Figure 3: Combustion test device C551, the plastic tube, and the ignition system

4. General equipment operation

Step 1: Connect the power source, turn on the switch and let the exhaust fan run. Open
the gas tank valve, and press the gas pump button if necessary.

Step 2: On the control panel, first open the air valve, and the gas valve later. Ignites the
mixture.

Step 3: Air and fuel flow are measured on a centimeter scale, marked from the top of
the cone. This value is converted to m3/s by using the diagram in Figure 4. However,
in Figure 4, there are only two types of fuel: Propane or Coal Gas and Methane. For a
mixture of propane and butane fuel, the actual flow rate will be the actual flow rate in
the case of propane multiplied by the factor K (referred to in Figure 5).

- For example: if the fuel used is a mixture of 50% propane and 50% Butane, the
K factor will be about 1.06. If the flow column is only 8 cm, using the propane
curve in Figure 4 to find 0.04 × 10-3 m3/s, the actual flow rate for this case will be
1.06 × 0.04 × 10−3 m3/s.

Step 4: Lock all the valves, switch off, and turn off the power source after finishing the
experiment.

Figure 4: The relation between the flow rate on the scale (cm) and the actual flow rate (m3/s) of fuel and air

Figure 5: Correction factor K for the mixture of Propane and Butane

II. Experiment

1. Experiment requirements

Determine the appropriate mixing ratio and comment on the conditions for the
backfire/ reverse combustion to occur.

Determine the flame velocity according to the different mixing ratios.

Plot a new graph to demonstrate the relation between the flame velocity and the
mixing ratio. Then compare the different types of fuel as above

Comment on the influence of mixing ratio, and heat load on the shape, color, height,
and stability limit of the flame.

Figure 6: Flame propagation velocity under the ambient air temperature and pressure condition for 3 types of
fuel: Propane, Methane, and coal gas

2. Experiment operation

Step 1: Re-read the general instruction on how to operate the experimental equipment.

Step 2: Connect the plastic pipe, the L-tube, and the spark plug system.

Step 3: Measure the length between the two lines on the tube as a mark to calculate the
burning distance of the flame.
Step 4: Experiment several times with different mixing ratios:

- The fuel level varies from 0.5 cm to 1 cm.

- Change the airflow rate to reach the LO state. Wait for the flame to stabilize.

- Press the ignition button; At the same time turn off both of the air and fuel
valves on the control panel.

- Measure the time the flame burns between the 2 predefined lines.

3. Processing methods

3.1 Calculate Primary Air/Fuel Ratio

Calculate the gas and air flow rate (convert from cm to m 3/s) with the Figure 4. Then
correct it with the formula:

Corrected gas Flow = k x Gas Flow Reading

Fuel source (gas tank 50% Propane + 50% Butane, calorific value 46 MJ/m 3) with the
correction factor K = 1.057.

Calculate the plain area of the combustion using this inner diameter.
2
π .d
Area=
4

Calculate Primary Air/Fuel Ratio by dividing Air Flow by Gas flow.

3.2 Digitalize the flowmeter calibration curves

Users can extract data in numerical representation from photos by using the online
data extraction tool PlotDigitizer. Put simply, it converts your visual graphs into
numerical representations. There are several practical and time-saving features in the
software.

To be more precise, we transferred data to the numerical format curve (Figure 7) from
the recorded flowmeter calibration curves (Figure 4). As a result, we can use the
following equation to get the real fuel and air flow rate (m3/s) from the flow rate on
the scale (cm):
Figure 7: Interface of the PlotDigitizer software

Figure 8: Flowmeter calibration curves of gas

 Figure 9: Flowmeter calibration curves of air

3.3 Error analysis

As mentioned before, the timer’s error is ± 0.01 seconds.

If the errors are dependent (based on the same source of error), the error of the two-
time measurements is developed as:

∆ t 1+ ∆ t 2
∆tave =
2

As errors are dependent, using fractional method to get the air/fuel mixing ratio error:

∆a ∆ b ∆ c
= +
a b c

Then:
∆ air ∆ fuel
∆ r =r ×( + )
air fuel

Where：

+ r: Air/Fuel mixing ratio

+ ∆ r : Air/Fuel mixing ratio error

+ a : Airflow rate (10-3 m3/s)

+ ∆ a: Airflow rate error (10-3 m3/s)

+ fuel: Fuel flow rate (10-3 m3/s)

 + ∆ fuel : Fuel flow rate error (10-3 m3/s)

As velocity is established by two independent variables (tube length and time measure
have different, uncorrelated sources), we use add fractional errors in quadrature form:

∆v
v √ ∆l 2 ∆t 2
= ( ) +( )
l t

In which:

+ ∆ v : velocity error (m/s)

+ ∆ l : tube length error (m)

+ ∆ t : time error (s)

Therefore:

√
∆l 2 ∆t 2
∆ v=v × ( ) +( )
l t

4. Experiment result
4.1 Data processing

Table 1: Experimental data of flame velocity according to the different mixing ratios
4.2 Data illustration

Flame propagation velocity under the ambient

air temperature and pressure condition
29.00
Air - Fuel ratio by volume 28.00
f(x) = 16.7567243991992 x + 9.28254600898661
27.00 R² = 0.764045889925345
26.00
25.00
24.00
23.00
22.00
21.00
20.00
0.800 0.850 0.900 0.950 1.000 1.050 1.100 1.150
Flame speed (m/s)

Figure 10: : The relation between the flame velocity and the mixing ratios

4.3 Error analysis

Table 2: Error processing for air/fuel mixing ratio

Table 3: Error processing for flame propagation velocity

The table shows that the error calculated is quite high, it is due to lack of accuracy
during the adjusting fluid pressure height valve. Hence, we had to do the measurement
several times.

4.4 Conclusion

Figure 10: The suitable state of flame to complete this experiment

Based on the correlation observed in Figure 10 between flame velocity and mixing
ratios, it can be deduced that the flame velocity exhibits a linear increase with higher
air-fuel mixing ratios. The occurrence of backfire is contingent upon having a large
pipe diameter. Backfire transpires when the fuel supply rate is insufficient to match the
flame front velocity, causing the flame to propagate back into the pipe. To avert
potential explosions, immediate action must be taken to cease fuel supply by closing
the fuel supply valve. Light backfire occurs when the mixing ratio surpasses the flame
surface separation threshold (LO). In situations of low heat load, augmenting the
airflow results in a flame propagation velocity that exceeds the combustion mixture
velocity. Consequently, the flame tends to move backward towards the inlet to sustain
combustion in a fuel-deficient state.

III. Discussion

After studying the flame propagation velocity according to the mixing ratio, it is very
practical to see the applications of flame and its flow rate from this experiment.

The error of this experiment is mainly due to:

- Systematic error: (Errors of the measuring instruments)

+ Tube length measurement’s error: ±0.05 mm.

+ Flow control panel meter’s error: ±0.1 mm.

+ Timer’s error: ± 0.01 seconds.

- Estimated error:

+ Lack of accuracy in reading the data and adjusting the main valve (Difficulty in
keeping the pressure gauge exactly constant due to rotameter oscillation)

+ Error occurs due to rounding values and manual time measurement.

+ Human reaction time (to a visual stimulus): 0.25 seconds 1

Overall, there were no significantly difference in the trend of the phenomena in

theoretical and experimental method.

The end.

1
Blazepod, (06/2021), What Is a Normal Reaction Time?. Access from: https://www.blazepod.com/blogs/resources/what-is-
a-normal-reaction-time