Chemistry of JP-10 ignition

Ignition of JP-10 is addressed from computational and theoretical viewpoints. A detailed chemical mechanism consisting of 174 elementary steps among 36 chemical species is obtained by adding 27 steps, including JP-10, cyclopentene, and 1,3 butadiene, to an earlier system of 147 steps among 33 species that extend through C-3 hydrocarbons. The new steps and their rate parameters are derived by analogy with earlier studies of decane and heptane. Predictions of ignition times by the new detailed mechanism are found to be in good agreement with data from JP-10 shock-tube experiments. Systematically reduced mechanisms also are discussed on the basis of the detailed mechanism, resulting in a simplified correlation that performs well. The results can be helpful for applications in airbreathing propulsion involving JP-10.