Combustion of kerosene in counterflow diffusion flames

Numerical modeling has become an essential tool in combustion research as a means of predicting combustion performance and pollutant formation, e.g., NOx and soot. In many combustion models the combustion of a commercial fuel such as kerosene has been represented by single-step empirical expressions. To predict kinetically controlled phenomena, a more detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism is required. This paper reports the development of such a mechanism for kerosene, were, for the purposes of modeling, kerosene is assumed to be 89% n-decane and 11% toluene. The mechanism Is initially validated against experimental jet stirred reactor and rich premixed flame studies to yield satisfactory results. The chemical structure of counterflow diffusion dames is computed using the same mechanism. The effect on the flame structure of increasing both the pressure and the strain rate is explored. The inclusion of a model for thermal radiation using the optically thin approximation demonstrates the large radiative heat losses encountered as the pressure is increased. The calculations form the foundation of a flamelet library for the modeling of turbulent nonpremixed combustion of kerosene under practical conditions.