Using rapid compression machines for chemical kinetics studies

Rapid compression machines (RCMs) are used to simulate a single compression stroke of an internal combustion engine without some of the complicated swirl bowl geometry, cycle-to-cycle variation, residual gas, and other complications associated with engine operating conditions. RCMs are primarily used to measure ignition delay times as a function of temperature, pressure, and fuel/oxygen/diluent ratio; further they can be equipped with diagnostics to determine the temperature and flow fields inside the reaction chamber and to measure the concentrations of reactant, intermediate, and product species produced during combustion.This paper first discusses the operational principles and design features of RCMs, including the use of creviced pistons, which is an important feature in order to suppress the boundary layer, preventing it from becoming entrained into the reaction chamber via a roll-up vortex. The paper then discusses methods by which experiments performed in RCMs are interpreted and simulated. Furthermore, differences in measured ignition delays from RCMs and shock tube facilities are discussed, with the apparent initial gross disagreement being explained by facility effects in both types of experiments. Finally, future directions for using RCMs in chemical kinetics studies are also discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Preparation of this review was supported by the Combustion Energy Frontier Research Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number E–SC0001198. CJS also wishes to acknowledge the financial support received from National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Army Research Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research as well as from industry in supporting rapid compression machine research over the yearspeer-reviewe