Numerical Study of Hydrogen Addition Effects on Aluminum Particle Combustion

In this study, the combustion of submicron-sized Al particles in air was studied numerically with a particular focus on the effect of hydrogen addition. Oxidation of the Al particles and the interaction with hydrogen-related intermediates were considered by regarding them as liquid-phase molecules initially. Zero- and One-dimensional numerical simulations were then carried out to investigate the effect of the hydrogen addition on fundamental combustion characteristics of the Al flame, by calculating properties such as ignition delay time and flame speed. Our attention was paid to how the hydrogen chemistry is coupled with the Al oxidation process. Numerical results show that the hydrogen addition generally reduces the reactivity of Al, such that the flame speed and temperature decrease, while it  can greatly shorten ignition delay times of the Al flame depending on initial temperatures.