Nanosecond Pulsed Plasmas in Dynamic Combustion Environments

Plasma assisted combustion (PAC) is a promising technology for extending combustion operating envelopes with a low energy cost relative to flame power. It has been investigated for use in various situations, particularly those where combustion is being performed near flammability limits imposed by equivalence ratio, residence time, etc. While the fundamental processes allowing plasma to modify combustion dynamics have been well studied, there are still many unresolved questions in determining the relative contribution of different actuation pathways in different situations (thermal enhancement, kinetic enhancement or transport-induced effects) and how the plasma will evolve and interact with the flame in a dynamic combustion environment. The plasmas being used for PAC are typically non-equilibrium and are often produced by the nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge (NRPD) strategy. The development of these discharges is highly dependent both on applied voltage and also on the gas environment (composition, temperature, flow field, etc.). As the plasma affects the combustion, so too does the combustion affect the plasma structure and energy deposition pathways. This two-way coupling means that the plasma’s ability to modify the combustion, and the mechanisms by which it achieves these effects, will vary as the environment changes due to combustion dynamics. This impact of the combustion on the plasma has received considerably less attention than the other direction of interaction, especially in environments with transient or propagating flames. The first main objective of this thesis is to explore the development of NRPDs in dynamic combustion environments and in particular how the plasma develops on the timescales of transient combustion (many accumulated pulses). This is performed first in a laminar, mesoscale platform to probe the interaction in detail, and the important insights are later shown to be relevant to high power systems of practical interest. While the impact of the plasma on the flame has been considerably better studied and the fundamental processes are well understood, there are still hurdles that must be overcome before PAC systems can begin to be designed and implemented for use outside of the laboratory. The development of versatile and flexible engineering models of the impact of the plasma will be necessary to allow system designers to make predictions about combustor operation when plasma is applied. The second main objective of this thesis is to develop such an engineering model and demonstrate its predictive capabilities across a variety of configurations. The model is developed for a laminar mesoscale platform and is shown to correctly predict the impact of the plasma in several different configurations, indicating a path forward towards physics[1]informed design of PAC systems. The model also provides important physical insight of the impact of plasma on flame, such as the role of pressure waves in disturbing the flame dynamics, even when considering uniform DBD discharges.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Pavan, Colin A.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Guerra-Garcia, Carmen

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151492

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/151492