Autoignition of Heavy Fuel Oil Sprays at High Pressures and Temperatures

Abstract

This paper reports on an experimental study of the autoignition behavior of several heavy fuel oils in a large constant-volume combustion chamber with single-shot injection. In the experiments the pressure and the temperature of the air in the combustion chamber before fuel injection varied between 30 and 70 bar and between 730 and 920 K. Illumination delay and pressure delay values have been correlated with these pressures and temperatures. It is shown that for all but one of the fuels examined, ignition delay ranking changes little with the choice of ignition delay definition, but more with the pressure and temperature conditions in the combustion chamber. The usefulness of the Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index is discussed.