Modeling Non-Premixed Combustion Using Tabulated Kinetics and Different Fame Structure Assumptions

Nowadays, detailed kinetics is necessary for a proper estimation of both flame structure and pollutant formation in compression ignition engines. However, large mechanisms and the need to include turbulence/chemistry interaction introduce significant computational overheads. For this reason, tabulated kinetics is employed as a possible solution to reduce the CPU time even if table discretization is generally limited by memory occupation. In this work the authors applied tabulated homogeneous reactors (HR) in combination with different turbulent-chemistry interaction approaches to model non-premixed turbulent combustion. The proposed methodologies represent good compromises between accuracy, required memory and computational time. The experimental validation was carried out by considering both constant-volume vessel and Diesel engine experiments. First, the ECN Spray A configuration was simulated at different operating conditions and results from different flame structures are compared with experimental data of ignition delay, flame lift-off, heat release rates, radicals and soot distributions. Afterwards, engine simulations were carried out and computed data are validated by cylinder pressure and heat release rate profiles.