Journal Article
Modeling the Detailed Chemical Kinetics of NOx Sensitization for the Oxidation of a Model fuel for Gasoline
2010-04-12
2010-01-1084
At temperatures below 1100 K, the oxidation of nitric oxide (NO) impacts the oxidation of hydrocarbons, causing a sensitization effect in fuel combustion. This effect can be important in engine operations, especially those involving high levels of exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR). Many researchers have observed this NO sensitization for the oxidation of hydrocarbons in HCCI engines as well as stirred reactors. They used several model-fuel components relevant to gasoline, such as n-heptane, iso-octane, and toluene. As found in stirred reactor experiments, NO tends to increase the extent of oxidation for high-octane fuel components, such as isooctane and toluene. However, for the low-octane component n-heptane, NO has an inhibiting effect on hydrocarbon oxidation, particularly at low temperatures corresponding to the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region.