Combustion and Flame, Vol.162, No.6, 2466-2479, 2015
Autoignition response of n-butanol and its blends with primary reference fuel constituents of gasoline
We study the influence of blending n-butanol on the ignition delay times of n-heptane and iso-octane, the primary reference fuels for gasoline. The ignition delay times are measured using a rapid compression machine, with an emphasis on the low-to-intermediate temperature conditions. The experiments are conducted at equivalence ratios of 0.4 and 1.0, for a compressed pressure of 20 bar, with the temperatures at the end of compression ranging from 613 K to 979 K. The effect of n-butanol addition on the development of the two-stage ignition characteristics for the two primary reference fuels is also examined. The experimental results are compared to predictions obtained using a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism, which has been obtained by a systematic merger of previously reported base models for the combustion of the individual fuel constituents. A sensitivity analysis on the base, and the merged models, is also performed to understand the dependence of autoignition delay times on the model parameters. (C) 2015 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.