Experiment on laminar combustion characteristics of RP-3 kerosene

In order to illustrate the combustion characteristics of RP-3 kerosene, the laminar combustion velocity and Markstein length of RP-3 kerosene were investigated experimentally in a constant volume combustion bomb. The experiments were performed at four different pressures: 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 MPa, three different temperatures: 390, 420 and 450 K, and over the equivalence ratio range of 0.6-1.6. The influences of three crucial parameters: initial temperature, initial pressure and equivalence ratio on the flame structure, laminar combustion velocity and Markstein length were investigated. The results showed that increasing the initial temperature or decreasing the initial pressure could lead to an increase in the laminar combustion velocity of RP-3 kerosene. With the equivalence ratio increasing from 0.6 to 1.6, the laminar combustion velocity increased initially and then decreased gradually. The highest laminar combustion velocity was measured at fuel rich condition (equivalence ratio of 1.2). Furthermore, decreasing the initial pressure or equivalence ratio could increase the stability of the flame front, which is established by increased Markstein length. The effect of the initial temperature on the Markstein length is not clear; with the increase of the initial temperature, the Markstein length has a decreasing trend at some conditions for the equivalence ratios of 0.9-1.1, and an increasing trend over the equivalence ratios range of 1.2-1.5.