A NOVEL IDEA TO IMPROVE IGNITION AND ENHANCEMENT OF COMBUSTION BY INFRARED MULTIPHOTON DISSOCIATION (IRMPD) IS PROPOSED.

A NOVEL IDEA TO IMPROVE IGNITION AND ENHANCEMENT OF COMBUSTION BY INFRARED MULTIPHOTON DISSOCIATION (IRMPD) IS PROPOSED. LASER-INDUCED IRMPD OFFERS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR SELECTIVELY INFLUENCING COMBUSTION EVENTS DUE TO A VARIETY OF FACTORS: 1) IR ABSORBING MOLECULES CAN BE DISSOCIATED INTO REACTIVE RADICALS. 2) ENERGY CAN BE DEPOSITED EXCLUSIVELY INTO DESIRED MOLECULES BY APPROPRIATELY SELECTING THE LASER EXCITATION FREQUENCY. 3) IT CAN ALSO BE DEPOSITED AT THE FLAME FRONT, WHERE IT IS MOST NEEDED TO PRODUCE ENHANCEMENT.4) COMBUSTION KINETICS CAN BE MODIFIED NON-INTRUSIVELY. 5) THE COHERENCE AND HIGH-INTENSITY OF THE LASER BEAM OFFER POSSIBILITIES FOR OBTAINING LARGER IGNITION KERNELS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS AN EXPERIMENTAL EFFORT TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS IDEA. TO THIS END, IGNITION BY IRMPD OF COMBUSTIBLE METHANOL-AIR MIXTURES IS CHOSEN AS A TEST REACTION. AN APPARATUS HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR DETECTING LASER IGNITION AND SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURING THE NUMBER OF PHOTONS ABSORBED. IT WILL BE USED TO ESTABLISH WHETHER OBSERVED IGNITIONS ARE TRULY CAUSED BY A MULTIPHOTON PROCESS. THE POTENTIAL FOR ENHANCING FLAME SPEED BY IRMPD WILL ALSO BE EXPLORED BY STUDYING THE TERPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF MULTIPHOTON ABSORPTION. AFTER PROOF OF CONCEPT, PHASE II WILL RESEARCH NEW MPD AVENUES COMPATIBLE WITH OTHER FUEL-AIR MIXTURES, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF PRODUCING A PRACTICAL DEVICE.