Development of a Commercially Viable Equivalence Ratio Meter

A combustion environment can be described by a characteristic fuel-to-air ratio normalized by the stoichiometric fuel-to-air ratio, otherwise defined as an equivalence ratio, _. The equivalence ratio is used extensively in a wide range of combustion fields from fundamental flame studies, to full-scale fire testing, to power plant operations. There have been basically two methods for calculating the equivalence ratio, each of which has significant disadvantages in practice. Due to these disadvantages, there is no single instrument that allows direct measurement of _. Recently, a technique has been developed in which the equivalence ratio of a gas sample can be determined via oxygen consumption. The Phase I objective is to develop a practical, robust equivalence ratio meter which can be used for a wide range of applications. This design effort will consist of material and hardware selection as well as component optimization testing. Completion of this objective will result in detailed plans for an equivalence ratio meter that can be prototyped and tested in Phase II.