An ignition delay time and chemical kinetic modeling study of the pentane isomers

Abstract Ignition delay times of n -pentane, iso -pentane, and neo -pentane mixtures were measured in two shock tubes and in a rapid compression machine. The experimental data were used as validation targets for the model described in detail in an accompanying study [14]. The present study presents ignition delay time data for the pentane isomers at equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 in ‘air’ (additionally, 0.3 in ‘air’ for n -, and iso -pentane) at pressures of 1, 10, and 20 atm in the shock tube, and 10 and 20 atm in the rapid compression machine, as well as data at an equivalence ratio of 1.0 in 99% argon, at pressures near 1 and 10 atm in a shock tube. An infrared laser absorption technique at 3.39 µm was used to verify the composition of the richest mixtures in the shock-tube tests by measuring directly the pentane isomer concentration in the driven section. By using shock tubes and a rapid compression machine, it was possible to investigate temperatures ranging from 643 to 1718 K. A detailed chemical kinetic model was used to simulate the experimental ignition delay times, and these are well-predicted for all of the isomers over all ranges of temperature, pressure, and mixture composition. In-depth analyses, including reaction path and sensitivity analyses, of the oxidation mechanisms of each of the isomers are presented. To the authors’ knowledge, this study covers conditions not yet presented in the literature and will, in conjunction with the aforementioned accompanying study, expand fundamental knowledge of the combustion kinetics of the pentane isomers and of alkanes in general.