Date of Award

2010-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Advisor(s)

Ahsan R. Choudhuri

Abstract

The combustion characteristics of Al hydride and Al were compared using a combustion chamber. Burning rate, ignition energy and temperature at atmospheric temperature and pressure in carbon dioxide and O2 were tested with a volumetric flow rate that ranged from 10 to 50% in Ar. A spark ignition system was used to ignite the Alane and Aluminum. The combustion rate was measured using a high speed camera. Results showed the combustion rate of Alane and Aluminum decreases with increasing volumetric flow rate of oxidizer. And the combustion rate of Alane is higher than that of Aluminum. Alane needs more ignition energy than Aluminum to burn, which was measured using a high voltage probe and multimeter. A scanning electronic microscope (SEM) was used to obtain the morphology of the sample before the experiment to ensure the sample was pure enough to conduct the experiment. SEM was also used to obtain the morphology after burning to investigate the change in morphology. EDAX analysis was completed to obtain the quantitative analysis of the element and find the O2 content before the experiment, which is the indication of purity in the sample. EDAX analysis was also completed after the experiment to obtain the percentage of O2, which indicates the efficiency of the combustion reactions because O2 is one of the main products after combustion. Flame evolution from high speed camera and thermal camera images suggest that flame quality Alane is better than that of Al in each condition. The flame temperature measured by K type thermocouple indicates flame temperature of Alane is higher than Aluminum for a given condition.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

63 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Sudipa Sarker

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