Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp.

646654, 2001

Ignition of the GasCoal Dust Mixture. Pointwise Approximation

Yu. A. Gosteev1 and A. V. Fedorov1 UDC 534.222.2; 662.612.32

Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 3646, NovemberDecember, 2001.
Original article submitted October 5, 2000.

A mathematical model of ignition of a gas mixture with dust particles is constructed

by methods of mechanics of reacting heterogeneous media. Some qualitative feature
of the model are studied, which allow one to identify different characteristics variants
of thermal dynamics of the mixture: heterogeneous ignition by means of oxidation of
coke residue, homogeneous ignition caused by oxidation of volatiles in the gas phase,
and hybrid ignition due to simultaneous action of surface and volume reactions. The
model is verified using available experimental data on ignition delays of suspended
coal particles in air and in oxygen in reflected shock waves.

The problem of ignition of coalair mixtures is im- bustion were considered as a unified reacting process.
portant, since they are widely used as fuel mixtures in Equations of mechanics of heterogeneous media in this
various power engineering facilities, and it is necessary or that approximation were also involved in simulation
to ensure explosion and fire safety in coal mining and of coalair mixture flows.
power engineering. A mathematical model of ignition of a multispecies
Extensive experimental data on the characteristics gas mixture of coal particles in the pointwise approxi-
of ignition of relatively large single coal particles (of mation of mechanics of heterogeneous reacting media is
radius greater than 20 m) under conditions of weak developed in the present work by methods of the theory
convection of the oxidizer gas into the reaction cham- of thermal explosion. This model is applied to solve the
ber can be found in [1]. Papers on physical simulation problem of ignition of a coalair mixture in a reflected
of ignition of coal-dust mixtures, including those un- shock wave.
der conditions of flow behind shock waves, are rather
scattered.
The problem of ignition of coalair mixtures was
1. MODEL OF IGNITION OF A GAS
studied theoretically in many papers (see the review
MIXTURE OF COAL PARTICLES
in [2]). The postulates of N. N. Semenovs theory of
thermal explosion were used to formulate the critical
Relations for the Mean Parameters
conditions of ignitionextinction in investigations per-
of the Heterogeneous Mixture
formed within the framework of pointwise models of ig-
nition of coal particles and their mixtures with air. The
We consider a stationary mixture of coal particles
use of these postulates is also favored by the simplified
in a gas that fills a one-dimensional space. The mix-
kinetic description accepted in most works. Attempts
ture consists of two phases: the gas phase (subscript 1)
were made to involve the theory of chain-thermal explo-
and the disperse phase (subscript 2). The gas phase
sion for theoretical analysis. A typical feature of papers
contains the following components: oxygen (subscript
based on the distributed approach is the description
11), combustible volatiles (12), gaseous products of ox-
of heat- and mass-transfer processes either in the gas
idation of combustible volatiles (13), gaseous products
medium around a single reacting particle or in a two-
of carbon oxidation (14), inert component of the initial
phase mixture flow. In both cases, ignition and com-
gas mixture (for air, nitrogen; subscript 15), and inert
1
Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics,
volatiles (16). The disperse phase includes the compo-
Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, nent of volatiles in a condensed state (22), carbon (23),
Novosibirsk 630090. and inert component of the fuel (ash; subscript 24). The
646 0010-5082/01/3706-0646 $25.00
c 2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation
Ignition of the GasCoal Dust Mixture. Pointwise Approximation 647

phases are characterized by mean temperatures Ti and Physicochemical Processes

densities i that obey the equalities
6 4 We assume that the processes of thermal destruc-
X X
1 = 1j , 2 = 2j , tion of coal particles with liberation of volatiles into
j=1 j=2 the gas phase, gas-phase oxidation of the combustible
where the mean densities of the components ij are de- part of the volatiles, and the heterogeneous chemical re-
termined through their true densities 0ij and volume action of carbon oxidation occur simultaneously in the
concentrations mij by means of the relations gas mixture.
Liberation of Volatiles. We assume that the
1j = m1 01j , 2j = m2j 02j . volatiles in the gas phase consist of a reacting compo-
The volume concentrations of the phases m1 and m2 nent (hydrogen H2 , methane CH4 , and resin) with a
are related by the master equality of mechanics of het- conventional chemical formula C5 H10 and an inert com-
erogeneous media ponent (carbon dioxide CO2 and water vapor H2 O) with
m1 + m2 = 1, a conventional formula CX HY OZ [3]. The fraction of
reacting volatiles in the overall mass of volatiles is de-
and the volume concentrations of the solid components
termined by the empirical relation [4]
m2j are linked by the geometric relation
2
4 12 = 0.033 + 5.9422,0 11.322,0 ,
m2 = m22 + m23 + m24 = r3 n,
3 where 22,0 is the initial mass content of volatiles in the
where r = d/2 is the coal-particle radius and n is the fuel. The mass velocity of pyrolisis is chosen in the form
number of particles in a unit volume of the mixture. The of the diffusion-kinetic dependence [4]
solid components are assumed to be incompressible, i.e., Kv 22
wv = ,
02j = 02j,0 = const. 1 + (V /S)(Kv /Kv,D )
In addition, the volume content of the inert component where Kv = Kv exp(Ev /T2 ) and Kv,D = Dv /2r are
(ash) remains unchanged: the kinetic and diffusion constants of velocity, respec-
m24 = m24,0 . tively, Kv and Ev are the preexponent and activation
energy of pyrolisis, Dv is the coefficient of diffusion of
The gas phase is a gas mixture; in accordance with Dal-
volatiles inside the particle, and V and S are the parti-
tons law, its pressure p is related to other thermody-
cle volume and surface area.
namic parameters as
Oxidation of Volatiles. Let the oxidation reac-
6
1 X tion of volatiles be described by the equation
p= R1 T1 , R1 = 1j R1j .
m1 j=1
1
12 1
C5 H10 + 11 1
O2 13 CX HY OZ ,
Here the relative mass concentrations of the gas compo- which may be written as the stoichiometric relation
nents 1j are determined by the equalities 1j = 1j /1 ; 1 1 1 1 1 1
11 11 + 12 12 = 13 13 or 11 + 12 = 13 ,
the specific gas constants R1j are expressed via the uni-
versal gas constant R and molecular masses of the jth where kil l
= ki ki is the reduced stoichiometric coeffi-
gas component 1j : R1j = R/1j . cient (l = 1 and 2; k = 1 and 2). The mass velocity of
The internal energy of the mixture obeys the rela- this reaction is
tion w1 = KB1 11
a1 a2
12 ,
e = 1 e1 + 2 e2 ,
where KB1 = KB1 pa3 exp(EB1 /T1 ) is a velocity con-
where ei = cv,i (Ti T0 ) + e0i
is the internal energy stant and KB1 and EB1 are the preexponent and acti-
and cv,i and e0i are the isochoric heat capacity and pro- vation energy of oxidation of volatiles.
duction energy of the ith phase determined via similar Oxidation of Carbon. For simplicity, carbon ox-
quantities for the components cv,ij and e0ij by the for- idation is assumed to be a one-stage process described
mulas by the equations
6 4
2 2 2
C + O2 CO2 , 23 23 + 11 11 = 14 14
X X
cv,1 = 1j cv,1j , cv,2 = 2j cv,2j ,
j=1 j=2 2 2 2
or 23 + 11 = 14 ,
6 4
X X where 23 is the molecular weight of carbon. The final
e01 = 1j e01j , e02 = 2j e02j .
reaction has the first order in terms of oxygen, and the
j=1 j=2
mass velocity in the diffusion-kinetic mode is
648 Gosteev and Fedorov

KB2 11 23 1
q1 = q1,0 + (11 1
cp,11 + 12 1
cp,12 13 cp,13 )(T1 T0 ),
w2 = .
1 + (V /S)(KB2 /KD2 )
2 2
Hereinafter, we consider ignition of suspensions of small q2 = q2,0 + (11 cp,11 14 cp,14 )(T1 T0 )
coal particles at comparatively high temperatures of the 2
+ 23 (T2 T0 ),
gas phase. Therefore, we ignore the internal reactions
of carbon (on pore surfaces). Then, the kinetic and
L = L0 + (12
cp,12 + (1 12 )cp,16 )(T1 T0 )
diffusion constants of velocity are determined by the
expressions [4] cp,22 (T2 T0 ).

KB2 = KB2 exp(EB2 /T2 ), KD2 = NuD11 /2r, Here q1,0 and q2,0 are the standard reaction heats and
L0 is the heat of pyrolysis. Part of the heat of the het-
where KB2 and EB2 are the preexponent and activation erogeneous reaction of carbon oxidation q2 is released
energy of carbon oxidation, Nu is the Nusselt number, in the gas phase, and the other part (1 q2 ) in the
and D11 is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen. The ash disperse phase. Similarly, part of the heat of pyroli-
part of the particle has no effect on the carbon-oxidation sis || is absorbed from the gas phase, and the other
velocity either (the ash core has a constant mass). part (1 ||) from the disperse phase. The term Q12
is responsible for interphase heat exchange and has the
following form for convective and radiative heat fluxes
Laws of Conservation taken into account:
Q12 = Qconv
12 + Qrad conv
12 , Q12 = nS12 (T2 T1 ),
The changes in the mean densities of the compo-
nents resulting from physicochemical processes in the Qrad 4 4
12 = nSs (T2 T1 ).
gas mixture are described by the equations of conserva-
Here 12 = 1 Nu/2r is the heat-release coefficient, s is
tion of mass
the integral emissivity of the particle, and is the
1 2
t 11 = 11 w1 11 w2 , StefanBoltzmann constant. Note that system (1), (2)
is close to that given in [5] for the dynamics of a react-
1 1
t 12 = 12 wv 12 w1 , t 13 = 13 w1 , ing mixture of a gas, solid particles, and liquid drops of
a hydrocarbon fuel.
2
t 14 = 14 w2 , t 15 = 0, (1)

t 16 = (1 12 )wv , t 22 = wv , Dimensionless System of Equations
2
t 23 = 23 w2 , t 24 = 0. We introduce the scales of time tM , distance xM =
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r0 , density M = 0 , temperature TM , pressure pM =
Here 11 = 11 /12 , 12 = 12 /12 = 1, 13 = 13 /12 ,
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1,0 M R1,0 TM /m1,0 , heat capacity cM = 1,0 R1,0 /m1,0 ,
11 = 11 /23 , 14 = 14 /23 , and 23 = 23 /23 = 1.
energy eM = cM TM , and the number of particles
The equations of motion are satisfied identically,
nM = n0 . Quantities with the zero subscript corre-
since the phase velocities are zero, ui = 0 and p = p(t).
spond to the initial state of the mixture. It was assumed
The heat-transfer equations in the enthalpy form are
in computations that TM = 300 K and tM = 103 sec.
6
X  Being nondimensionalized, the laws of conservation and
1j cp,1j t T1 m1 t p the closing relations are transformed to the following
j=1
system of equations (the corresponding quantities are
= q1 w1 + q2 q2 w2 ||Lwv + Q12 , marked by hat):
(2)
4 d11 1 2 d12 1
X  = 11 w1 11 w2 , = 12 wv 12 w1 ,
2j cp,2j t T2 m2 t p dt dt
j=2
d13 1 d14 2 d15
= (1 q2 )q2 w2 (1 ||)Lwv Q12 . = 13 w1 , = 14 w2 , = 0,
dt dt dt
The quantities q1 and q2 determine the heat release due
d16 d22
to the chemical reactions of oxidation of volatiles and = (1 12 )wv , = wv ,
carbon, respectively, and L is the heat absorption in the dt dt
pyrolisis reaction. These quantities are described by the d23 d24
2
following expressions: = 23 w2 , = 0,
dt dt
Ignition of the GasCoal Dust Mixture. Pointwise Approximation 649
6
X  dT
1 dP (KB1 tM aM1 +a2 1 paM3 )1 , and B2 = (KB2 tM )1 are the
1j cp,1j m1 characteristic times of chemical relaxation, and
j=1
dt dt
2M cM r02 M cM r0
conv = , rad = 3 t
= q1 w1 + q2 q2 w2 ||Lwv + Qconv
12 + Qrad
12 , (3) 3m2,0 Nu1 tM 3m2,0 s TM M

4
are the characteristic times of thermal relaxation (con-
 dT dP vective and radiative heat exchange). The initial pa-
X
2
2i cp,2i m2
i=2
dt dt rameters of the mixture are
t = 0: 11 = 11,0 = 11,0 1,0 ,
= (1 q2 )q2 w2 (1 ||)Lwv Qconv
12 Qrad
12 ,
15 = 15,0 = (1 11,0 )1,0 ,
m2i = 2i /02i ,
12 = 13 = 14 = 16 = 0, 2i = 2i,0 , (6)
3
hm
22 + m23 + m24 i1/3
r = ,
m2,0 Tj = Tj,0 , r = 1.

m2 = m2,0 r3 , m1 = 1 m2 , Thus, to describe the process of ignition of a gas

mixture of coal particles under the action of a high ini-
1 T1 R1 tial temperature of the gas phase, we have a system of
.
P = ordinary differential equations (3)(5) and initial con-
m1
ditions (6).
The expressions for the dimensionless sources of mass
and heat fluxes are
22 exp(Ev /T2 ) 2. QUALITATIVE FEATURES
wv = ,
v 1 + (Dav /6)r2 exp(Ev /T2 ) OF THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

a111 a122 P a3 Characteristic Times

w1 = exp(EB1 /T1 ), and Regimes of Thermal Dynamics
B1
It was already mentioned that several nonequilib-
11 23 exp(EB2 /T2 )
w2 = , rium processes with different time scales proceed simul-
B2 1 + (Da2 /6Nu)r2 exp(EB2 /T2 ) taneously in the mixture: thermal relaxation of the
phases by means of convective and radiative heat ex-
r
Qconv
12 = (T2 T1 ), (4) change, chemical relaxation by means of reactions of
conv pyrolisis, oxidation of volatiles, and oxidation of carbon
in particles. Note, in coal-particle reactions, the ther-
r2
Qrad
12 = (T 4 T14 ). mal effects of exothermic reactions are quantities of the
rad 2 same order, whereas the heat of pyrolisis is almost two
Heat release (absorption) in the course of reactions is orders lower. This is the reason for the small fraction of
determined by the following quantities: heat losses on thermal destruction of the fuel in the over-
1
q1 = q1,0 + (11 1
cp,11 + 12 1
cp,12 13 cp,13 )(T1 T0 ), all thermal balance of the phases. At the same time, the
reaction of pyrolisis is the limiting one for the process
2 2 (5) of homogeneous reacting of volatiles. Therefore, libera-
q2 = q2,0 + (11 cp,11 14 cp,14 )(T1 T0 )
2 tion of volatiles affects indirectly (through their further
+ 23 cp,23 (T2 T0 ),
oxidation) the thermal dynamics of the mixture.
In the general case, reactions of pyrolisis and car-
L = L0 + [12 cp,12 + (1 12 )cp,16 ](T1 T0 )
bon oxidation may proceed both in the kinetic (Dav and
Da2  1) and diffusion regions (Dav and Da2  1). At
cp,22 (T2 T0 ).
the first stage of consideration, we confine ourselves to
The constants in the above expressions are deter- the kinetic and intermediate regions only. Depending on
mined by the following formulas: Dav = Kv d20 /Dv the relationship between the above characteristic times,
is the Damkohler number for the pyrolisis reaction, different variants of thermal dynamics of the mixture
Da2 = KB2 d20 /D11 is the Damkohler number for the occur. Qualitatively, we distinguish regimes with igni-
carbon-oxidation reaction, v = (Kv tM )1 , B1 = tion of fuel particles (regime P1) and with regular
650 Gosteev and Fedorov

heating without ignition (regime P2), and also with ig-

nition (regime V1) and regular heating (regime V2)
of volatiles.
Under adiabatic conditions, the regular heating
regimes P2 and V2 may be caused by significant kinetic
deceleration, i.e., outburning of the fuel and insufficient
heat release of the oxidation reaction.
In accordance with the concept of the thermal ex-
plosion theory, we assume that the ignition criterion in
regime P1 is the appearance of an inflection point on
the disperse-phase temperature dependence, where the
maximum rate of particle heating is reached:
dT2  d2 T2 
max, = 0.
dt2 t=tign
 
dt t=tign
We assume that ignition of volatiles in regime V1 occurs
at the point, where the formation rate of the gaseous
reaction product is maximum [6], i.e.,
d13 
 max.
dt t=tvign
Regimes V1 and P1 of thermal dynamics usually oc-
cur together. Therefore, there are two induction pe-
riods in the gas mixture: those of volatiles (tvign ) and
coke residue of particles (tign ). It is known from exper-
imental data (see, e.g., [7]) that coke ignition is usually
preceded by ignition of volatiles in the near-particle vol-
ume, i.e., tvign < tign . In particular, this physically in-
teresting mode of thermal dynamics is observed under
the condition v  B1 < B2 on the times of chemical
relaxation (naturally, if the initial contents of volatiles
22.0 is high enough). For v  B1 , the ignition dynam-
ics is mainly determined by the reaction rate of either
pyrolisis if B1 < B2 or carbon oxidation if B1 > B2 .
Now we consider some numerical examples illus-
trating qualitative features of the ignition process of the
mixture.
Numerical Examples
The initial dimensional parameters for the mix-
ture of coal particles in oxygen had the following val-
ues: T1,0 = 1470 K, p0 = 2.3 MPa, 2,0 = 2 kg/m3 ,
11,0 = 1, 22,0 = 0.26, and 23,0 = 0.74. The thermo-
physical parameters of the gas phase corresponded to a
temperature of 1000 K. The following kinetic constants
of reactions were set: Ev = 8900 K [4], a1 = a2 = 1,
a3 = 0, KB1 = 1 107 sec1 (kg/m3 )1 , EB1 = 9000 K,
and EB2 = 9180 K. The preexponents Kv and KB2 were
varied, which yielded different relationships between the
times of chemical relaxation. The initial size of parti-
cles varied from 0.5 to 5 m; this increased the time
of convective heat exchange conv from 3.9546 103 to
Fig. 1. Dynamics of heating and heterogeneous ig-
nition of the gas mixture of coal particles with r0 =
1.5 (1), 2.5 (2), and 5 m (3).
3.9546101 and, hence, the length of the thermal relax-
ation zone. Because of the small particle size, radiant
heat exchange has a minor effect on heating of the mix-
ture.
First, we consider two limiting variants of thermal
dynamics of the coal mixture: regimes of heterogeneous
ignition (either the process of liberation of volatiles for
v or the reaction of oxidation of volatiles for
B1 is frozen) and homogeneous ignition (carbon-
oxidation reaction is frozen for B2 ).
Heterogeneous Ignition
Heterogeneous ignition is understood as a regime
of reacting of the coal mixture (P1) in the case where
either the process of liberation of volatiles (v ) or
the reaction of their oxidation (B1 ) is frozen.
Figure 1 shows the main parameters of the react-
ing mixture versus time, which correspond to the case
of heterogeneous ignition. After a stage of particle heat-
ing, where the particle temperature increases noticeably
due to heat exchange with the hot gas, there follows an
induction period with approximately constant values of
all parameters. It is seen from Fig. 1a that the phase
temperatures are noticeably different within the entire
time interval prior to ignition despite the small size of
particles. The reason is that the thermal relaxation of
the phases in this example proceeds much slower than
Ignition of the GasCoal Dust Mixture. Pointwise Approximation 651

the chemical reaction: conv = 3.56 102 > B2 = TABLE 1

5103 . With increasing particle size, the phase temper- Approximate Characteristics of Homogeneous Ignition
of the AirCoal Mixture (the data correspond to Fig. 2)
atures at the moment of ignition become slightly lower.
The amount of burned oxygen (Fig. 1b) and reaction Particle radius, m
products formed (Fig. 1c) during the induction period Parameters
1.5 2.5 5
depend weakly on the fuel-particle size. At the same
time, the maximum heating rate of the disperse phase tvign , msec 2.96 3.29 4.62
increases with increasing particle size (Fig. 1d). tign , msec 2.98 3.42 5.09
T1 (tvign )/300 K 8.836 8.959 9.277
Homogeneous Ignition T2 (tvign )/300 K 8.401 8.015 7.220
T1 (tign )/300 K 8.989 9.738 10.727
Homogeneous ignition is understood as a regime of
T2 (tign )/300 K 8.555 8.838 9.155
reacting of the coal mixture (V1) in the case, where the
process of carbon oxidation is frozen (B2 ).
Figure 2 illustrates the process of homogeneous
ignition of the coalgas mixture as B2 . In this
case, the phases exchange their heat rather rapidly, and nificantly during the induction period (0, tign ) (Fig. 2b).
their temperatures are noticeably different only at short As the particle size increases, the time of the maximum
stages of particle heating and drastic increase in their saturation of the mixture by volatiles is shifted and the
temperature. The increase in particle size leads to more maximum value of their density 12 decreases. This is
expressed temperature nonequilibrium (see curves 13 explained by the increase in diffuse resistance to trans-
in Fig. 2a). A comparison of Fig. 2c and Fig. 2d, which portation of volatiles through the solid skeleton of coal
shows the production rate of volatile-oxidation prod- particles. Indeed, an increase in particle diameter leads
ucts and particle heating rate, reveals that the ignition to an increase in the Damkohler number Dav and, ac-
delays for volatiles and coke are rather close to each cording to Eq. (4), to a decrease in the pyrolisis veloc-
other. Only the density of gaseous volatiles changes sig- ity wv . With increasing particle size, the rate of its
heating decreases together with the maximum heating
rate (see Fig. 2d).
Close ignition delays of volatiles and coke residue
are also evidenced by the data of Table 1, where the
characteristic parameters of homogeneous ignition for
the conditions of Fig. 2 are listed: induction periods
of volatiles (tvign ) and coke residue (tign ), and also the
phase temperatures at both ignition times. Note, we
do not determine the ignition temperature of volatiles
as a criterion of ignition. Therefore, the temperature of
the gas phase may weakly depend on the particle size.
To explain this fact, we note that the formation rate of
gaseous products in oxidation of volatiles and the rate
of temperature variation of the gas phase are different;
one of the reasons is interphase heat exchange whose
intensity depends on the particle size. Therefore, the
particle radius has a weak effect on the value of T1 (tvign ).
We now consider typical features of the intermedi-
ate (hybrid) regime of thermal dynamics of the mixture.

Hybrid Ignition

Fig. 2. Dynamics of heating and homogeneous igni- Hybrid ignition is a regime of reacting of the coal
tion of the gas mixture of coal particles with r0 = gas mixture (regime P1 or V1) in the case of finite re-
1.5 (1), 2.5 (2), and 5 m (3). laxation times of all physicochemical processes.
652
Fig. 3. Dynamics of heating and ignition of the
coalgas mixture with r0 = 0.5 (1), 2.5 (2), and
5 m (3); slow reacting of carbon (homogeneous
heterogeneous ignition).
Type I. HomogeneousHeterogeneous Ignition.
Figure 3 shows the thermal dynamics of the gas mix-
ture for B1 = 8.02 104 , v = 8.772 103 , and which occurs at B1 = 8.02 104 , B2 = 5 103 , and
B2 = 5 101 . It is seen from Fig. 3a, which shows v = 8.772 103 (Fig. 4). In this case, the carbon-
the phase-temperature dependences on time in differ-
ent scales, that nonequilibrium heating is observed at
first time moments (for example, we have t 6 0.5 for
particles with r = 2.5 m). Then, the phase temper-
atures become equal, and ignition occurs first in the
gas phase of volatiles and, then, in the disperse phase.
This can be seen in Fig. 3e, which shows the production
rate of combustion products of volatiles versus time.
Figure 3d shows that the disperse phase ignites some-
what later. Even the carbon-oxidation reaction, which
is rather slow, contributes to the process of particle ig-
nition. Note, the difference between tign and tvign is not
too large, but it becomes more pronounced with increas-
ing particle size (compare the times needed to reach
the maximum values in curves 13 in Fig. 3d and e).
Figure 3b and c illustrates the behavior of active gas
components in the course of reacting.
Gosteev and Fedorov
Fig. 4. Dynamics of heating and ignition of the
coalgas mixture with r0 = 1.5 (1), 2.5 (2), and
5 m (3); fast reacting of carbon (heterogeneous
homogeneous ignition).
Type II. HeterogeneousHomogeneous Ignition.
We now consider the thermal dynamics of the mixture,
oxidation reaction exerts the main effect on the process
of ignition, since it proceeds approximately an order of
magnitude faster than the homogeneous reaction. The
result is, for instance, that there remains a rather large
mass of nonreacted volatiles by the moment of ignition
(Fig. 4c). In addition, the maximum production rate of
volatile-oxidation products is not reached by this time
(see Fig. 4d and e). The temperature profile becomes
sharper first in the particle phase and then in the gas
phase (Fig. 4a and b).
3. SIMULATION OF IGNITION
OF GASCOAL MIXTURES
IN REFLECTED SHOCK WAVES
We consider the proposed mathematical model
used to describe the process of ignition of gas mixtures
of coal particles in reflected shock waves. We assume
Ignition of the GasCoal Dust Mixture. Pointwise Approximation
Fig. 5. Ignition delay in the mixture of coal parti-
cles in oxygen versus the gas temperature behind a
reflected shock wave: (a) medium values of tempera-
ture; (b) high values of temperature; the curves refer
to the calculation for 22,0 = 0.26 (1), 0.17 (2), and
0.09 (3); the points are the experimental data of [8]
for 22,0 = 0.26 (M) and 0.09 ().
that the formation of the mixture of the gas and coal
particles is already completed after the shock-wave re-
flection from the wall. Heat exchange between the parti-
cles and the hot gas phase leads to an increase in particle
temperature, initiation of chemical reactions of thermal
decomposition and oxidation, and subsequent ignition
of the mixture.
Boiko et al. [8] give the ignition delays of coal-
particle mixtures in air and oxygen as functions of the
gas-phase temperature behind the reflected shock wave
[tign (T1,0 )]. For physical conditions of [8], we calculated
the thermal dynamics of coal mixtures, which allowed us
to determine the parameters of the formal reaction ki-
netics from the condition of the best fitting of numerical
and experimental dependences tign = tign (T1,0 ). Since
very high particle heating rates were reached in the ex-
periment (about 106 108 K/sec), the sought quantities
included the preexponent of the pyrolisis reaction Kv .
The activation temperature of this process was as-
sumed to be Ev = 8900 K in accordance with [4].
By solving several direct problems, the following set of
653
Fig. 6. Effect of the particle size (a) and mean initial
density (b) on the ignition delay of the coal-dust mix-
ture in oxygen for 22,0 = 0.026 and T1,0 = 1400 (1),
1558 (2), and 2088 K (3).
constants was obtained: Kv = 5 108 sec1 , KB2 =
9.5 106 sec1 , EB1 = 18 103 K, and EB2 = 15 103 K.
The constant KB1 depends on the initial mass concen-
tration of volatiles 22,0 and is determined by the for-
mula

0, 22,0 6 0.09,
KB1 = 0
KB1 (22,0 0.09)a4 , 22,0 > 0.09
[a4 = 1.568 and KB1 0
= 6.036271011 sec1 (kg/m3 )1 ].
Numerical and experimental data for the coal
oxygen mixture are compared in Fig. 5. The kinetic
parameters obtained ensure a fairly good description of
the induction period both for medium (Fig. 5a) and high
(Fig. 5b) gas temperatures behind the reflected shock
wave. In addition, the model can correctly predict the
effect of the initial content of volatiles (22,0 ) on ignition
delays. Curve 2 in Fig. 5 refers to the data calculated for
22,0 = 0.17 and lies between the curves corresponding
to mass concentrations of volatiles 22,0 = 0.09 and 0.26.
Note that the change in the initial content of volatiles
has a weak effect on the ignition delay for high temper-
atures behind the front of the reflected shock wave. The
654
Fig. 7. Ignition delay of the mixture of coal particles
in air versus the gas temperature behind the reflected
shock wave: the curves refer to the calculation for 22,0 =
0.26 (1) and 0.09 (2); the points are the experimental
data of [8] for 22,0 = 0.26 (M) and 0.09 ().
reason is the transition to the heterogeneous regime of
ignition.
The influence of the particle size and initial density
of the disperse phase on the ignition delay of the coal-
dust mixture in oxygen is illustrated in Fig. 6 for an
initial content of volatiles 22,0 = 0.026. Comparing
Fig. 6a and Fig. 6b, we can conclude that the initial
density of the disperse phase has a stronger effect on the
ignition delay tign , especially in the region of medium
temperatures behind the reflected shock wave.
The set of kinetic constants obtained may also be
used to determine the ignition delays of the mixture of
coal particles in air (Fig. 7), though in this case the
calculation overpredicts slightly the induction period of
the mixture for a moderate initial content of volatiles
in the fuel (22,0 = 0.09).
CONCLUSIONS
1. A pointwise mathematical model is constructed
for ignition of mixtures of coal particles in a gas, which
takes into account the main physicochemical processes:
liberation of bound volatiles into the gas phase and their
oxidation, carbon oxidation, and convective and radia-
tive heat exchange between the phases.
2. Within the framework of this model, typical
variants of the thermal dynamics of the mixture that
occur at different relaxation times of nonequilibrium
processes were found:
Gosteev and Fedorov
heterogeneous ignition by means of the oxidation
reaction of coke residue;
homogeneous ignition caused by the process of
oxidation of volatiles in the gas phase;
hybrid ignition due to the simultaneous processes
of oxidation of coke and volatiles.
3. Verification of the model was performed by the
known experimental data on ignition delays of coal-
particle mixtures in air and oxygen in reflected shock
waves with varied temperature behind the shock wave
and initial content of volatiles.
This work was supported by the Russian Foun-
dation for Fundamental Research (Grant No. 9901
00587), INTAS OPEN 972027, and ISTC (Grant
No. 612).
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