Laminar Burning Velocities of High-Performance Fuels Relevant to the Co-Optima Initiative

Laminar burning velocity (LBV) measurements are reported for promising high-performance fuels selected as drop-in transportation fuels to automotive grade gasoline as part of the United States Department of Energy’s Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines Initiative (Co-Optima). LBV measurements were conducted for ethanol, methyl acetate, and 2-methylfuran with synthetic air (79.0 % N₂ and 21.0 % O₂ by volume) within a constant-volume spherical combustion rig. Mixture initial temperature was fixed at 428±4 K, with the corresponding initial pressure of 1.00±0.02 atm. Current LBV of ethanol is in good agreement with literature data. LBV of ethanol and 2-methylfuran showed similar values over the range of equivalence ratios, while methyl acetate exhibited an LBV significantly lower over the range of tested equivalence ratios. The maximum laminar burning velocity occurred at slightly richer equivalence ratio from the stoichiometric value for all fuels tested. LBV data were compared to simulations by chemical kinetic mechanisms. The predicted LBVs of ethanol and methyl acetate were in reasonable agreement with data, however, those for 2-methlyfuran were slightly under-predicted. Current data will serve as valuable validation targets for future chemical kinetic mechanisms for Co-Optima fuels.