Numerical simulation of post-flame oxidation of hydrocarbons in spark ignition engines

About 50-90 percent of the hydrocarbons that escape combustion during flame passage in spark-ignition engine operation are oxidized in the cylinder before leaving the system. The process involves the transport of unreacted fuel from cold walls towards the hotter burned gas regions and subsequent reaction. In order to understand controlling factors in the process, a transient one-dimensional reactive-diffusive model has been formulated for simulating the oxidation processes taking place in the reactive layer between hot burned gases and cold unreacted air/fuel mixture, with initial and boundary conditions provided by the emergence of hydrocarbons from the piston top land crevice. Energy and species conservation equations are solved for the entire process, using a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for propane. Simulation results show that the post-flame oxidation process takes place within a reactive layer where intermediate hydrocarbon products are formed at temperatures above 1100-1200 K, followed by a carbon monoxide conversion region closer to the hot burned gases. Model results show that most of hydrocarbons leaving the crevice are completely oxidized inside the cylinder. The largest contribution of remaining hydrocarbons are those leaving the crevice at temperatures below 1400 K. The largest fraction of non-fuel (intermediate) hydrocarbons results from hydrocarbons leaving the crevice when core temperatures are around 1400 K Copyright © 1997 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

Post-earthquake behaviour of footings employing densification to mitigate liquefaction

In situ densification is a popular technique to protect shallow foundations from the effects of earthquake-induced liquefaction, current design being based on semiempirical rules. Poor understanding of the mechanisms governing the performance of soil-structure systems during and after earthquakes inhibits the use of narrow densified zones, which could contribute to optimise the use of densification if the increase in post-earthquake settlement is restrained. Therefore this paper investigates the long-term behaviour of a footing built on densified ground and surrounded by liquefiable ground, centrifuge experiments being used to identify the mechanisms occurring in the ground during and after a seismic simulation. The differential excess pore pressure generated in the ground during the shaking and the processes of vertical stress concentration and subsequent redistribution observed under the footing dominate the system behaviour. The results enlighten the complex mechanisms determining the post-earthquake settlement when densification is carried out to mitigate liquefaction effects. The improvement in performance resulting from widening the zone of densification is rationally explained which encourages the development of new design concepts that may enhance the future use of densification as a liquefaction resistance measure. © 2007 Thomas Telford Ltd.