Experimental Investigation on Plasma-assisted Combustion Characteristics of Premixed Propane/Air Mixture

A detailed study on the plasma-assisted combustion (PAC) characteristics of premixed propane/air mixture is presented. The PAC is measured electrically, as well as optically with a multichannel spectrometer. The characteristics are demonstrated by stable combustion temperature and combustion stability limits, and the results are compared with conventional combustion (CC). Stable combustion temperature measurements show that the introduction of PAC into combustion system can increase the stable combustion temperature, and the increment is more notable with an increase of discharge voltage. Besides, the rich and weak limits of combustion stability are both enlarged when plasma is applied into the combustion process and the increase of discharge voltage results in the expansion of combustion stability limits as well. The measurements of temperature head and emission spectrum illustrate that the kinetic enhancement caused by reactive species in plasma is the main enhancement pathway for current combustion system.