Ignition And Flame Propagation Enhancement by Plasma Excited Oxygen: Role of Ozone

In this study, the effects of plasma assisted combustion on both the ignition and flame propagation processes have been investigated. Specifically, the effects of ozone have been investigated. By numerical simulations of the ignition process of plasma assisted combustion with detailed fuel and ozone kinetics, the plasma generated ozone has been found to reduce the ignition delay times. Moreover, the enhanced reactivity by ozone additions is mainly due to the chemical kinetic effect, while thermodynamics only has a secondary influence. By simulating the flame propagation of ozone additions to both hydrogen/oxygen and methane/oxygen flames, the flame propagation speeds have been found to also increase with additions of plasma generated ozone. However, the enhancement of flame propagation is less sensitive to ozone additions compared with the ignition process. The current investigation provides useful insights into plasma assisted combustion as well as guidance to new strategies for enhancing various propulsion systems.