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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Hydrocarbon emission features in the IR spectra of warm supergiants

Observations in the 3-13 micron range are presented for two objects possessing the unidentified 21-micron feature, IRAS 22272 and IRAS 07134, which were obtained in the course of search for circumstellar aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission bands. The 3.3 and 6.2 micron bands are attributed to circumstellar PAH molecules, and the 6-9 micron plateau and the 12- and 6.9-micron lines are attributed to larger, aromatic hydrocarbon clusters. These are the coolest stars known to exhibit the IR emission bands. The 21-micron feature is conjectured to also originate in a carbonaceous carrier.

Buss, R. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Detonability of hydrocarbon fuels in air

Studies were conducted of the detonation of gas-phase mixtures of n-hexane and JP-4, with oxidizers as varied as air and pure oxygen, measuring detonation velocities and cell sizes as a function of stoichiometry and diluent concentration. The induction length of a one-dimensional Zeldovich-von Neumann-Doering detonation was calculated on the basis of a theoretical model that employed the reaction kinetics of the hydrocarbon fuels used. Critical energy and critical tube diameter are compared for a relative measure of the heavy hydrocarbon fuels studied; detonation sensitivity appears to increase slightly with increasing carbon number.

Beeson, H. D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Measurements of fugitive hydrocarbon emissions with a tunable infrared DIAL

A tunable infrared differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system has been designed and developed at the National Physics Lab (NPL) which is capable of making measurements throughout the spectral region 3.0 to 4.2 micro-m. It is ideally suited to measuring a range of organic and inorganic species including methane, propane, and butane. The system also has an ultraviolet channel that is capable of making simultaneous measurements of aromatic hydrocarbons such as Toluene and benzene. This paper describes the source and detection system, together with some measurements of fugitive hydrocarbon emissions performed at various petrochemical plants.

Milton, M. J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

ESCA study of the effect of hydrocarbon contamination on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) exposed to atomic oxygen plasma

The ESCA spectra and data obtained by Morra et al. (1989) on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) exposed to atomic oxygen plasma are closely reexamined. It is shown that the spikes observed in Morra et al. plots of O/C or F/C versus time of the exposure of PTFE to atomic oxygen plasma were not characteristic of PTFE per se but were instead a result of a contamination by hydrocarbon present in their PTFE samples. This was demonstrated experimentally by comparing data derived for a very clean PTFE sample exposed for 10, 20, and 30 min to oxygen plasma with data obtained on PTFE samples with very small amounts of hydrocarbon contamination.

Golub, Morton A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A simplified reaction mechanism for prediction of NO(x) emissions in the combustion of hydrocarbons

A simplified reaction mechanism is developed for the prediction of NO(x) in hydrocarbon combustion. The mechanism uses fewer reacting species and reaction steps than the detailed mechanisms available in the literature and therefore takes less computer time when used in CFD calculations. The mechanism has been used to calculate NO(x) emissions in the combustion of propane. With slight modifications, the same mechanism can be used to calculate NO(x) in the combustion of other hydrocarbons. Results obtained with the simplified reaction are compared with experimental results and results obtained with a detailed kinetic mechanism.

Kundu, K. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Hydrocarbon nucleation and aerosol formation in Neptune's atmosphere

The present theoretical analysis of particle formation mechanisms at conditions relevant to the troposphere and stratosphere of Neptune indicates that the hydrocarbon-nucleation process in the lower stratosphere is very inefficient, because saturation ratios much greater than unity are required in the cases of aerosol formation by homogeneous, heterogeneous, and ion-induced nucleation. The latter two of these, however, should be possible on Neptune for most of the complex hydrocarbon species in question. The relative effectiveness of heterogeneous and ion-induced nucleation depends on the physical and thermodynamic properties of the species in question, condensable-species abundance, supersaturation temperatures, and the number and type of available condensation ions or nuclei.

Moses, Julianne I.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Summertime measurements of selected nonmethane hydrocarbons in the Arctic and Subarctic during the 1988 Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE 3A)

The concentration distributions of several nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHIC) in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of Alaska are discussed using data obtained during July and August of 1988 as part of the Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE 3A). Plume enhancement of some or all of the measured NMHIC were observed on more than half of the 33 missions flown during the project. The usual summer vertical profile of reactive hydrocarbons at these high latitudes has elevated concentrations at high altitudes, with mixing ratio variations largely controlled by hydroxyl radical reactions. Wildfires were established as a significant source of various NMHIC. Biomass burning emission ratios relative to ethane were established for ethyne (0.38 +/- 0.04) and propane (0.08 +/- 0.03). Activities associated with oil drilling are a probable source of enhanced levels of alkanes observed as much as 300 km northeast of Prudhoe Bay.

Blake, Donald R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Direct detection of C4H2 photochemical products - Possible routes to complex hydrocarbons in planetary atmospheres

The photochemistry of diacetylene (C4H2), the largest hydrocarbon to be unambiguously identified in planetary atmospheres, is of considerable importance to understanding the mechanisms by which complex molecules are formed in the solar system. In this work, the primary products of C4H2's ultraviolet photochemistry were determined in a two-laser pump-probe scheme in which the products of C4H2 photoexcitation are detected by vacuum ultraviolet photoionization in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Three larger hydrocarbon primary products were observed with good yield in the C4H2 + C4H2 reaction: C6H2, C8H2, and C8H3. Neither C6H2 or C8H3 is anticipated by current photochemical models of the atmospheres of Titan, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Triton. The free hydrogen atoms that are released during the formation of the C8H3 and C8H2 products also may partially offset the role of C4H2 in catalyzing the recombination of free hydrogen atoms in the planetary atmospheres.

Bandy, Ralph E.↗
NASA NTRS1950

Fundamental flame velocities of pure hydrocarbons II : alkadienes

Data are presented for the fundamental flame velocities of 10 pure alkadienes that have isolated, conjugated, or cumulative double-bond systems. On the basis of this limited amount of data and the flame velocities previously reported, it is concluded that unsaturation changes the flame velocity in the order alkanes ? alkenes ? alkadienes with isolated double bonds ?= alkadienes with conjugated double bonds ? alkadienes with cumulative double bonds ?= alkynes. There were no significant differences in the flame velocities of cis and trans 1,3-pentadiene. The alkadienes 1,2-pentadiene and 2,3-pentadiene, with different positions of the cumulative double bond in the straight chain, have similar flame velocities. Methyl substitution in a hydrocarbon reduces the flame velocity; the extent of the reduction increases with the degree of unsaturation of the hydrocarbon.

Levine, Oscar↗
NASA NTRS1957

Basic Considerations in the Combustion of Hydrocarbon Fuels with Air

Basic combustion research is collected, collated, and interpreted as it applies to flight propulsion. The following fundamental processes are treated in separate chapters: atomization and evaporation of liquid fuels, flow and mixing processes in combustion chambers, ignition and flammability of hydrocarbon fuels, laminar flame propagation, turbulent flames, flame stabilization, diffusion flames, oscillations in combustors, and smoke and coke formation in the combustion of hydrocarbon-air mixtures. Theoretical background, basic experimental data, and practical significance to flight propulsion are presented.

Barnett, Henry C↗
NASA NTRS1951

Correlation of physical properties with molecular structure for some dicyclic hydrocarbons having high thermal-energy release per unit volume

As part of a program to study the correlation between molecular structure and physical properties of high-density hydrocarbons, the net heats of combustion, melting points, boiling points, densities, and kinematic viscosities of some hydrocarbons in the 2-n-alkylbiphenyl, 1,1-diphenylalkane, diphenylalkane, 1,1-dicyclohexylalkane, and dicyclohexylalkane series are presented.

Wise, P H↗
NASA NTRS1954

Prediction of flame velocities of hydrocarbon flames

The laminar-flame-velocity data previously reported by the Lewis Laboratory are surveyed with respect to the correspondence between experimental flame velocities and values predicted by semitheoretical and empirical methods. The combustible mixture variables covered are hydrocarbon structure (56 hydrocarbons), equivalence ratio of fuel-air mixture, mole fraction of oxygen in the primary oxygen-nitrogen mixture (0.17 to 0.50), and initial mixture temperature (200 degrees to 615 degrees k). The semitheoretical method of prediction considered are based on three approximate theoretical equations for flame velocity: the Semenov equation, the Tanford-Pease equation, and the Manson equation.

Dugger, Gordon L↗
NASA NTRS1939

Activation of hydrocarbons and the octane number

This report presents an examination of the history of research on engine knocking and the various types of fuels used in the investigations of this phenomenon. According to this report, the spontaneous ignition of hydrocarbons doped with oxygen follows the logarithmic law within a certain temperature range, but not above 920 degrees K. Having extended the scope of investigations to prove hydrocarbons, the curves of the mixtures burned by air should then be established by progressive replacement of pure iso-octane with heptane. Pentane was also examined in this report.

Peschard, Marcel↗
NASA NTRS1994

Cryogenic Gellant and Fuel Formulation for Metallized Gelled Propellants: Hydrocarbons and Hydrogen with Aluminum

An experimental program to determine the viability of nanoparticulate gellant materials for gelled hydrocarbons and gelled liquid hydrogen was conducted. The gellants included alkoxides (BTMSE and BTMSH) and silica-based materials. Hexane, ethane, propane and hydrogen were gelled with the newly-formulated materials and their rheological properties were determined: shear stress versus shear rate and their attendant viscosities. Metallized hexane with aluminum particles was also rheologically characterized. The propellant and gellant formulations were selected for the very high surface area and relatively-high energy content of the gellants. These new gellants can therefore improve rocket engine specific impulse over that obtained with traditional cryogenic-fuel gellant materials silicon dioxide, frozen methane, or frozen ethane particles. Significant reductions in the total mass of the gellant were enabled in the fuels. In gelled liquid hydrogen, the total mass of gellant was reduced from 10-40 wt percent of frozen hydrocarbon particles to less that 8 wt percent with the alkoxide.

Wong, Wing↗
NASA NTRS1990

Benzenoid hydrocarbons in space: The evidence and implications

Many different celestial objects emit an infrared spectrum which has been attributed to infrared fluorescence from a family of highly vibrationally excited benzenoid hydrocarbons referred to as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The most intense emitters contain between 20 to 50 carbon atoms, although larger species also contribute to the emission. This assignment is based on a rough resemblance of the interstellar emission spectra to the vibrational spectra of PAHs and related materials such as chars and soots which contain PAH mixtures. The spectroscopic assignments of the features between 3200 and 700/cm are discussed in detail. Much laboratory work on PAHs which are larger than those previously studied, isolated, ionized and dehydrogenated is called for to fully exploit this model. As PAHs are thought to be ubiquitous throughout the interstellar medium and more abundant than all other known polyatomic, interstellar molecules, they possess great potential as important probes of conditions in many different kinds of astronomical objects. Conversely, astronomical observations are extending our knowledge of these exotic materials by probing regions in which some conditions may be impossible to duplicate in the laboratory.

Allamandola, Louis J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

On-Line Measurement of Heat of Combustion of Gaseous Hydrocarbon Fuel Mixtures

A method for the on-line measurement of the heat of combustion of gaseous hydrocarbon fuel mixtures has been developed and tested. The method involves combustion of a test gas with a measured quantity of air to achieve a preset concentration of oxygen in the combustion products. This method involves using a controller which maintains the fuel (gas) volumetric flow rate at a level consistent with the desired oxygen concentration in the combustion products. The heat of combustion is determined form a known correlation with the fuel flow rate. An on-line computer accesses the fuel flow data and displays the heat of combustion measurement at desired time intervals. This technique appears to be especially applicable for measuring heats of combustion of hydrocarbon mixtures of unknown composition such as natural gas.

Sprinkle, Danny R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Infrared Emissions from Shock Heated Hydrocarbons

The primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether low molecular weight hydrocarbons (LMWH) in the range C4 to C7, upon heating to temperatures above 900 K, emit IR radiations at frequencies that correspond to the 'unidentified infrared' (UIR) features - the recorded emissions from a variety of astronomical sources - reflection nebulae, HII regions, planetary nebulae, spiral galaxies and other extra galactic objects. We describe IR emission spectra recorded from shock-heated gases (C2H2; (H3C)2C = CH2; H2C = C(CH3) - C(CH3) = CH2; (H3C)2C = CH - C(CH3) = CH2), that arise from excitation of the fundamental C-H stretching vibrations. While the IR emissions from LMWH, anticipated over the entire spectra range, do not present a perfect match to UIR, the correspondence over several wavelength regions is better than the emissions anticipated from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) species. Finally, we briefly review the range of proposals that have been presented for the origin of the UIR bands.

Stephens, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A Study Comparing Several Isocyanate and Isothiocyanate Derivatives of Porasil C for the Separation of Lower Hydrocarbons by GC

Several isocyanate and isothiocyanate derivatives Porasil C were synthesized and evaluated for the separation of the low-molecular-weight saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. It was shown that different functional groups significantly affect the retention behavior of the more polar unsaturated hydrocarbons, and that reproducible results can be obtained if dry carrier gas is used.

Pollock, Glenn E.↗