Experimental and Numerical Study of Combustion of Rich Mixtures of Methanol and Hydrogen with Air

The combustion of rich mixtures of methanol and hydrogen with air has been studied by experimental and numerical methods. It has been shown that the deviation from Le Chatelier’s principle for the rich flammability limits is due to two factors: flame inhibition by methanol in rich mixtures of hydrogen and the presence of superadiabatic temperatures in rich mixtures of methanol. It has been found that the effect of adding small amounts of hydrogen to rich methanol mixtures is the same as the effect of adding inert nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Numerical simulation has shown that the addition of small amounts of hydrogen to rich methanol mixtures has only a physical effect on the normal flame speed. The addition of H₂ affects the occurrence of superadiabatic temperatures in methanol flames in the same way as the addition of inert CO₂ and N₂.