As a promising zero-carbon fuel, ammonia (NH3) has attracted
great attention in combustion research. Understanding the pressure
effects in the laminar flame propagation of NH3 is crucial
for its practical applications in gas turbines, internal combustion
engines, boilers, and industrial furnaces. In combination with new
measurements in a high-pressure constant-volume cylindrical combustion
vessel and experimental data in the literature, the pressure effects
in the laminar flame propagation of NH3 were explored in
this work and compared to those of hydrogen (H2), methane
(CH4), and NH3/H2. A kinetic model
for the combustion of NH3, H2, CH4, and NH3/H2 was developed to simulate the
laminar burning velocities of these fuels and reproduce the pressure
effects in their laminar flame propagation. The pressure-dependent
coefficients of laminar burning velocities of fuels are found in the
general order of H2 < NH3 < CH4 ∼ NH3/H2 under the investigated conditions,
which reveals the reverse trend of the global reaction order in their
combustion. Modeling analysis was performed to provide mechanistic
explanations to the order of observed pressure effects. It is concluded
that, in the laminar flame propagation of NH3 and H2, the most important pressure-dependent reaction is H + O2 (+M) = HO2 (+M), while a chain-termination reaction
NH2 + HO2 = NH3 + O2 can
convert HO2 to O2 in the laminar flame propagation
of NH3 and leads to the enhanced pressure effects compared
to that of H2. In the laminar flame propagation of CH4, both H + O2 (+M) = HO2 (+M) and CH3 + H (+M) = CH4 (+M) contribute to the pressure
effects, which explains its greater pressure effects than those of
H2 and NH3, especially under rich conditions.
In the laminar flame propagation of NH3/H2,
a synergistic effect between NH3 and H2 occurs
at the reaction NH2 + HO2 = NH3 +
O2 as a result of the simultaneously abundant production
of NH2 and HO2, which further enhances the role
of H + O2 (+M) = HO2 (+M) in the laminar flame
propagation of NH3/H2. This explains the interesting
enhancement in its pressure effects, which can even become comparable
to those of CH4.