ORCID

0009-0005-7384-8138

Keywords

Nitromethane, Post-detonation, Al-doped, Aluminum, Time-resolved, Emission Spectroscopy

Abstract

Nitromethane is a combustible liquid frequently used as a chemical solvent, stabilizer, and reagent, but also has applications in fuel additives, propellants, and explosives. This work discusses primarily the combustion of liquid nitromethane droplets in a post-detonation flow, as well as touching on results from subsequent nitromethane spray experiments. These experiments were conducted using a detonation tube within a 10x10 cm square test section. The post-detonation flows follow the detonation of a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas. Nitromethane droplets around 2 mm in diameter were released from a custom nozzle and were impacted by a detonation wave during their descent. All nitromethane sprays were generated with a commercial Ikeuchi JJXP-005 nozzle, which generates a nominally conical and uniform spray pattern with a mean droplet diameter of 270 micron. Using a Teledyne SpectraPro HRS-500 spectrometer, time-resolved spectral emissions are captured within the first 5.5 milliseconds of the experiment over two wavelength ranges: 275-450 nm and 400-575 nm. These ranges were considered for their relevance to nitromethane combustion and an overarching effort exploring the combustion of aluminum doped nitromethane. The captured spectra were reviewed for the presence of features from intermediates generated during nitromethane combustion – namely CH, CN, and NH – and the evolution of these features over time, which reflect changes in species concentrations. Peak wavelength intensities of these intermediates are also compared to a local continuum estimation to more clearly demonstrate these features are not artifacts from the noise within the data. The resulting data provides details on the relative difference in activity for these species throughout the detonation and reflected waves, which may serve as a reference for numerical models of nitromethane combustion in detonation-relevant conditions, as well as subsequent metal-doped nitromethane droplet studies within this lab.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Vasu Sumathi, Subith

Degree

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (M.S.A.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Format

PDF

Document Type

Thesis

Identifier

DP0053291

Release Date

5-15-2027

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Available for download on Saturday, May 15, 2027

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