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Experimental Investigation on High-Altitude Ignition and Ignition Enhancement by Multi-Channel Plasma Igniter

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Abstract

Reliable high-altitude relight is a key combustor requirement for the aero-engine. In general, low pressure and low temperature at high altitude will result in difficult ignition after extinction. In the present work, a simulated high-altitude test facility was designed to establish the capability of high-altitude relight testing. A multi-channel plasma igniter (MCPI) was proposed and designed to obtain reliable altitude ignition. Furthermore, the ignition performance of the MCPI and the traditional spark igniter was compared under varying high-altitude conditions. The separation of the breakdown stage from the discharge was confirmed by observing a time-phased breakdown process between multi-couple electrodes during MCPI discharge. Moreover, the discharge efficiency of the power source is increased from 17 to 36% by MCPI. A plasma kernel with high energy and strong penetration was generated within microsecond scale, while a flame kernel with high energy and large initial volume was formed on millisecond scale. In addition, the stable flame was obtained rapidly owing to the preheating evaporation area expansion, the improving mixture and the increasing heat release. MCPI extends the ignition limit FAR by 39%, 30% and 10% at ground level, 4 km and 8 km, respectively. The advantage of initial flame kernel from MCPI is that it resists heat loss at low temperature, while it does not perform well at extremely low pressure due to the spark-to-glow transition.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 52007187, 91941301, 91941105).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Aerodynamics, China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, Mianyang, 621000, China

    Bing-xuan Lin, Ming-xing Xu & Yan-ming Shen

  2. Institute of Aero-Engine, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Bing-xuan Lin & Yun Wu

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Correspondence to Yun Wu.

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Lin, Bx., Wu, Y., Xu, Mx. et al. Experimental Investigation on High-Altitude Ignition and Ignition Enhancement by Multi-Channel Plasma Igniter. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 41, 1435–1454 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-021-10189-0

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