Numerical investigation on the combustion characteristics of premixed NH3-air flames using gliding arc plasma

Wang, Ziyu, Aravind, B., Mashruk, Syed and Valera Medina, Agustin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1580-7133 2025. Numerical investigation on the combustion characteristics of premixed NH3-air flames using gliding arc plasma. Journal of the Energy Institute 123 , 102314. 10.1016/j.joei.2025.102314

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Abstract

In this study, a numerical model is developed to predict the combustion characteristics of gliding arc plasma (GAP) assisted ammonia (NH3)-air mixture, integrating ZDPlasKin and Chemkin. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first validated model capable of accurately predicting NO emissions from GAP-assisted NH3-air combustion. Initially, three well-known plasma mechanisms are evaluated against non-reacting GAP experiments to assess their effectiveness in modelling NH3-air plasma chemistry. The most accurate mechanism is then coupled with an optimized combustion mechanism to improve NO prediction accuracy. The results indicate that NH2 radical formation is enhanced by approximately 7 % at a reduced electric field of 30 Td, playing a crucial role in NO reduction. Additionally, NH2 is primarily generated through two key reactions: O(1D) + NH3 → OH + NH2 and N2(A) + NH3 → NH2 + N2 + H, occurring before combustion. Furthermore, increasing plasma power significantly accelerates NO consumption by promoting the formation of excited NH3 states (NH3(e1), NH3(e2)), which enhance NH2 and NH radical production. Sensitivity analysis reveals that NH2 exhibits a 52.1 % sensitivity to the reaction N(2D) + NH3 → NH2 + H + N2 at 90 Td, highlighting its dominant role in NO reduction.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1743-9671
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 October 2025
Date of Acceptance:	29 September 2025
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2025 09:24
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181508

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