A theoretical study of spontaneous ignition of fuel jets in an oxidizing ambient with emphasis on hydrogen jets

An analysis was performed for the spontaneous ignition of a hydrogen (or other gaseous fuel) jet emanating from a slot into an oxidizing ambient (e.g., air). A similarity solution of the flow field was obtained. This was combined with the species and energy conservation equations, which were solved using activation energy asymptotics. Limits of spontaneous ignition were identified as functions of slot width, flow rate, and temperatures of the hydrogen jet and ambient gas. Two scenarios are examined: a cool jet flowing into a hot ambient and a hot jet flowing into a cool ambient. For both scenarios, ignition is favored with an increase of either the ambient temperature or the hydrogen supply temperature. Moreover, for the hot ambient scenario, a decrease in fuel Lewis number also promotes ignition. The Lewis number of the oxidizer only has a weak effect on ignition. Because spontaneous ignition is very sensitive to temperature, ignition is expected to occur near the edge of the jet if the hydrogen is cooler than the ambient gas and near the centerline if the hydrogen is hotter than the ambient gas.