Numerical studies of nitric oxide formation in nanosecond-pulsed discharge-stabilized flames of premixed methane/air.

A simulation is developed to investigate the kinetics of nitric oxide (NO) formation in premixed methane/air combustion stabilized by nanosecond-pulsed discharges. The simulation consists of two connected parts. The first part calculates the kinetics within the discharge while considering both plasma/combustion reactions and species diffusion, advection and thermal conduction to the surrounding flow. The second part calculates the kinetics of the overall flow after mixing the discharge flow with the surrounding flow to account for the effect that the discharge has on the overall kinetics. The simulation reveals that the discharge produces a significant amount of atomic oxygen (O) as a result of the high discharge temperature and dissociative quenching of excited state nitrogen by molecular oxygen. This atomic oxygen subsequently produces hydroxyl (OH) radicals. The fractions of these O and OH then undergo Zel'dovich reactions and are found to contribute to as much as 73% of the total NO that is produced. The post-discharge simulation shows that the NO survives within the flow once produced.