Ammonia Ignition Delay Times at Turbine-relevant Conditions in a Shock Tube

This study reports the autoignition delay times of pure ammonia mixtures at conditions similar to power generation turbine start-up and operating conditions (20 bar, 1200-1550 K). Pure NH3 was shock-heated using synthetic air as the oxidizer. The data is compared to NH3 chemical kinetic mechanisms documented in the literature for undiluted fuel validation and refinement. Experiments were performed in a high-pressure shock tube and revealed detonation pressures of up to 200 bar. Furthermore, lower temperature points have exhibited non-ideal behavior, prompting the need for comprehensive chemical analysis to determine the IDTs accurately. This study contributes to the advancement of power generation turbines utilizing hydrogen and ammonia as fuel and supporting the development of a NH3-based chemical kinetic mechanism.