Statistical Analysis of Spark Ignition of Kerosene-Air Mixtures

摘要

Quantifying the risk of accidental ignition of flammable mixtures is extremely important in industry and aviation safety. The concept of minimum ignition energy (MIE), obtained using a capacitive spark discharge ignition source, has traditionally formed the basis for determining the ignition hazard posed by fuels. While extensive tabulations of historical MIE data exist, there has been little work done on ignition of realistic industrial and aviation fuels, such as gasoline or kerosene. In the current work, spark ignition tests are performed in a gaseous kerosene-air mixture with a liquid fuel temperature ranging from 45°C to 65°C, and a fixed spark gap of 3.3 mm. Rather than obtaining a single threshold value of MIE, statistical analysis is performed to obtain a distribution for probability of ignition. The results are compared with previous test results in traditional surrogate mixtures used in safety testing and Jet A (aviation kerosene). In addition, an analytic model is applied to predict the vapor pressure for a range of temperatures, pressures and flash points.