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Super-Adiabatic Combustion In Porous Media With Catalytic Enhancement For Thermoelectric Power Conversion, Kyle Thomas Mueller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The combustion of ultra-lean fuel to air mixtures provides an efficient way to convert the chemical energy of hydrocarbons into useful power. Conventional burning techniques of a mixture have defined flammability limits beyond which a flame cannot self-propagate due to heat losses. Matrix stabilized porous medium combustion is an advanced technique in which a solid porous matrix within the combustion chamber accumulates heat from the hot gaseous products and preheats incoming reactants. This heat recirculation extends the standard flammability limits and allows the burning of ultra-lean fuel mixtures, conserving energy resources, or the burning of gases of low calorific value, …