Development and testing of a comprehensive chemical mechanism for the oxidation of methane

A comprehensive chemical mechanism to describe the oxidation of methane has been developed, consisting of 351 irreversible reactions of 37 species. Th e mechanism also accounts for the oxidation kinetics of hydrogen, carbon mo noxide, ethane, and ethene in flames and homogeneous ignition systems in a wide concentration range. It has been tested against a variety of experimen tal measurements of laminar flame velocities, laminar name species profiles , and ignition delay times. The highest sensitivity reactions of the mechan ism are discussed in detail and compared with the same reactions in the GRI , Chevalier, and Konnov mechanisms. Similarities and differences of the fou r mechanisms are discussed. The mechanism is available on the Internet as a fully documented CHEMKIN data file at the address. (C) 2001 John Wiley & S ons.