A reduced reaction mechanism for the combustion of n-butane

A C1-C3 short chemical-kinetic mechanism (the San Diego mechanism), which involves 235 elementary reactions among 40 such species, is extended to C4 by adding 22 chemical-kinetic steps, among 7 additional species, with their associated reaction-rate parameters, to include the ignition and combustion of n-butane over a range of conditions that encompasses both low-temperature and high-temperature chemistry, as well as both high and low pressures. Tests of predictions against measured ignition delays and laminar burning velocities are reported, as are comparisons with recent measurements in jet-stirred reactors, supporting the predictions of the mechanism, which may be useful in combustion computations, especially when larger mechanisms would be too time-consuming to be accommodated.