Reactive molecular dynamics simulation and chemical kinetic modeling of pyrolysis and combustion of n-dodecane

The initiation mechanisms and kinetics of pyrolysis and combustion of n-dodecane are investigated by using the reactive molecular dynamics (ReaxFF MD) simulation and chemical kinetic modeling. From ReaxFF MD simulations, we find the initiation mechanisms of pyrolysis of n-dodecane are mainly through two pathways, (1) the cleavage of C–C bond to form smaller hydrocarbon radicals, and (2) the dehydrogenation reaction to form an H radical and the corresponding n-C12H25 radical. Another pathway is the H-abstraction reactions by small radicals including H, CH3, and C2H5, which are the products after the initiation reaction of n-dodecane pyrolysis. ReaxFF MD simulations lead to reasonable Arrhenius parameters compared with experimental results based on first-order kinetic analysis of n-dodecane pyrolysis. The density/pressure effects on the pyrolysis of n-dodecane are also analyzed. By appropriate mapping of the length and time from macroscopic kinetic modeling to ReaxFF MD, a simple comparison of the conversion of n-dodecane from ReaxFF MD simulations and that from kinetic modeling is performed. In addition, the oxidation of n-dodecane is studied by ReaxFF MD simulations. We find that formaldehyde molecule is an important intermediate in the oxidation of n-dodecane, which has been confirmed by kinetic modeling, and ReaxFF leads to reasonable reaction pathways for the oxidation of n-dodecane. These results indicate that ReaxFF MD simulations can give an atomistic description of the initiation mechanism and product distributions of pyrolysis and combustion for hydrocarbon fuels, and can be further used to provide molecular based robust kinetic reaction mechanism for chemical kinetic modeling of hydrocarbon fuels.