Thesis Title:
 
Influence of Boundary Layers on the Measurement of Auto-Ignition Delays in High-
Pressure Shock Tubes – Application to the Kinetics of Biomass-Derived Fuels – 
Simulation and Experimentation

Host Laboratory:

Laboratoire DRIVE 
49 rue Mademoiselle Bourgeois
58000 Nevers – France

Specialization of the Doctorate : Energetics

Keywords: Shock tube, auto-ignition delay, biomass, boundary layers, CFD, 
kinetics

Detailed Description of the Thesis: 

The depletion of fossil fuels and climate change, partly caused by emissions 
from their combustion, represent major societal challenges. Alternative fuels 
derived from bioresources (biofuels, hydrogen, ammonia) appear as promising 
solutions to overcome these challenges, particularly in the transportation 
sector, especially for heavy-duty vehicles and energy processes. Although the 
combustion of certain alternative fuels at high temperatures and low pressures 
has been extensively studied in the literature using fundamental reactors such 
as laminar flames and perfectly stirred reactors [1-2], research is limited 
under high temperature and high pressure conditions similar to those operating 
in thermal reactors such as internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and 
turbojets (400-2000K, 1-100Bar) [3]. The shock tube is one of the fundamental 
reactors that allows the study of the combustion of alternative fuels under such 
conditions by measuring auto-ignition delays [4], profiling intermediate species 
[5], and validating kinetic models to understand the degradation of these fuels 
[6]. One of our recent studies [7] showed that the auto-ignition delay measured 
in the shock tube can be affected by boundary layers [8] under certain 
conditions and impact the prediction of kinetic models.

From this observation, the thesis objective will be to characterize the impact 
of boundary layers on the auto-ignition delay measurements in the DRIVE 
laboratory's shock tube. This characterization will then allow to more precisely 
investigate the combustion kinetics of biomass-derived compounds under high 
pressure condition. The work will be carried out in four stages:

1. A comprehensive literature review will be conducted, relying on databases 
such as Web of Sciences, to examine previous work on laboratory experiments and 
both CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and kinetic modeling. 

2. CFD modeling will be performed using Ansys Fluent software to evaluate the 
impact of boundary layers on the auto-ignition delay in the DRIVE shock tube.

3. A series of experiments will be conducted at the DRIVE laboratory to measure 
the auto-ignition delay of a bio-fuel/O2/Ar mixture in a shock tube at high 
pressure (20-40Bar) and high temperature (900-1600K).

4. Based on the data obtained, kinetic modeling will be carried out using Ansys 
Chemkin-Pro, integrating the results of CFD modeling to deepen the understanding 
of the oxidation kinetics of biofuel.

Bibliographic References
[1] L.-S. Tran, P.-A. Glaude, R. Fournet, F. Battin-Leclerc, Experimental and 
Modeling Study of Premixed Laminar Flames of Ethanol and Methane, Energy Fuels 
27 (2013) 2226–2245. 
[2] P. Dagaut, C. Togbé, Experimental and Modeling Study of the Kinetics of 
Oxidation of Ethanol−Gasoline Surrogate Mixtures (E85 Surrogate) in a Jet-
Stirred Reactor, Energy Fuels 22 (2008) 3499–3505.
[3] L.-S. Tran, O. Herbinet, H.-H. Carstensen, F. Battin-Leclerc, Chemical 
kinetics of cyclic ethers in combustion, Progress in Energy and Combustion 
Science 92 (2022) 101019. 
[4] Y. Uygun, S. Ishihara, H. Olivier, A high pressure ignition delay time study 
of 2-methylfuran and tetrahydrofuran in shock tubes, Combustion and Flame 161 
(2014) 2519–2530. 
[5] A. Hamadi, L. Piton Carneiro, F.-E. Cano Ardila, S. Abid, N. Chaumeix, A. 
Comandini, Probing PAH Formation from Heptane Pyrolysis in a Single-Pulse Shock 
Tube, Combustion Science and Technology 195 (2023) 1526–1542. 
[6] Y. Zhang, H. El-Merhubi, B. Lefort, L. Le Moyne, H.J. Curran, A. Kéromnès, 
Probing the low-temperature chemistry of ethanol via the addition of dimethyl 
ether, Combustion and Flame 190 (2018) 74–86. 
[7] H.-Q. Do, B. Lefort, Z. Serinyel, L. LeMoyne, G. Dayma, Comparative study of 
the high-temperature auto-ignition of cyclopentane and tetrahydrofuran, 
International Journal of Chemical Kinetics 56 (2024) 199–209. 
[8] D. Nativel, S.P. Cooper, T. Lipkowicz, M. Fikri, E.L. Petersen, C. Schulz, 
Impact of shock-tube facility-dependent effects on incident- and reflected-shock 
conditions over a wide range of pressures and Mach numbers, Combustion and Flame 
217 (2020) 200–211.

Requested Profile: 
• Engineer/Master's in process engineering or fluid mechanics/energy with 
possible knowledge in chemical kinetics. 
• Fluent in English, ability to work in a team 
• Send CV, cover letter, letters of recommendation from supervisors, transcripts 
from the first and second year of Master's degree or last two years of 
engineering degree to the supervisors and thesis director.

Funding: MESRI Establishment
Application to be sent before May 25, 2024 (Interview at the end of May, 
beginning of June)
Start of contract: October 1, 2024
Gross monthly salary: €1975

Thesis Direction: 

Benoîte Lefort, Full Professor
Benoite.Lefort@u-bourgogne.fr

Thesis Supervision: Co-Supervisors:

Julien Jouanguy, Associate professor  
Julien.Jouanguy@u-bourgogne.fr

Hong-Quan Do, Associate professor
Hong-Quan.Do@u-bourgogne.fr