Abstract
It is well known that the spark-ignition engine combustion is extremely sensitive to the quality of gasoline fuels. In this work, a hypothetical kinetic mechanism for the anti-knock effect of the tetraethyllead (TEL) has been tested and analyzed by a numerical kinetic modeling. Scarce effect was found for the laminar flame propagation velocities by the TEL addition. On the other hand, generally large effects on the ignition delay times of fuel-air mixtures were demonstrated by TEL additions. More interestingly, the effects significantly depend on the type of the hydrocarbons in the fuel. The effects were interpreted by the assumed kinetic mechanism and the role of HO2 radicals in the oxidation of hydrocarbons.
