Computation of Radiative Fields in Opposed-flow Flame Spread in a Microgravity Environment

Computation of Radiative Fields in Opposed-flow Flame Spread in a Microgravity Environment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 99

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Book Description
The purpose of this thesis is to perform radiation computations in opposed-flow flame spread in a microgravity environment. In this work, the flame spread simulations consider a thermally thin, PMMA fuel in a quiescent, microgravity environment or facing low opposed-flow velocities at ambient conditions of 1 atm and 50-50 volumetric mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The flame spread model, which is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, is used for numerical simulations in combination with a radiation model. The CFD code is written in FORTRAN language, and a Matlab code is developed for plotting results. The temperature and species fields from CFD computations are used as inputs into the radiation model. Radiative quantities are calculated by using a global balance method along with the total transmittance non-homogeneous model. Radiation effect on thermocouple temperature measurement is investigated. Although this topic is well known, performing radiation correction calculations usually considers surface radiation only and not gas radiation. The inclusion of gas radiation is utilized in predicting the gas temperature that a thermocouple would measure. A narrow bed radiation model is used to determine the average incident radiative flux at a specified location from which a thermocouple temperature measurement is predicted. This study focuses on the quiescent microgravity environment only. The effect of parameters such as thermocouple surface emissivity and bead diameter are also studied. For the main part of this thesis, the effect of gas radiation on the mechanism of flame spread over a thermally thin, solid fuel in microgravity is investigated computationally. Generated radiative fields including thermal and species fields are utilized to investigate the nature of the influence of gas radiation on flame structure as well as its role in the mechanism of opposed-flow flame spread. The opposed-flow configuration considers low flow velocities including a quiescent environment where radiation has been shown to be dominant. However, given the fact that gas radiation acts as a loss mechanism, and at the same time, it enhances forward heat transfer through radiation feedback to the fuel surface, there is no definitive work that establishes the role of gas radiation. This thesis explores the role played by gas radiation as a driving versus as a retarding mechanism. In this work, it is found that gas radiation is important in capturing flame images and spread rates. Gas radiation primarily acts as a loss mechanism through its effects on flame temperature which overwhelms the radiation feedback to the surface.

Computation of Radiative Fields in Opposed-flow Flame Spread in a Microgravity Environment

Computation of Radiative Fields in Opposed-flow Flame Spread in a Microgravity Environment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this thesis is to perform radiation computations in opposed-flow flame spread in a microgravity environment. In this work, the flame spread simulations consider a thermally thin, PMMA fuel in a quiescent, microgravity environment or facing low opposed-flow velocities at ambient conditions of 1 atm and 50-50 volumetric mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The flame spread model, which is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, is used for numerical simulations in combination with a radiation model. The CFD code is written in FORTRAN language, and a Matlab code is developed for plotting results. The temperature and species fields from CFD computations are used as inputs into the radiation model. Radiative quantities are calculated by using a global balance method along with the total transmittance non-homogeneous model. Radiation effect on thermocouple temperature measurement is investigated. Although this topic is well known, performing radiation correction calculations usually considers surface radiation only and not gas radiation. The inclusion of gas radiation is utilized in predicting the gas temperature that a thermocouple would measure. A narrow bed radiation model is used to determine the average incident radiative flux at a specified location from which a thermocouple temperature measurement is predicted. This study focuses on the quiescent microgravity environment only. The effect of parameters such as thermocouple surface emissivity and bead diameter are also studied. For the main part of this thesis, the effect of gas radiation on the mechanism of flame spread over a thermally thin, solid fuel in microgravity is investigated computationally. Generated radiative fields including thermal and species fields are utilized to investigate the nature of the influence of gas radiation on flame structure as well as its role in the mechanism of opposed-flow flame spread. The opposed-flow configuration considers low flow velocities including a quiescent environment where radiation has been shown to be dominant. However, given the fact that gas radiation acts as a loss mechanism, and at the same time, it enhances forward heat transfer through radiation feedback to the fuel surface, there is no definitive work that establishes the role of gas radiation. This thesis explores the role played by gas radiation as a driving versus as a retarding mechanism. In this work, it is found that gas radiation is important in capturing flame images and spread rates. Gas radiation primarily acts as a loss mechanism through its effects on flame temperature which overwhelms the radiation feedback to the surface.

Opposed-Flow Flame Spread Over Solid Fuels in Different Burning Regimes

Opposed-Flow Flame Spread Over Solid Fuels in Different Burning Regimes PDF Author: Luca Carmignani
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Several aspects of opposed-flow flame spread are experimentally investigated because of their relevance in fire safety studies. Different burning regimes based on the intensity of the opposed flow velocity are identified for acrylic fuels. In downward flame spread, where the flow around a flame is only naturally induced by gravity, the spread rate is highly dependent on fuel size and geometry. The fuel cross-sectional shape is experimentally varied, and a formula which takes into account geometrical effects is proposed by extending previous solutions for two-dimensional flames. The burning region of a solid fuel shows a consistent slope due to the competition between flame spread and surface regression. The angle at the vertex of the pyrolysis region, called burn angle, can be used to indirectly calculate the fuel burning rate. The burn angle depends on fuel thickness; a numerical model and a scale analysis are used to explore the reasons for this behavior. Next, the effect of a forced flow is investigated. The extreme case of blow-off extinction over thin fuels is considered, with flames extinguishing at locations determined by the flow velocity. Results suggest that the interaction between fuel and flow field is more important than the dependence on fuel thickness. The evolution of flame structure and pyrolysis also appear to be driven by flow interactions. A scale analysis is used to explore these dependencies. Finally, previous microgravity experiments are used to explore differences and similarities with ground-based results. By suppressing the buoyant flow, flame radiation becomes essential for the flame spread process. The experimental conditions are simulated numerically to describe the importance of a developing boundary layer in this regime. A numerical parametric study of the radiative emission of flames in microgravity, inspired by the experimental data, shows its dependence on flame area, mass burning rate and flame temperature by changing the burning conditions. For these small flames, soot does not seem to dominate flame radiation, although its generation increases with fuel thickness, oxygen concentration and flow velocity. The experiments in microgravity considered in this work showed flame extinction in a quiescent environment. However, two acrylic cylinders at higher oxygen concentrations from a previous investigation can burn vigorously. To clarify whether these flames are stable, a scale analysis is used to study the influence of surface curvature on radiation losses.

The Second International Microgravity Combustion Workshop

The Second International Microgravity Combustion Workshop PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description


Gravitationally Affected Combustion

Gravitationally Affected Combustion PDF Author: Matthew D. King
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Combustion
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This dissertation is an investigation into the effects of natural convection on the combustion process of a spreading flame in a gravitational environment. The flame is spreading into an opposing flow of oxidizer over a solid fuel. This is approached as a steady state problem with coordinates fixed at the tip of the flame. This investigation incorporates the use of experimental data, numerical simulations and a simplified approach to develop a better understanding of combustion. The focus of the material presented can be separated in two components: First, a well validated forced flow numerical model is used to evaluate flame structure for the natural convection configuration. A simplified approach is developed and compared to the numerical model for flame structure and flame spread rates in chapters 2 and 3. Critical parameters controlling flame spread such as pressure, fuel thickness, oxygen concentration, and strength of gravitational field are widely varied. In the thermal regime, where this simplified approach applies, comparisons between experimental data, numerical solutions and simplified approach predictions are excellent. The numerical model is also compared to experimental data outside the thermal regime including a prediction of the regression rate of the solid fuel and gas phase characteristics. Second, a hybrid two-color pyrometry technique is developed and used to analyze flame structure for experiments in a microgravity environment. Images of flame intensity are calibrated and converted into temperature profiles for various opposed flow velocities and oxygen concentration. Numerical simulations are used to demonstrate various approximate techniques and their accuracies. The experimental images are used in conjunction with the numerical simulation to determine the temperature profiles and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide. Techniques are discussed on how to improve the results for future experiments by modifying the filter bandwidth selections. Through a greater understanding of the physics and controlling mechanisms for flame spread, the ability to control fire and the establishment of comprehensive guidelines for fire safety will be realized. This dissertation is another step toward that goal.

Comparison of Dartfire Experimental Results with Steady-state Computations for Opposed-flow Flame Spread in Microgravity Environment

Comparison of Dartfire Experimental Results with Steady-state Computations for Opposed-flow Flame Spread in Microgravity Environment PDF Author: Alexis Jose Zabaco
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flame spread
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description


A Gallery of Combustion and Fire

A Gallery of Combustion and Fire PDF Author: Charles E. Baukal, Jr.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108660886
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
A Gallery of Combustion and Fire is the first book to provide a graphical perspective of the extremely visual phenomenon of combustion in full color. It is designed primarily to be used in parallel with, and supplement existing combustion textbooks that are usually in black and white, making it a challenge to visualize such a graphic phenomenon. Each image includes a description of how it was generated, which is detailed enough for the expert but simple enough for the novice. Processes range from small scale academic flames up to full scale industrial flames under a wide range of conditions such as low and normal gravity, atmospheric to high pressures, actual and simulated flames, and controlled and uncontrolled flames. Containing over 500 color images, with over 230 contributors from over 75 organizations, this volume is a valuable asset for experts and novices alike.

Microgravity Science & Applications

Microgravity Science & Applications PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gravity
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description


AIAA - Iki Microgravity Science Symposium

AIAA - Iki Microgravity Science Symposium PDF Author: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Publisher: AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics)
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Issues in Computation: 2013 Edition

Issues in Computation: 2013 Edition PDF Author:
Publisher: ScholarlyEditions
ISBN: 1490109021
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 1160

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Book Description
Issues in Computation / 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Computing. The editors have built Issues in Computation: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Computing in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Computation / 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Flame Spread Experiments in a Simulated Microgravity Environment Using a Couette Flow Apparatus

Flame Spread Experiments in a Simulated Microgravity Environment Using a Couette Flow Apparatus PDF Author: Karen Woun-Tein Hung
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
A Couette Flow Apparatus (CFA) was developed to study the effect of a linear velocity gradient on a flame spreading in opposed flow. This apparatus also tests the flammability of materials in a simulated microgravity flow environment. It is a channel with a rectangular cross section that produces a linear air velocity profile above a fuel sample to mimic the boundary layer velocity profile encountered by a flame in an actual microgravity fire. Similar apparatuses have been used to test materials using a parabolic velocity profile, but the purpose of this research is to determine whether or not using a linear velocity profile above the fuel surface produces different results. Simulated microgravity conditions were achieved by minimizing the space above and below the flame to reduce buoyant flow. The apparatus consists of a fixed bottom plate, two side walls, and a moving belt at the top to drive the flow. The belt is made of a Teflon-coated material to withstand the high temperature of the flame since they are in close contact. The side walls and the base plate contain sections of quartz windows so that images and videos could be recorded to show the flame behavior. First, the non-reacting flow was studied. Air velocity measurements were made using hot wire anemometers to determine the velocity profile vertically in the channel. Linear velocity profiles in the channel were not attained until after a fan was added to the outlet to help pull air through; the belt alone was not found to be sufficient. The fan speed was determined by first setting the belt speed and then adjusting the fan speed so that the velocity in the vertical center of the channel was half of the belt speed. The theoretical 2-dimensional flow field was derived analytically by solving the Navier-Stokes equation. The theory predicts that a fan is only necessary to obtain a linear air velocity profile for a smaller width-to-height ratio than what was actually found in the laboratory. The reason for this disagreement is the subject of further research being conducted by another graduate student. It was found that channel is wide enough so that the flow profile is flat over the entire width of the fuel sample. For the combustion tests, the flame speed was tracked using the videos taken through the quartz windows and Spotlight software to obtain flame spread rate. The belt velocity and channel height were varied from 8 to 65 cm/s and 4 to 11 mm, respectively, to study their effect on flame spread. Combustion results indicate that the flame spread rates in the CFA are consistently lower than the spread rates in a traditional Narrow Channel Apparatus due to the flame experiencing more heat loss to the moving boundary of the CFA. The flame spread rates were plotted against average flow velocity for both channels, with peak spread rates occurring at an average flow velocity of around 13-15 cm/s for a 5 mm gap height. Results for the CFA were also plotted against velocity gradient.