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Author
Smyth, K. C. | Shaddix, C. R. | Kaplan, C. R.
Title
Computations of Enhanced Soot Production in Flickering Diffusion Flames.
Coporate
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
Report
NISTIR 6030, June 1997,
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Book or Conf
U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 13th Joint Panel Meeting. Volume 2. March 13-20, 1996, Gaithersburg, MD, Beall, K. A., Editors, 15-20 p., 1997
Keywords
fire safety | fire research | soot | diffusion flames | simulation
Identifiers
steady methane/air flame; flickering methane/air flame
Abstract
Recent experimental measurements of soot volume fraction in a flickering CH4/air diffusion flame show that for conditions in which the tip of the flame is clipped, soot production is ~5 times greater than that measured for a steady flame burning with the same mean fuel flow velocity. Numerical simulations of both steady and time-varying flickering CH4/air diffusion flames are used to examine the differences in combustion conditions which lead to this observed enhancement in soot production in the flickering flames. These simulations successfully predict that the maximum soot concentration increases by over four times compared to the steady flame and show that flickering flames exhibit much longer residence times during which the local temperatures and stoichiometries are favorable for soot production.