- Author
-
Levy, J. B.
|
Friedman, R.
- Title
- Study of the Mechanism of Flame Extinguishment by Aluminum Chloride.
- Coporate
- Air Force Materials Lab., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
- Report
-
WADC Technical Note 58-1
October 18, 1957
20 p.
- Keywords
-
flame extinguishment
|
aluminum chlorides
|
experiments
|
burning velocity
|
velocity measurement
|
suspensions
- Abstract
- It has been known that suspensions of certain powdered slats in normally combustible gas mixtures render the mixtures nonflammable, while other salts have no such effectiveness. Aluminum chloride is known to be an effective salt. Since aluminum chloride has an unusually low vaporization temperature, an opportunity is provided to perform experiments entirely in the vapor phase, and thus, by comparison with results of published experiments, to attempt a determination of the mechanism by which the extinguishing effect occurs. Data showing the reduction of normal burning velocity of methane-air mixtures with increasing additions of prevaporized aluminum chloride are presented herein, these data having been obtained with apparatus built in the course of this study. Experimental techniques are also fully described. The results are analyzed and compared with other pertinent studies, and it is tentatively concluded that aluminum chloride dust extinguihsers flames by first vaporizing and then reacting chemically with the flame by unknown reactions apparently similar to those of elemental chlorine or carbon tetrachloride.