- Author
- Rasbash, D. J. | Drysdale, D. D. | Deepak, D.
- Title
- Critical Heat and Mass Transfer at Pilot Ignition and Extinction of a Material.
- Coporate
- Edinburgh Univ., Scotland
- Journal
- Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1-10, January 1986
- Keywords
- pilot ignition
- Abstract
- Traditionally, pilot ignition of a combustible solid is associated with a critical heat flux to the surface and a surface temperature necessary to produce the volatiles. More fundamentally, it can be interpreted in terms of a critical mass flow of volatiles sufficient to support a nascent flame capable of losing heat to the surface without the flame temperature being reduced to a value below which the flame is extinguished. Measurement of the critical mass flowrate at pilot ignition provides a method of quantifying ignition and extinction conditions in terms of basic properties of the solid and its decomposition products.