- Author
-
Ohlemiller, T. J.
- Title
- Forced Smolder Propagation in a Horizontal Fuel Layer and the Transition to Flaming Combustion.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Department of Energy, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 88-3753,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Book or Conf
- Combustion Institute/Canadian and Western States Section. Spring Meeting, 1986. April 27-30, 1986. 1-36. Banff, Alberta, Canada. AND U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 9th Joint Panel Meeting of the UJNR Panel. 1-11. Norwood, MA. May 4-8, 1987.,
1987
- Keywords
-
air flow
|
cellulosic materials
|
flaming
|
insulation
|
retardants
|
smoldering
- Identifiers
- smoldering combustion
- Abstract
- It is well known that a smoldering fuel responds to an increased oxygen supply by becoming faster and hotter until, eventually, flames erupt. This sequence is examined quantitatively for thick horizontal layers of a permeable fuel, i.e., cellulosic insulation. Two configurations are possible, forward and reverse smolder; both are investigated experimentally. The influence of combustion retardants is also examined; these include boric acid, a smolder retardant, and borax, a flaming retardant. Both prevent the transition to flaming in the absence of adjacent flammable material but are less effective in its presence. The overall response of these various fuel mixtures and configurations suggests that both kinetics and oxygen supply rate (not the latter alone) play substantial roles in dictating smolder response to an air flow.