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At least 73 records · Page 4

Gravitational Influences on Flame Propagation Through Non-Uniform Premixed Gas Systems

We have built an apparatus for measuring flame spread rates through non-homogeneous fuel-air mixtures as a function of layer thickness and concentration. The layer thickness is adjusted by controlling the diffusion time above a fuel-saturated porous media, while the concentration is controlled by the fuel temperature. Normal gravity tests with methanol have so far explored largely the effect of temperature, as well as the effects of various aspects of the apparatus. Good agreement with previous research has been obtained. We have also demonstrated the ability of a rainbow schlieren system to quantitatively measure fuel vapor concentrations in the static case.

Miller, Fletcher J.↗

Edge Diffusion Flame Propagation and Stabilization Studied

In most practical combustion systems or fires, fuel and air are initially unmixed, thus forming diffusion flames. As a result of flame-surface interactions, the diffusion flame often forms an edge, which may attach to burner walls, spread over condensed fuel surfaces, jump to another location through the fuel-air mixture formed, or extinguish by destabilization (blowoff). Flame holding in combustors is necessary to achieve design performance and safe operation of the system. Fires aboard spacecraft behave differently from those on Earth because of the absence of buoyancy in microgravity. This ongoing in-house flame-stability research at the NASA Glenn Research Center is important in spacecraft fire safety and Earth-bound combustion systems.

Takahashi, Fumiaki↗

Three-Dimensional Ignition and Flame Propagation Above Liquid Fuel Pools: Computational Analysis

A three-dimensional unsteady reactive Navier-Stokes code is developed to study the ignition and flame spread above liquid fuels initially below the flashpoint temperature. Opposed air flow to the flame spread due to forced and/or natural convection is considered. Pools of finite width and length are studied in air channels of prescribed height and width. Three-dimensional effects of the flame front near the edge of the pool are captured in the computation. The formation of a recirculation zone in the gas phase similar to that found in two-dimensional calculations is also present in the three-dimensional calculations. Both uniform spread and pulsating spread modes are found in the calculated results.

Cai, Jinsheng↗

Combustion of Silane-Hydrogen-Nitrous oxide Mixtures: Analysis of Laminar Flame Propagation and Condensed Products

The laminar burning rate, the explosion pressure, and the pressure rise coefficient have been measured for silane-nitrous oxide-argon mixtures using the spherically expanding flame technique in a constant volume combustion chamber. For these three parameters, the values obtained were higher than for hydrogen-nitrous oxide-argon and typical hydrocarbon-based mixtures. As an example, a maximum burning rate of 1800 g/m 2 s was measured at 101 kPa, whereas under similar conditions, a maximum burning rate around 950 g/m 2 s has been reported for hydrogen-nitrous oxide-argon mixtures. Here, the condensed combustion products formed in the silane-nitrous oxide-argon flames were sampled and characterized using electron micrograph, electronic diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. For all equivalence ratios, silica spherical particles with a mean diameter in the range 200-300 nm were observed. In addition, for mixtures with Φ ≥2.2, silicon nanowires were formed. X-ray diffraction experiments showed that the silicon nanowires are composed of a material referred to as “metal silicon” characterized by a cubic structure (lattice parameter: a = 5.425 Å) with the Fm-3m space group.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A Preliminary Study of Flame Propagation in a Spark-ignition Engine

The N.A.C.A. combustion apparatus was altered to operate as a fuel-injection, spark-ignition engine, and a preliminary study was made of the combustion of gasoline-air mixtures at various air-fuel ratios. Air-fuel ratios ranging from 10 to 21.6 were investigated. Records from an optical indicator and films from a high-speed motion-picture camera were the chief sources of data. Schlieren photography was used for an additional study. The results show that the altered combustion apparatus has characteristics similar to those of a conventional spark-ignition engine and should be useful in studying phenomena in spark-ignition engines. The photographs show the flame front to be irregularly shaped rather than uniformly curved. With a theoretically correct mixture the reaction, as indicated by the photographs, is not completed in the flame front but continues for some time after the combustion front has traversed the mixture.

Rothrock, A M↗

Hydrodynamic simulations of electron-capture supernovae: progenitor and dimension dependence

ABSTRACT We present neutrino-transport hydrodynamic simulations of electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) in flash with new two-dimensional (2D) collapsing progenitor models. These progenitor models feature the 2D modelling of oxygen-flame propagation until the onset of core collapse. We perform axisymmetric simulations with six progenitor models that, at the time of collapse, span a range of propagating flame front radii. For comparison, we also perform a simulation with the same set-up using the canonical, spherically symmetrical progenitor model n8.8. We found that the variations in the progenitor models inherited from simulations of stellar evolution and flame propagation do not significantly alter the global properties of the neutrino-driven ECSN explosion, such as the explosion energy (∼1.36–1.48 × 1050 erg) and the mass (∼0.017–0.018 M⊙) and composition of the ejecta. Due to aspherical perturbations induced by the 2D flame, the ejecta contains a small amount (≲1.8 × 10−3 M⊙) of low-Ye (0.35 < Ye < 0.4) component. The baryonic mass of the protoneutron star is ∼1.34 M⊙ (∼1.357 M⊙) with the new (n8.8) progenitor models when simulations end at ∼400 ms and the discrepancy is due to updated weak-interaction rates in the progenitor evolutionary simulations. Our results reflect the nature of ECSN progenitors containing a strongly degenerate oxygen–neon–magnesium (ONeMg) core and suggest a standardized ECSN explosion initialized by ONeMg core collapse. Moreover, we carry out a rudimentary three-dimensional simulation and find that the explosion properties are fairly compatible with the 2D counterpart. Our paper facilitates a more thorough understanding of ECSN explosions following the ONeMg core collapse, though more three-dimensional simulations are still needed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗