Experimental and Numerical Study of Flame Spread Over Bed of Pine Needles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. P. Korobeinichev ◽  
S. Muthu Kumaran ◽  
D. Shanmugasundaram ◽  
V. Raghavan ◽  
S. A. Trubachev ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjun Li ◽  
Ya-Ting T. Liao ◽  
Paul Ferkul

Abstract The objective of this work is to investigate the aerodynamics and thermal interactions between a spreading flame and the surrounding walls as well as their effects on fire behaviors. A three-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combustion model is used to simulate concurrent-flow flame spread over a thin solid sample in a narrow flow duct. The height of the flow duct is the main parameter. The numerical results predict a quenching height for the flow duct below which the flame fails to spread. For duct heights sufficiently larger than the quenching height, the flame reaches a steady spreading state before the sample is fully consumed. The flame spread rate and the pyrolysis length at steady-state first increase and then decrease when the flow duct height decreases. The detailed gas and solid profiles show that flow confinement has multiple effects on the flame spread process. On one hand, it accelerates flow during thermal expansion from combustion, intensifying the flame. On the other hand, increasing flow confinement reduces the oxygen supply to the flame and increases conductive heat loss to the walls, both of which weaken the flame. These competing effects result in the aforementioned nonmonotonic trend of flame spread rate as duct height varies. Near the quenching duct height, the transient model reveals that the flame exhibits oscillation in length, flame temperature, and flame structure. This phenomenon is suspected to be due to thermodiffusive instability.


Author(s):  
Yanjun Li ◽  
Ya-Ting T. Liao ◽  
Paul Ferkul

Abstract A numerical study is pursued to investigate the aerodynamics and thermal interactions between a spreading flame and the surrounding walls as well as their effects on fire behaviors. This is done in support of upcoming microgravity experiments aboard the International Space Station. For the numerical study, a three-dimensional transient Computational Fluid Dynamics combustion model is used to simulate concurrent-flow flame spread over a thin solid sample in a narrow flow duct. The height of the flow duct is the main parameter. The numerical results predict a quenching height for the flow duct below which the flame fails to spread. For duct heights sufficiently larger than the quenching height, the flame reaches a steady spreading state before the sample is fully consumed. The flame spread rate and the pyrolysis length at steady state first increase and then decrease when the flow duct height decreases. The detailed gas and solid profiles show that flow confinement has competing effects on the flame spread process. On one hand, it accelerates flow during thermal expansion from combustion, intensifying the flame. On the other hand, increasing flow confinement reduces the oxygen supply to the flame and increases conductive heat loss to the walls, both of which weaken the flame. These competing effects result in the aforementioned non-monotonic trend of flame spread rate as duct height varies. This work relates to upcoming microgravity experiments, in which flat thin samples will be burned in a low-speed concurrent flow using a small flow duct aboard the International Space Station. Two baffles will be installed parallel to the fuel sample (one on each side of the sample) to create an effective reduction in the height of the flow duct. The concept and setup of the experiments are presented in this work.


2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ayani ◽  
Javad Esfahani ◽  
Antonio Sousa

The present work is addressed to the numerical study of the transient laminar opposed-flow flame spread over a solid fuel in a quiescent ambient. The transient governing equations - full Navier-Stokes, energy, and species (oxygen and volatiles) for the gas phase, and continuity and energy equations for the solid phase (fuel) with primitive variables are discretized in a staggered grid by a control volume approach. The second-order Arrhenius kinetics law is used to determine the rate of consumption of volatiles due to combustion, and the zero-order Arrhenius kinetics law is used to determine the rate of degradation of solid fuel. The equations for the fluid and solid phases are solved simultaneously using a segregated technique. The physical and thermo-physical properties of the fluid (air) such as density, thermal conductivity, and viscosity vary with temperature. The surface regression of the solid fuel is modeled numerically using a discrete formulation, and the effect upon the results is analyzed. The surface regression of the solid fuel as shown affects on the fuel surface and gas temperature, mass flux and velocity of volatiles on the top surface of fuel, total energy transferred to the solid phase, etc. It seems the results to be realistic. .


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 4017-4024 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.P. Korobeinichev ◽  
A.I. Karpov ◽  
A.A. Bolkisev ◽  
A.A. Shaklein ◽  
M.B. Gonchikzhapov ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seik Mansoor Ali ◽  
Vasudevan Raghavan ◽  
K. Velusamy ◽  
Shaligram Tiwari

Concurrent flame spread over methanol pool surface under atmospheric conditions and normal gravity has been numerically investigated using a transient, two-phase, reacting flow model. The average flame spread velocities for different concurrent air velocities predicted using the model are quite close to the experimental data available in the literature. As the air velocity is increased, the fuel consumption rate increases and aids in faster flame spread process. The flame initially anchors around the leading edge of the pool and the flame tip spreads over the pool surface. The rate of propagation of flame tip along the surface is seen to be steady without fluctuations. The flame spread velocity is found to be nonuniform as the flame spreads along the pool surface. The flame spread velocity is seen to be higher initially. It then decreases up to a point when the flame has propagated to around 40% to 50% of the pool length. At this position, a secondary flame anchoring point is observed, which propagates toward the trailing edge of the pool. As a result, there is an increasing trend observed in the flame spread velocity. As the air velocity is increased, the initial flame anchoring point moves downstream of the leading edge of the fuel pool. The variations of interface quantities depend on the initial flame anchoring location and the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium between the liquid- and gas-phases.


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