Controlling Mechanisms of Flame Spread
TL;DR: In this paper, heat transfer and gas phase chemical kinetic aspects of the flame spread process are addressed separately for the spread of flames in oxidizing flows that oppose or concur with the direction of propagation.
Abstract: Recent advances in the experimental study of the mechanisms controlling the spread of flames over the surface of combustible solids are summarized in this work. The heat transfer and gas phase chemical kinetic aspects of the flame spread process are addressed separately for the spread of flames in oxidizing flows that oppose or concur with the direction of propagation. The realization that, in most practical situations, the spread of fire in opposed gas flows occurs at near extinction or non-propagating conditions is particularly significant. Under these circumstances, gas phase chemical kinetics plays a critical role and it must be considered if realistic descriptions of the flame spread process are attempted. In the concurrent mode of flame spread, heat transfer from the flame to the unburnt fuel appears to be the primary controlling mechanism. Although gas phase chemcial kinetics is unimportant in the flame spreading process, it is important in the establishment and extension of the diffusion ...
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TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the progress that has been made to the understanding of chemical and physical processes, which occur during combustion of solid fuels, is presented, and the effects of bubble formation on the transport of volatiles during thermal degradation of non-charring fuels, described through a one-step global reaction, have been modeled.
Abstract: Some of the progress that, owing to modeling and numerical simulation, has been made to the understanding of chemical and physical processes, which occur during combustion of solid fuels, is presented. The first part of the review deals with thermal degradation processes of charring (2ood and, in general, cellulosic materials) and non-charring (poly-methyl-methacrylate) materials. Gas-phase combustion processes (ignition, flame spread and extinction) are discussed in the second part of the review. Solid fuel degradation has been described by kinetic models of different complexity, varying from a simple one-step global reaction, to multi-step reaction mechanisms, accounting only for primary solid fuel degradation, and to semi-global reaction mechanisms, accounting for both primary solid degradation and secondary degradation of evolved primary pyrolysis products. Semi-global kinetic models have been coupled to models of transport phenomena to simulate thermal degradation of charring fuels under ablation regime conditions. The effects of bubble formation on the transport of volatiles during thermal degradation of non-charring fuels, described through a one-step global reaction, have also been modeled. On the contrary, very simplified treatments of solid phase processes have been used when gas phase combustion processes are also simulated. On the other hand, the latter have also always been described through one-step global reactions. Numerical modeling has allowed controlling mechanisms of ignition and flame spread to be determined and the understanding of the interaction between chemistry and physics during thermal degradation of solid fuels to be improved. However, the chemical processes are not well understood, the few kinetic data are in most cases empirical and variations of solid properties during degradation are very poorly known, so that even the most advanced models do not in general give quantitative predictions.
434 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the opportunities for enhanced fundamental combustion understanding from experiments where effects of buoyancy are eliminated, and the new challenges of fire safety considerations in non-buoyant (spacecraft) environments.
Abstract: This review considers the opportunities for enhanced fundamental combustion understanding from experiments where effects of buoyancy are eliminated, and the new challenges of fire safety considerations in nonbuoyant (spacecraft) environments. The following specific microgravity combustion phenomena are considered: stretched flames, flamefront instabilities, flammability limits and near-limit phenomena of gaseous premixed flames; structure, stability and soot processes in gaseous nonpremixed flames; flame propagation, smoldering and materials synthesis in heterogeneous premixed flames; flame spread, gasification and combustion in heterogeneous nonpremixed flames; flame-inhibiting atmospheres, fire detection and extinguishment in spacecraft environments; and ground-based (drop tower and aircraft), sounding rocket and space-based (shuttle, space station) microgravity combustion research facilities that are either available or anticipated. The findings of the review highlight how buoyancy has impeded the rational development of combustion science, precluding observations of fundamental one-dimensional configurations, low Reynolds number flows and other limiting conditions that have been invaluable for developing understanding in other areas of science. Thus, experiments at microgravity provide an opportunity to finally merge theories and experiments for classical problems in order to advance the fundamental understanding of combustion phenomena. Additionally, combustion processes have been shown to be very different at normal gravity and microgravity so that improved understanding of combustion at microgravity is needed in order to address fire and explosion safety considerations for spacecraft.
182 citations
TL;DR: A critical, historical review of the flame spread literature is given in this article, beginning with the first systematic studies of opposed-flow flame spread, including qualitative, simplified, and comprehensive numerical modeling.
Abstract: A critical, historical review of the flame spread literature is given, beginning with the first systematic studies of opposed-flow flame spread. Important modeling effects are described, including qualitative, simplified, μg and comprehensive numerical modeling. A brief discussion of subjects with the potential for further development is also given. Although this review focuses on flame-spread theory the emphasis is on the logical development, not the detailed mathematics.
179 citations
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of polymer characteristics on combustion and flammability are not nearly as well understood as those in the gas phase, and a nonhalogenated char-forming flame-retardant approach is suggested to improve the fire performance of polymers.
Abstract: The combustion process of polymers is a complex coupling of energy feedback from a flame to thepolymer surface with gasification of the polymer to generate combustible degradation products. Although there are extensive studies of the effects of wind velocity, gas phase oxygen concentration, external thermal radiation, and gravity on the combustion of polymers, the effects of polymer characteristics on combustion and flammability are not nearly as well understood as those in the gas phase. At present, detailed governing equations for continuity, momentum, energy, and chemical species concentration in the gas phase can readily be written with appropriate boundary conditions, and their solutions can be derived for various cases. However, even those governing equations cannot be derived for the condensed phase without understanding of the governing chemical and physical processes that control the gasification of polymers. This paper concentrates on describing various observed phenomena in polymers (which have been often ignored or neglected) during their combustion, some or all of which might have significant effects on the burning rate and flammability properties. Because of a lack of understanding of the basic combustion mechanisms of polymers, theoretical models able to predict combustion phenomena and flammability properties are not available. In order to overcome this problem, global material characteristics are currently measured by well-defined test methods, and the results are used as inputs to fire growth models intended to predict behavior of the materials in specific fire scenarios. To improve the fire performance of polymers, a nonhalogenated char-forming flame-retardant approach is suggested, and its benefits are discussed.
150 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a flame spread map is presented which indicates three distinct regions where different mechanisms control the flame spread process: near-quenching region, very low characteristic relative velocities, a new controlling mechanism for flame spread - oxidizer transport-limited chemical reaction - is proposed.
Abstract: Microgravity tests varying oxygen concentration and forced flow velocity have examined the importance of transport processes on flame spread over very thin solid fuels. Flame spread rates, solid phase temperature profiles and flame appearance for these tests are measured. A flame spread map is presented which indicates three distinct regions where different mechanisms control the flame spread process. In the near-quenching region (very low characteristic relative velocities) a new controlling mechanism for flame spread - oxidizer transport-limited chemical reaction - is proposed. In the near-limit, blowoff region, high opposed flow velocities impose residence time limitations on the flame spread process. A critical characteristic relative velocity line between the two near-limit regions defines conditions which result in maximum flammability both in terms of a peak flame spread rate and minimum oxygen concentration for steady burning. In the third region, away from both near-limit regions, the flame spread behavior, which can accurately be described by a thermal theory, is controlled by gas-phase conduction.
142 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the structure of steady state diffusion flames is investigated by analyzing the mixing and chemical reaction of two opposed jets of fuel and oxidizer as a particular example, and an Arrhenius one-step irreversible reaction in the realistic limit of large activation energies.
Abstract: The structure of steady state diffusion flames is investigated by analyzing the mixing and chemical reaction of two opposed jets of fuel and oxidizer as a particular example. An Arrhenius one-step irreversible reaction has been considered in the realistic limit of large activation energies. The entire range of Damkohler numbers, or ratio of characteristic diffusion and chemical times, has been covered. When the resulting maximum temperature is plotted in terms of the Damkohler number (which is inversely proportional to the flow velocity) the characteristic S curve emerges from the analysis, with segments from the curve resulting from:
1.
(a) A nearly frozen ignition regime where the temperature and concentrations deviations from its frozen flow values are small. The lower branch and bend of the S curve is covered by this regime.
2.
(b) A partial burning regime, where both reactants cross the reaction zone toward regions of frozen flow. This regime is unstable.
3.
(c) A premixed flame regime where only one of the reactants leaks through the reaction zone, which then separates a region of frozen flow from a region of near-equilibrium.
4.
(d) A near-equilibrium diffusion controlled regime, covering the upper branch of the S curve, with a thin reaction zone separating two regions of equilibrium flow.
Analytical expressions are obtained, in particular, for the ignition and extinction conditions.
792 citations
01 Jan 1969
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical description of a laminar diffusion flame spreading against an air stream over a solid- or liquid-fuel bed is presented, where both a thin sheet and a semi-infinite fuel bed are considered.
Abstract: A theoretical description is presented for a laminar diffusion flame spreading against an air stream over a solid- or liquid-fuel bed. Both a thin sheet and a semi-infinite fuel bed are considered. The burning process is described as follows: The hot flame heats the unburned fuel bed, which subsequently vaporizes. The resulting fuel vapor reacts with the oxygen supplied by the incoming air, thereby producing the heat that maintains the flame-spread process. The formulated model treats the combustion as a diffusion flame, for which the details of the reaction kinetics can be ignored by assuming infinite reaction rates. The model includes the chemical stoichiometry, heat of combustion, gas-phase conductive heat transfer, radiation, mass transfer, fuel vaporization, and fuel-bed thermal properties. The radiation is mathematically treated as a heat loss at the flame sheet and a heat gain at the fuel-bed surface. The calculated flame-spread formulas are not inconsistent with available experimental data. These results reveal much of the physics involved in a spreading, flame. For instance, the flame-spread rate is strongly influenced by (1) the adiabatic stoichiometric flame temperature, and (2) the fuel-bed thermal properties, except for the fuel-bed conductivity parallel to the propagation direction.
356 citations
01 Jan 1977
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a framework within which various studies can be placed, focusing on the underlying heat-transfer, fluid-flow and chemical-kinetic phenomena of fire spread.
Abstract: Mechanisms involved in many types of fire spread are described in a manner that sacrifices accuracy for the purpose of emphasizing general aspects of the underlying heat-transfer, fluid-flow and chemical-kinetic phenomena. Consideration is given to conditions for transition from one mode of propagation to another. Research on fire spread has been pursued intensively in recent years, and in the present contribution at attempt is made to provide a framework within which various studies can be placed. Entries to current literature are provided. Areas of apparent importance that do not seem to have been emphasized are suggested.
241 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the steady-state flame spread over a thermally thin solid fuel is investigated, and qualitative agreement is obtained with experimental results in the near-extinction limit region.
Abstract: A theory for the steady-state flame spread over a thermally thin solid fuel is developed in this study. The model considers a laminar diffusion flame in a uniform opposed flow and includes the two-dimensional, elliptic, gas-phase energy, and species equations with one-step overall chemical reaction and second-order, finite-rate Arrhenius kinetics. The unsteady, solid-fuel equations neglect heat conduction ahead of the flame but include transient heating and Arrhenius pyrolysis kinetics and are coupled to the quasisteady gas phase. The equations are solved in the laboratory coordinate system. In this study the two-dimensional distributions of temperature and species are obtained, including the low reactivity zone in the flame region. The solid-fuel surface profiles indicate a region of almost uniform temperature (vaporization temperature) during pyrolysis for some parameter values; however, the value is not universally constant for the fuel and does depend on the ambient parameters (pressure, oxygen mass fraction, and magnitude of opposed velocity). The dependence of the flame-spread rate on the ambient parameters is investigated, and qualitative agreement is obtained with experimental results in the near-extinction-limit region. Quantitative agreement with experimental data depends on the choice of parameter values, especially the gas-phase kinetics model parameters, which are generally unknown. The flame-extinction limits due to increased opposed velocity, reduced pressure, and reduced ambient oxygen mass fraction are all obtained in the results calculated from this theory.
183 citations
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: In this article, the velocity of flame propagation over the surface of thick PMMA and thin paper sheets has been measured as a function of the velocity and oxygen concentration of a forced gas flow opposing the direction of the flame propagation.
Abstract: The velocity of flame propagation over the surface of thick PMMA and thin paper sheets has been measured as a function of the velocity and oxygen concentration of a forced gas flow opposing the direction of flame propagation. It is shown that although for thin fuels the flame spread rate always decreases as the opposed flow velocity increases, for thick fuels the dependence of the spread rate on the gas velocity is also a function of the ambient oxygen concentration. For low oxygen concentrations the flame spread rate decreases as the velocity of the gas flow increases. For high oxygen concentrations, however, the spread rate increases with the flow velocity, reaches a maximum and then decreases as the gas velocity increases. The velocity of the opposed flow at which the maximum occurs is a function of the oxygen concentration, decreasing as the concentration decreases. Following phenomenological considerations and simplified descriptions of the primary mechanisms occurring during the flame spread process, the experimental results are correlated by two non-dimensional parameters, one describing the gas phase kinetic effects and the other describing the process of heat transfer from the flame to the fuel. Such a correlation provides a powerful means of predicting the flame spread prcess as well as physical insight into the mechanisms controlling the propagation of the flame.
173 citations