An experimental study of opposed flow diffusion flame extinction over a thin fuel in microgravity

The flame spread and flame extinction characteristics of a thin fuel burning in a low-speed forced convective environment in microgravity were examined. The flame spread rate was observed to decrease both with decreasing ambient oxygen concentration as well as decreasing free stream velocity. A new mode of flame extinction was observed, caused by either of two means: keeping the free stream velocity constant and decreasing the oxygen concentration, or keeping the oxygen concentration constant and decreasing the free stream velocity. This extinction is called quenching extinction. By combining this data together with a previous microgravity quiescent flame study and normal-gravity blowoff extinction data, a flammability map was constructed with molar percentage oxygen and characteristic relative velocity as coordinates. The Damkohler number is not sufficient to predict flame spread and extinction in the near quench limit region

A model of concurrent flow flame spread over a thin solid fuel

A numerical model is developed to examine laminar flame spread and extinction over a thin solid fuel in lowspeed concurrent flows. The model provides a more precise fluid-mechanical description of the flame by incorporating an elliptic treatment of the upstream flame stabilization zone near the fuel burnout point. Parabolic equations are used to treat the downstream flame, which has a higher flow Reynolds number. The parabolic and elliptic regions are coupled smoothly by an appropriate matching of boundary conditions. The solid phase consists of an energy equation with surface radiative loss and a surface pyrolysis relation. Steady spread with constant flame and pyrolysis lengths is found possible for thin fuels and this facilitates the adoption of a moving coordinate system attached to the flame with the flame spread rate being an eigen value. Calculations are performed in purely forced flow in a range of velocities which are lower than those induced in a normal gravity buoyant environment. Both quenching and blowoff extinction are observed. The results show that as flow velocity or oxygen percentage is reduced, the flame spread rate, the pyrolysis length, and the flame length all decrease, as expected. The flame standoff distance from the solid and the reaction zone thickness, however, first increase with decreasing flow velocity, but eventually decrease very near the quenching extinction limit. The short, diffuse flames observed at low flow velocities and oxygen levels are consistent with available experimental data. The maximum flame temperature decreases slowly at first as flow velocity is reduced, then falls more steeply close to the quenching extinction limit. Low velocity quenching occurs as a result of heat loss. At low velocities, surface radiative loss becomes a significant fraction of the total combustion heat release. In addition, the shorter flame length causes an increase in the fraction of conduction downstream compared to conduction to the fuel. These heat losses lead to lower flame temperatures, and ultimately, extinction. This extinction mechanism differs from that of blowoff, where the flame is unable to be stabilized due to the high flow velocity

Combustion of solid fuel in very low speed oxygen streams

In reduced gravity, the combustion of solid fuel in low-speed flow can be studied. The flame behavior in this low-speed regime will fill a void in our understanding of the flow effect on combustion. In addition, it is important for spacecraft fire safety considerations. In this work, modeling and experimental work on low-speed forced-concurrent-flow flame spread are carried out. In addition, experiments on reduced-gravity buoyant-flow flame spread are performed

Mixed Convection Blowoff Limits as a Function of Oxygen Concentration and Upward Forced Stretch Rate for Burning Pmma Rods of Various Sizes

Normal gravity flame blowoff limits in an axisymmetric pmma rod geometry in upward axial stagnation flow are compared with microgravity Burning and Suppression of Solids II (BASS-II) results recently obtained aboard the International Space Station. This testing utilized the same BASS-II concurrent rod geometry, but with the addition of normal gravity buoyant flow. Cast polymethylmethacrylate (pmma) rods of diameters ranging from 0.635 cm to 3.81 cm were burned at oxygen concentrations ranging from 14 to 18 by volume. The forced flow velocity where blowoff occurred was determined for each rod size and oxygen concentration. These blowoff limits compare favorably with the BASS-II results when the buoyant stretch is included and the flow is corrected by considering the blockage factor of the fuel. From these results, the normal gravity blowoff boundary for this axisymmetric rod geometry is determined to be linear, with oxygen concentration directly proportional to flow speed. We describe a new normal gravity upward flame spread test method which extrapolates the linear blowoff boundary to the zero stretch limit to resolve microgravity flammability limits, something current methods cannot do. This new test method can improve spacecraft fire safety for future exploration missions by providing a tractable way to obtain good estimates of material flammability in low gravity

Buoyant Effects on the Flammability of Silicone Samples Planned for the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire)

Flammability experiments on silicone samples were conducted in anticipation of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire). The sample geometry was chosen to match the NASA 6001 Test 1 specification, namely 5 cm wide by 30 cm tall. Four thicknesses of silicone (0.25, 0.36, 0.61 and 1.00 mm) were examined. Tests included traditional upward buoyant flame spread using Test 1 procedures, downward opposed-flow flame spread, horizontal and angled flame spread, and forced-flow upward and downward flame spread. In addition to these configurations, upward and downward tests were conducted in a chamber with varying oxygen concentrations. In the upward buoyant flame spread tests, the flame generally did not burn the entire sample. As thickness was increased, the flame spread distance decreased before flame extinguishment. For the thickest sample, ignition could not be achieved. In the downward tests, the two thinnest samples permitted the flame to burn the entire sample, but the spread rate was lower compared to the corresponding upward values. The other two thicknesses could not be ignited in the downward configuration. The increased flammability for downward spreading flames relative to upward ones is uncommon. The two thinnest samples also burned completely in the horizontal configuration, as well as at angles up to 75 degrees from the horizontal. Upward tests in air with an added forced flow were more flammable. The upward and downward flammability behavior was compared in atmospheres of varying oxygen concentration to determine a maximum oxygen concentration for each configuration. Complementary analyses using EDS, TGA, and SEM techniques suggest the importance of the silica layer deposited downstream onto the unburned sample surface

Methanol Droplet Extinction in Oxygen/Carbon-dioxide/Nitrogen Mixtures in Microgravity: Results from the International Space Station Experiments

Motivated by the need to understand the flammability limits of condensed-phase fuels in microgravity, isolated single droplet combustion experiments were carried out in the Combustion Integrated Rack Facility onboard the International Space Station. Experimental observations of methanol droplet combustion and extinction in oxygen/carbon-dioxide/nitrogen mixtures at 0.7 and 1 atmospheric pressure in quiescent microgravity environment are reported for initial droplet diameters varying between 2 mm to 4 mm in this study.The ambient oxygen concentration was systematically lowered from test to test so as to approach the limiting oxygen index (LOI) at fixed ambient pressure. At one atmosphere pressure, ignition and some burning were observed for an oxygen concentration of 13% with the rest being nitrogen. In addition, measured droplet burning rates, flame stand-off ratios, and extinction diameters are presented for varying concentrations of oxygen and diluents. Simplified theoretical models are presented to explain the observed variations in extinction diameter and flame stand-off ratios

Buoyant Effects on the Flammability of Silicone Samples Planned for the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire)

Flammability experiments on silicone samples were conducted in anticipation of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire). The sample geometry was chosen to match the NASA 6001 Test 1 specification, namely 5 cm wide by 30 cm tall. Four thicknesses of silicone (0.25, 0.36, 0.61 and 1.00 mm) were examined. Tests included traditional upward buoyant flame spread using Test 1 procedures, downward opposed flow flame spread, horizontal and angled flame spread, forced flow upward and downward flame spread. In addition to these configurations, upward and downward tests were also conducted in a chamber with varying oxygen concentrations. In the upward buoyant flame spread tests, the flame generally did not burn the entire sample. As thickness was increased, the flame spread distance decreased before flame extinguishment. For the thickest sample, ignition could not be achieved. In the downward tests, the two thinnest samples permitted the flame to burn the entire sample, but the spread rate was lower compared to the corresponding upward values. The other two thicknesses could not be ignited in the downward configuration. The increased flammability for downward spreading flames relative to upward ones is uncommon. The two thinnest samples also burned completely in the horizontal configuration, as well as at angles up to 75 degrees from the horizontal. The upward and downward flammability behavior was compared in atmospheres of varying oxygen concentration to determine a maximum oxygen concentration for each configuration. Upward tests in air with an added forced flow were more flammable. Complementary analyses using SEM and TGA techniques suggest the importance of the silica layer formed on the burned sample surface. As silicone burns upward, silica deposits downstream If the silicone is ignited in the downward configuration, it burns the entire length of the sample Burning upward at an angle increases the burn length in some cases possibly due to less silica deposition Forced flow in the upward burning case increases flammability, likely due to an increase in convective flow preventing silica from depositing Samples in upward configuration burning under forced flow self extinguish after forced flow is remove

Flammability Aspects of a Cotton-Fiberglass Fabric in Opposed and Concurrent Airflow in Microgravity

Microgravity combustion tests burning fabric samples were performed aboard the International Space Station. The cotton-fiberglass blend samples were mounted inside a small wind tunnel which could impose air flow speeds up to 40 cm/s. The wind tunnel was installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox which supplied power, imaging, and a level of containment. The effects of air flow speed on flame appearance, flame growth, and spread rates were determined in both the opposed and concurrent flow configuration. For the opposed flow configuration, the flame quickly reached steady spread for each flow speed, and the spread rate was fastest at an intermediate value of flow speed. These tests show the enhanced flammability in microgravity for this geometry, since, in normal gravity air, a flame self-extinguishes in the opposed flow geometry (downward flame spread). In the concurrent flow configuration, flame size grew with time during the tests. A limiting length and steady spread rate were obtained only in low flow speeds ( 10 cm/s) for the short-length samples that fit in the small wind tunnel. For these conditions, flame spread rate increased linearly with increasing flow. This is the first time that detailed transient flame growth data was obtained in purely forced flows in microgravity. In addition, by decreasing flow speed to a very low value (around 1 cm/s), quenching extinction was observed. The valuable results from these long-duration experiments validate a number of theoretical predictions and also provide the data for a transient flame growth model under development

Flame spread over solid fuel in low-speed concurrent flow

This research program is concerned with the effect of low speed flow on the spreading and extinction processes of flames over solid fuels. Primary attention is given to flame propagation in concurrent flow - the more hazardous situation from the point of view of fire safety

Large Scale Flame Spread Environmental Characterization Testing

Under the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project (SFSDP), as a risk mitigation activity in support of the development of a large-scale fire demonstration experiment in microgravity, flame-spread tests were conducted in normal gravity on thin, cellulose-based fuels in a sealed chamber. The primary objective of the tests was to measure pressure rise in a chamber as sample material, burning direction (upward/downward), total heat release, heat release rate, and heat loss mechanisms were varied between tests. A Design of Experiments (DOE) method was imposed to produce an array of tests from a fixed set of constraints and a coupled response model was developed. Supplementary tests were run without experimental design to additionally vary select parameters such as initial chamber pressure. The starting chamber pressure for each test was set below atmospheric to prevent chamber overpressure. Bottom ignition, or upward propagating burns, produced rapid acceleratory turbulent flame spread. Pressure rise in the chamber increases as the amount of fuel burned increases mainly because of the larger amount of heat generation and, to a much smaller extent, due to the increase in gaseous number of moles. Top ignition, or downward propagating burns, produced a steady flame spread with a very small flat flame across the burning edge. Steady-state pressure is achieved during downward flame spread as the pressure rises and plateaus. This indicates that the heat generation by the flame matches the heat loss to surroundings during the longer, slower downward burns. One heat loss mechanism included mounting a heat exchanger directly above the burning sample in the path of the plume to act as a heat sink and more efficiently dissipate the heat due to the combustion event. This proved an effective means for chamber overpressure mitigation for those tests producing the most total heat release and thusly was determined to be a feasible mitigation strategy to incorporate into the microgravity experiment