Study of a non-buoyant diffusion flame radiative characteristics

Abstract

This study is a contribution to a project aiming to characterize a fire spreading in weightlessness. An ethylene burner across which an air flow leads to boundary layer type conditions is used. First experimental results show the high sensitivity of the flame radiative emission to the air flow velocity and the soot key-role. Gas contribution to the flame emission is computed and qualitatively fit with experimental data. Because of the need in a reliable numerical model of soot production, a phenomenological model, based on a theoretical analysis, is suggested in order to estimate this production dependency in air flow and fuel velocities, which are this configuration parameters. Eventually, this model reveals two different regimes where soot either inhibits or enhances the combustion.