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Thomsen, M., Cruz, J. J., Escudero, F., Fuentes, A., Fernandez-Pello, C., Gollner, M., et al. (2023). Determining flame temperature by broadband two color pyrometry in a flame spreading over a thin solid in microgravity. Proc. Combust. Inst., 39(3), 3909–3918.
Abstract: Fire spread inside a spacecraft is a constant concern in space travel. Understanding how the fire grows and spreads, and how it can potentially be extinguished is critical for planning future missions. The conditions in-side a spacecraft can greatly vary from those encountered on earth, including microgravity, low velocity flows, reduced ambient pressure and high oxygen, and thus affecting the combustion processes. In microgravity, the contributions of thermal radiation from gaseous species and soot can play a critical role in the spread of a flame and the problem has not been fully understood yet. The overall objective of this work is to address this by studying the soot temperature of microgravity flames spreading over a thin solid in microgravity. The ex-periments presented here were performed as part of the NASA project Saffire IV, conducted in orbit on board the Cygnus resupply vehicle before it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. The fuel considered is a thin fabric made of cotton and fiberglass (Sibal) exposed to a forced flow of 20 cm/s in a concurrent flow configuration. Reconstruction of the flame temperature fields is extracted from two color broadband emission pyrometry (B2CP) as the flame propagates over the solid fuel. A methodology, relevant assumptions and its applicability to other microgravity experiments are discussed here. The data obtained shows that the technique provides an acceptable average temperature around similar to 1300 K, which remains relatively constant during the spread with an error value smaller than 117 K. The data presented in this work provides a methodology that could be applied to other microgravity experiments to be performed by NASA. It is expected that the results will provide insight for what is to be expected in different conditions relevant for fire safety in future space facilities. (c) 2022 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Thomsen, M. C., Fuentes, A., Demarco, R., Volkwein, C., Consalvi, J. L., & Reszka, P. (2017). Soot measurements in candle flames. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci., 82, 116–123.
Abstract: Soot volume fractions and soot temperatures have been measured for the first time on candle flames. Measurements on laminar steady flames were carried out using candles with wick diameters of 2, 3 and 4 mm. Wick length was varied between 4 and 10 mm. The shape of the candle flame was obtained from CH* spontaneous emissions. Measured flame heights show an increase with wick dimensions, approaching an asymptotic value for increasing wick lengths. Soot volume fractions were obtained from laser extinction measurements with the Modulated Absorption/Emission (MAE) technique. A deconvolution technique and a regularization procedure were applied to the data. Radial profiles of soot volume fractions increase when varying the wick dimensions; this effect is produced by the greater amount of fuel released by the wick. Radially integrated soot volume fractions were also calculated, presenting a similar behavior to the soot volume fraction radial profiles. The peak integrated soot volume fraction was found at approximately half the flame height, independent of the wick dimensions and burning rates. Soot temperature was obtained from emission measurements at two different wavelengths considering the attenuation of the soot particles in the optical path length. A deconvolution and regularization procedure was carried out in order to obtain temperature profiles for different heights in the flame. The observed increase in soot production and soot temperature profiles was directly related to the higher burning rate experienced by the candle. The results show that peak integrated soot volume fractions are proportional to both the mass loss rates and the flame heights. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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