42
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

The Role of Diffusive Transport on Low and Intermediate Temperature Hydrocarbon Oxidation: Closed Reactor Experiments Using Equimolar n–C4H10 + O2 Premixtures at Reduced-Gravity

&
Pages 219-229 | Published online: 11 Jan 2008
 

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in a closed, spherical reactor aboard NASA's KC-135 reduced-gravity aircraft using an equimolar n–C4H10 + O2 premixture (Le = 1.3) at subatmospheric pressures to compliment model predictions and further explore the reactive-diffusive structure of cool flames and ignitions. The pressure and radial temperature histories were recorded and analyzed for different initial conditions. In addition, the visible light emission from excited formaldehyde was recorded using an intensified video camera and was observed to be radially symmetric in all cases. Unexpectedly, however, the measured temperature distributions during (and after the passage of) the cool flames and ignitions were not parabolic as predicted by conduction models, which suggests the onset of weak convection at 10−2 g.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks are extended to Ming-Shin Wu, Richard Chapek, Donna Neville, and Scott Numbers at NASA GRC for programmatic and flight support for the microgravity experiments. This work was funded by NASA under grant NCC3-1006. The authors acknowledge financial support for MF from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.