Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Study on Fingering Pattern of Spreading Flame Over Non-charring Solid in a Narrow Space

  • Published:
Fire Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fingering pattern formation of flame spread over a thick solid has been observed recently. Since the oxygen-enriched atmosphere in microgravity promotes the occurrence of fingering and thus it leads to a fire in space, it is important to understand the mechanism. Motivated by this, a previous study attempted to validate a similarity to smoldering fingering. However, it remains controversial because the quantitative evaluation of the fingering pattern was not satisfactory done due to the experimental design: edges of the solid have an influence on the phenomenon. In this study, a new wind tunnel was developed, enabling experiments under the least effects of the artificial boundaries and evaluation of the pattern. A thick thermoplastic and oxygen were used as fuel and oxidizer, and a series of experiments were conducted under various channel heights and oxidizer velocities. A number of fingers, average finger width and, average flame spread rate were then quantified to estimate the scaled wavelength which characterizes the fingering pattern. The effects of the existence of flame and solid thickness are discussed and the theory for smoldering combustion was then modified accordingly to examine a correlation with the governing parameter, i.e., the modified effective Lewis number. The result shows the scaled wavelengths are well-summarized against the modified effective Lewis number. On the other hand, the data deviates from the line when the parameter becomes large, indicating a difference from the smoldering fingering. The obtained knowledge will help to develop a more rigorous risk assessment for the fire in space.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

\(c\) :

Specific heat (J/kg K)

\(d_{\text{g}}\) :

Channel height (mm)

\(d_{\text{s}}\) :

Solid thickness (mm)

\(d_{{{\text{s}},{\text{h}}}}\) :

Thickness of the heated layer (mm), Eq. (1)

\(D\) :

Binary diffusion coefficient for gases (m2/s)

\(E\) :

Activation energy (kJ/mol)

\(h\) :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K), \(h = Nu\lambda_{g} /2d_{\text{g}}\)

\(\bar{h}\) :

Dimensionless heat transfer coefficient, \(\bar{h} = 2h\bar{\alpha }/\rho_{\text{g}} c_{\text{g}} d_{\text{g}} u_{\text{r}}^{2}\)

\(Le\) :

Lewis number, \(Le = \bar{\alpha }/D\)

\(Le_{{{\text{eff}},{\text{modified}}}}\) :

Effective Lewis number, Eq. (2)

\(Nu\) :

Nusselt number

\(T\) :

Temperature (K)

\(u\) :

Oxidizer velocity (m/s)

\(u_{\text{f}}\) :

Oxidizer velocity relative to the flame (m/s), \(u_{\text{f}} = u + v\)

\(u_{\text{r}}\) :

Reference velocity (m/s), \(u_{\text{r}} = u_{{{\text{r}},{\text{b}}}} \times \left( {d_{g} /d_{{{\text{g}},{\text{b}}}} } \right)^{{ - \frac{1}{2}}}\)

\(U\) :

Dimensionless oxidizer velocity

\(v\) :

Flame spread rate (m/s)

\(w\) :

Finger width (mm)

\(x\) :

Flow direction

\(y\) :

Transverse direction

\(\alpha\) :

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

\(\bar{\alpha }\) :

Weighted thermal diffusivity (m2/s), Eq. (6)

\(\beta\) :

Zel’dovich number, \(\beta = E\left( {T_{\text{r}} - T_{\text{u}} } \right)/T_{\text{r}}^{2}\), Eq. (4)

\(\kappa\) :

Scaled dimensionless heat transfer coefficient, Eq. (5)

\(\lambda\) :

Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

\(\rho\) :

Density (kg/m3)

\({\text{b}}\) :

Base

\({\text{g}}\) :

Gas phase

\({\text{r}}\) :

Reference

\({\text{s}}\) :

Solid phase

\({\text{u}}\) :

Unburned

References

  1. Baukal CE Jr (2013) Fundamentals. In: Baukal CE Jr (ed) Oxygen-enhanced combustion, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 25–42

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  2. Olson SL, Baum HR, Kashiwagi T (1998) Finger-like smoldering over thin cellulosic sheets in microgravity. Proc Combust Inst 27:2525–2533. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0082-0784(98)80104-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zik O, Olami Z, Moses E (1998) Fingering instability in combustion. Phys Rev Lett 81:3868–3871. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zik O, Moses E (1998) Fingering instability in solid fuel combustion: the characteristic scales of the developed state. Proc Combust Inst 27:2815–2820. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0082-0784(98)80139-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Matsuoka T, Nakashima K, Nakamura Y, Noda S (2017) Appearance of flamelets spreading over thermally thick fuel. Proc Combust Inst 36:3019–3026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2016.07.112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Olson SL, Miller FJ, Jahangirian S, Wichman IS (2009) Flame spread over thin fuels in actual and simulated microgravity conditions. Combust Flame 156:1214–1226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2009.01.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang Y, Ronney PD, Roegner EV, Greenberg JB (1992) Lewis number effects on flame spreading over thin solid fuels. Combust Flame 90:71–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-2180(92)90136-D

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kagan L, Sivashinsky G (2008) Pattern formation in flame spread over thin solid fuels. Combust Theory Model 12:269–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/13647830701639462

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Kuwana K, Kushida G, Uchida Y (2014) Lewis number effect on smoldering combustion of a thin solid. Combust Sci Technol 186:466–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/00102202.2014.883220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Uchida Y, Kuwana K, Kushida G (2015) Experimental validation of Lewis number and convection effects on the smoldering combustion of a thin solid in a narrow space. Combust Flame 162:1957–1963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2014.12.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kuwana K, Suzuki K, Tada Y, Kushida G (2017) Effective Lewis number of smoldering spread over a thin solid in a narrow channel. Proc Combust Inst 36:3203–3210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2016.06.159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rasband WS (1997–2018) ImageJ. U. S. National Institutes of Health. https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/. Accessed 27 Dec 2018

  13. Olson SL, Miller FJ, Wichman IS (2006) Characterizing fingering flamelets using the logistic model. Combust Theory Model 10:323–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/13647830600565446

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  14. Zhang X, Yu Y (2011) Experimental studies on the three-dimensional effects of opposed-flow flame spread over thin solid materials. Combust Flame 158:1193–1200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2010.10.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bhattacharjee S, Wakai K, Takahashi S (2003) Predictions of a critical fuel thickness for flame extinction in a quiescent microgravity environment. Combust Flame 132:523–532. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-2180(02)00501-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ito A, Kashiwagi T (1988) Characterization of flame spread over PMMA using holographic interferometry sample orientation effects. Combust Flame 71:189–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-2180(88)90007-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kudo Y, Ito A (2002) Propagation and extinction mechanisms of opposed-flow flame spread over PMMA. Proc Combust Inst 29:237–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1540-7489(02)80032-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ito A, Kudo Y, Oyama H (2005) Propagation and extinction mechanisms of opposed-flow flame spread over PMMA for different sample orientations. Combust Flame 142:428–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2005.04.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Fernandez-Pello AC, Ray SR, Glassman I (1981) Flame spread in an opposed forced flow: the effect of ambient oxygen concentration. Proc Combust Inst 18:579–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0082-0784(81)80063-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. JSME Data Book: Thermophysical properties of fluids (1983) The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), Tokyo

  21. NIST Chemistry WebBook, SRD 69, Oxygen. https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C7782447&Mask=1&Type=JANAFG&Table=on#ref-1. Accessed 23 Dec 2018.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP16K16365 and JP18K13967. We acknowledged their support of the Cooperative Research Facility Center at Toyohashi University of Technology to develop the wind tunnel facility. We would also like to thank Mr. Lindsay Prescott for his help on English editing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku, Toyohashi, 441-8580, Japan

    Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka, Akihiro Yoshimasa, Masashi Masuda & Yuji Nakamura

Authors
  1. Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Akihiro Yoshimasa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masashi Masuda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yuji Nakamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Matsuoka, T., Yoshimasa, A., Masuda, M. et al. Study on Fingering Pattern of Spreading Flame Over Non-charring Solid in a Narrow Space. Fire Technol 56, 271–286 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-019-00865-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-019-00865-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation