One Possible Mechanism to Sustain Combustion inside a Closed Region under Zero Gravity

Abstract

An experimental study carried out aboard the Mirstation showed that a stearin candle can burn for a long time even inside a closed volume without a forced circulation. Such experiments imply that there is some mechanism for a permanent transport of the oxidizer to the flame zone. It can be assumed that a jet of combustion products outflowing along a normal direction with respect to the flame surface produces a vortex motion in the environmental space, which delivers oxygen to the flame zone. To verify the feasibility of combustion to be sustained by such a mechanism, a mathematical statement of the problem of combustion inside a closed region under zero gravity without a forced circulation was formulated. A simplified model was put forward to simulate the combustion of solid and liquid substances, which allowed the effects of chemical reactions to be reduced to boundary conditions. The computations showed that the proposed mechanism of oxygen transport to the flame zone really can sustain an almost stationary regime of combustion.