• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 1997

In this study, the experimental and numerical investigations of the ignition of methane-air mixtures by a electrically heated wire have been carried out. In order to define the initial condition and make the analysis simple, the following control unit was developed; which heats the wire to the setting temperature in a very short time, and maintains the wire temperature constant until ignition. Experiments with the feedback control have been performed using nickel and platinum wires in normal gravity and microgravity. From experimental results, ignition temperatures in normal gravity are higher than those in microgravity, however, the dependences of ignition temperature on equivalence ratio are not affected by natural convection. Numerical calculations, including catalytic reaction for platinum, have been performed to analyze the experimental results in microgravity. Numerical results show that reactants near platinum wire are consumed by catalytic reaction, therefore, the higher temperature is needed to ignite the mixture with platinum wire.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.21-29
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• 2012

Due to a significant leap in the science and technology, the manned space exploration that has started with suborbital flights is now being expanded into the deep space. The space superpowers such as the U.S. and Russia have been making an effort to further develop the manned space technology. Among such technologies, the fire safety technology in microgravity has recolonized as one of the most critical factors that must be considered for the manned space mission design since the realistic fire broke out onboard the Mir station in 1997. In the present study, the flame characteristics such as flame ignition, shape, spread, and extinction that are critical to understand the fire behavior under microgravity conditions are described and discussed. The absence of buoyancy in microgravity dominates the mass transport driven by diffusiophoretic and thermophorectic fluxes (that are negligible in normal gravity) and influences the overall flame characteristics-flame ignition, shape, spread, and extinction. In addition, the cabin environments of the pressurized module (PM) including the oxygen concentration, ambient pressure, and ventilation flow(which are always coupled with microgravity condition during the ISS operation) are found to be the most important aspects in characterizing the fire behavior in microgravity.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1509-1517
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• 2001

An experimental and numerical analysis were conducted to investigate the transient temperature distribution and flame propagation characteristics over an inline polystyrene spheres under microgravity. From the experimental, a self-ignition temperature of polystyrene bead was 872 K under gravity. Flame spread rates were 4.7-5.1 mm/s with ambient gas N$_2$and 2.3-2.5 mm/s with ambient gas CO$_2$, respectively. Flame radius diameters were 17 mm with ambient gas N$_2$and 9.6 mm with ambient gas CO$_2$, respectively. These results suggest that the flame propagation speed could be affected in the Diesel engine and the boiler combustor by EGR. In terms of the flame spread rate and the transient temperature profile, numerical results have the qualitative agreement with the experiment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.66-70
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• 2002

The transient soot distributions within the region bounded by the droplet surface and the flame were measured using a full-filed light extinction technique and subsequent tomographic inversion using Abel transforms. The soot volume fraction results for n-heptane droplets represent the first quantitative assessment of the degree of sooting for isolated droplets burning under microgravity condition. The absence of buoyancy(which produces longer residence times) and the effects of thermophoresis produce a situation in which a significant concentration of soot is produced and accumulated into a soot-cloud. Results indicate that indeed the soot concentration within the microgravity droplet flames(with maximum soot volume fractions as high as ~60ppm) are significantly higher than corresponding values that are reports for normal-gravity flames. This increase in likely due to longer residence times and thermophoretic effects that manifested under microgravity conditions.

• 한국연소학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.19-24
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• 2007

The deposition behavior of soot particles in a diffusion flame along a solid wall was examined experimentally by getting rid of the effect of natural convection utilizing microgravity environment. The microgravity environment was realized by using a drop tower facility. The fuel for the flame was an ethylene ($C_2H_4$) and the surrounding oxygen concentration 35% with the surrounding air velocity of $V_a$=2.5, 5, and 10 cm/s. Laser extinction method was adopted to measure the soot volume fraction distribution between the flame and burner wall. The results show that observation of soot deposition in normal flame was difficult from buoyancy and the relative position of flame and solid surface changes with time. The soot particle distribution region moves closer to the surface of the wall as the surrounding air velocity is increased. And the experiments determined the trace of the maximum soot concentration line. It was found that the distance between soot line and flame line is around 5 mm. That is, the soot particle near the flame zone tends to move away from flame zone because of thermophoretic force and to concentrate at a certain narrow area inside of the flame, finally, to adhere the solid wall.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.65-72
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• 2007

Fire is one of important checkpoints in crewed exploration systems, where men inhabit in space. In space, astronaut can't escape from fire out of a spacecraft and not expect any help of fire fighters, either. Accordingly, the best way to stand against fire is to prevent it. But, when fire occurs in space, flame behaviors are quite different from those observed on earth because of micro- or zero-gravity in space. The present paper introduces major research results on flame behaviors under microgravity and fire prevention, detection, and suppression in crewed exploration spacecrafts and international space station based on NASA's FPDS research program.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.403-412
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• 2006

The effect of a wall temperature on the soot deposition process from a diffusion flame to a solid wall was investigated in a microgravity environment to attain in-situ observations of the process. The fuel for the flames was an ethylene ($C_2H_4$). The surrounding oxygen concentration was 35% with surrounding air temperatures of $T_a=600K$. In the study, three different wall temperatures. $T_w$=300, 600, 800K, were selected as major test conditions. Laser extinction was adopted to determine the soot volume fraction distribution between the flame and burner wall. The experimental results showed that the maximum soot volume fractions at $T_w$=300, 800 K were $8.8{\times}10^{-6},\;9.2{\times}10^{-6}$, respectively. However, amount of soot deposition on wall surface was decreased because of lower temperature gradient near the wall with increasing wall temperature. A numerical simulation was also performed to understand the motion of soot particles in the flame and the characteristics of the soot deposition to the wall. The results from the numerical simulation successfully predicted the differences in the motion of soot particles by different wall temperature near the burner surface and are in good agreement with observed soot behavior that is, the 'soot line', in microgravity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.47-54
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• 2002

The propagation speed of tribrachial flame in laminar propane jets has been investigated experimentally under normal and micro gravity conditions. The displacement speed was found to vary nonlinearly with axial distance because flow velocity along stoichiometric contour was comparable to the propagation speed of tribrachial flame for the present experiment. Approximate solutions for velocity and concentration accounting density difference and virtual origins have been used in determining the propagation speeds of tribrachial flame. Under micro gravity condition, the results showed that propagation speed of tribrachial flame is largely affected by the mixture fraction gradients, in agreement with previous studies. The limiting maximum value. of propagation speeds under micro gravity conditions are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction, that is, the ratio of maximum propagation speed to the stoichiometric laminar burning velocity is proportional to the square root of the density ratio of unburned to burnt mixture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.26-36
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• 2008

Experimental study is conducted to identify the existence of a shrinking flame disk and to clarify its flame characteristics through the inspection of critical mole fraction at flame extinction and edge flame oscillation at low strain rate flames. Experiments are made as varying global strain rate, velocity ratio, and burner distance. The transition from a shrinking flame disk to a flame hole is verified through gradient measurements of maximum flame temperature. The evidence of edge flame oscillation in flame disk is also provided through numerical simulation in microgravity. It is found at low strain rate flame disks in normal gravity that buoyancy effects are importantly contributing to lateral heat loss to burner rim, and is proven through critical mole fraction at flame extinction, edge flame oscillation, and measurements of flame temperature gradient along flame disk surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2012

The influence of magnetic field on propane and acetylene diffusion flames have been experimentally investigated using an electromagnetic system. Periodically induced magnetic field having various frequencies and duty ratios was established in square wave form. The maximum intensity and gradient of magnetic field were 1.3 T and 0.27 T/mm, respectively. The width of a propane flame was reduced up to 4.5% and the brightness was enhanced up to 25% when the magnetic field was induced. The soot emission from an acetylene flame was ceased when magnetic field was induced. The alteration of flow field, which is due to the paramagnetic characteristics of oxygen molecule, is most likely to be responsible for the change in flame size and brightness. The effect of magnetic field on diffusion flames, which competes with the gravitational effect, was more apparent from a smaller size flame. The magnetic field effect, therefore, could be important under microgravity conditions. Since the time required to alter the flow field must be finite, the magnetic field effect is likely to be less significant for a periodically oscillating magnetic field at a high frequency or having a small duty ratio.