Radiative Emission Fraction of Pool Fires Burning Silicone Fluids

Published

January 1, 1997

Author(s)

R Buch, Anthony Hamins, K Konishi, D. Mattingly, Takashi Kashiwagi

Abstract

The steady-state mass burning flux and the radiative flux profiles to the surroundings were measured for a series of burning silicone fluids and organic fuels in 0.1-m, 0.3-m, 0.6-m and 1-m pool burners. Short-chain silicone oligomers and aliphatic/aromatic hydrocarbons exhibited a strong dependence of the mass flux and the radiative fraction on pool size. The longer chain length silicone fluids and alcohols exhibited both markedly lower mass fluxes and radiative components of heat release and these parameters were virtually independent of pool size. Silica, a gas-phase combustion product of the silicone fluids, was observed to deposit into the vaporizing liquid pool, the yield increasing with silicone chain length. This necessitated correcting the measured apparent mass flux for the liquid volume displaced by the silica. The measured radiative power emitted from flames burning silicone oligomers and hydrocarbons was substantially larger than the power radiated by flames burning long-chain silicone fluids or alcohols. The mass gasification flux and the radiative fraction of the silicones fluids and the organic fuels were well correlated by the ratio of the heat of combustion to the heat of gasification of the fluids.

Citation

Combustion and Flame

Volume

108

Issue

No. 1/2

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

pool fires, silicon compounds, heat release rate, radiative heat loss, siloxanes, vaporizing liquids, fire research

Citation

Buch, R. , Hamins, A. , Konishi, K. , Mattingly, D. and Kashiwagi, T. (1997), Radiative Emission Fraction of Pool Fires Burning Silicone Fluids, Combustion and Flame, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=909869 (Accessed April 20, 2024)