Experimental Study of the Inhibition of Premixed and Diffusion Flames by Iron Pentacarbonyl

Published

July 21, 1996

Author(s)

D Reinelt, Gregory T. Linteris

Abstract

The recent ban on the production of CF3Br has motivated a search for alternate agents for fire suppression; however, a replacement agent with all of the desirable properties of CF3Br is proving difficult to find. While most of the research has concentrated on other halogenated agents, there exist agents that are much more effective than CF3Br but about whose inhibition mechanism less is known. These agents typically involve a condensed phase. This paper investigates the behavior of iron pentacarbonyl (Fe(CO)5), one of the most efficient inhibitors identified in the past, in methane/oxygen/nitrogen flames; measurements are reported for both diffusion and premixed flames. The reduction in the extinction strain rate and laminar burning velocity with addition of iron pentacarbonyl is determined over moderate ranges of fuel-air equivalence ratio and oxygen mole fraction. The flame and inhibitor locations in the counterflow diffusion flame experiments are varied to control the condensed- and gas-phase species transport rates to the flames and the chemical environment for their reaction.

Proceedings Title

Combustion Institute, Symposium (International) on Combustion, 26th. Proceedings. Volume 1

Conference Dates

July 28-August 2, 1996

Conference Location

Napoli, IT

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

combustion, chemical inhibition, halon alternatives, flame chemistry, laminar burning velocity

Citation

Reinelt, D. and Linteris, G. (1996), Experimental Study of the Inhibition of Premixed and Diffusion Flames by Iron Pentacarbonyl, Combustion Institute, Symposium (International) on Combustion, 26th. Proceedings. Volume 1, Napoli, IT, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=914174 (Accessed October 5, 2025)