Simulation of Cup-Burner Flames in Microgravity

Published

June 1, 2003

Author(s)

V Katta, F Takahashi, Gregory T. Linteris

Abstract

The extinction process of cup-burner flames under normal-gravity conditions were previously studied. As the low-speed diffusion flames behave differently in microgravity compared to those on earth, it is important to understand the structureof cup-burner flame and its extinction characteristics under 0g conditions. A numerical study was performed in the present paper using a time-dependent, axisymmetric model and by incorporating detailed chemical kinetics of CH₄ and O₂. Calculations were performed for the cup-burner flame under different gravitational forces. It was observed that the cup-burner flame ceases to flicker under gravitational forces less than 0.5g. As the buoyancy force was reduced, the flame diameter increased, the tip of the flame opened, and the flame at the base became vertical. Through numerical experiments it was found that radiative heat loss was predominantly responsible for the extinction of flame in the tip region under 0g conditions. In contrast, 1g flames were not affected much by the radiative heat loss.

Citation

Joint Meeting of the Combustion Institute

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

carbon dioxide, Cup Burner, fire suppression, flame extinction, flame stabilization

Citation

Katta, V. , Takahashi, F. and Linteris, G. (2003), Simulation of Cup-Burner Flames in Microgravity, Joint Meeting of the Combustion Institute, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861234 (Accessed October 20, 2025)