Flammability limits of ammonia-air mixtures

Book · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:215703

Khan, A S; Kelley, R D; Chapman, K S; Fenton, D L ^[1]

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1. Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

The impending ban of refrigerants containing chlorofluorocarbons has led to the investigation of several alternative refrigerants. These investigations include traditional refrigerants such as ammonia, which is considered to be an almost perfect refrigerant. In an attempt to increase the level of understanding of ammonia combustion, this paper presents the results of a recent study of the flammability limits of ammonia-air mixtures. In the past, these studies have been conducted using a flame tube to determine the flammability limits of the gas. The study reported here used the ASTM E 681-85 (ASTM 1985) standard method. Even though the flammability limits of ammonia have been established in the past, it was necessary to determine the limits using this relatively new method, since it is drastically different from any previously used method. A brief but complete literature review is provided, followed by a discussion of the flammability testing apparatus and experimental results. The measured upper and lower flammability limits in dry air were 27.35% and 15.15%, respectively. In air with a relative humidity of 100%, the upper and lower flammability limits narrowed to 15.95% and 26.55%, respectively.

• OSTI ID: 215703
• Report Number(s): CONF-950624--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
40 CHEMISTRY
AMMONIA
DETONATION LIMITS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLAMMABILITY
MEASURING METHODS
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFRIGERANTS
TEST FACILITIES