Effects of reactant consumption on the ignition of a combustible solid

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5696531

Lasseigne, D G

This work presents a systematic analysis of the effects of reactant consumption on the ignition of a combustible solid. A non-porous solid is assumed to be semi-infinite in length and subjected to a flux of energy at its free end. Three modes of heating are considered: controlled energy input (e.g. intense light), direct contact with a hot medium, and nonlinear thermal radiation exchange with a hot environment. A one-step irreversible Arrhenius reaction is assumed to occur in the bulk of this solid. Through a careful choice of the scaling of the physical parameters, it is possible to establish a criterion which delineates conditions leading to ignition from those precluding ignition. This criterion was deduced through a high-activation-energy asymptotic analysis of the governing mathematical problem. By allowing for significant depletion of the reactant, a one-parameter integral equation new to ignition theory was derived for the perturbation of surface temperature from its inert solution. Through application of existence theory, asymptotic analysis and numerical integration, it is found that the solution of the integral equation dramatically changes character at a critical value of its parameter.

• Research Organization: Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5696531
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400800* -- Combustion
Pyrolysis
& High-Temperature Chemistry
ACTIVATION ENERGY
ARRHENIUS EQUATION
ASYMPTOTIC SOLUTIONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
CONSUMPTION RATES
ENERGY
EQUATIONS
IGNITION
OXIDATION
SCALING LAWS
SOLIDS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES