PRELIMINARY REPORT ON STUDIES OF AIR FLOWS INTO CONTROLLED FIRES

Abstract

This investigation seeks to determine whether an uncontrolled fire of the character of a fire storm can generate winds by induction of air into it--and thereby accelerate the burning rate. Measurements have been made of burning rates of laboratory-scale fires of solid fuel beds and the resultant air velocities. Measurements have also been made of such burning rates in the presence of imposed winds. These experiments have shown that only air flow into the burning fuel bed affects the burning rate. Air flow into the luminous fire column above the fuel bed and into the thermal column above it do not significantly affect the burning rate. Furthermore, air flow into the fuel bed has been roughly approximated in one instance on the basis that the fuel bed is equivalent to a porous packed column and that the radial velocity head of the inflowing air is equal to the vertical head due to the buoyancy and momentum of the burned gases. This report presents exploratory experiments; only tentative conclusions are drawn. (Aiv. 7, 12, 1U (TIPTM/EJH) OTS price $1.10 Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc., El Segundo, Calif. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND INVESTIGATION OF THERMOELECTRIC POWER GENERATION AND COOLING FOR FLIGHT VEHICLES. Interim rept. no. 2, 2 June-1 July 61, by J. F. Hood. 1 July 61, 7p. (Rept. no. THMR25-2) (Contract NOw 61-0404-t) Unclassified report DESCRIPTORS: THOR)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 31, 1961
Accession Number
AD0265634

Entities

People

  • A. Strasser
  • Jon Grumer
  • T.a. Kubala

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Flow
  • Burning Rate
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Combustion
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Fire Storms
  • Fires
  • Flow
  • Fuels
  • Measurement
  • Radial Velocity
  • Solid Fuels
  • Thermal Column
  • Thermoelectric Power Generation

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • Snow Cover Descriptors for Reptiles and Their Illustrations.