Experimental and numerical investigation of terrestrial stable cool flames for improved understanding of International Space Station droplet combustion experiments

The proposed research will utilize a flat flame burner facility constructed by the Science PI at the University of Wyoming (UW) and numerical modeling for the study of low temperature flames, called cool flames. This research will complement and provide terrestrial insights into ongoing research being conducted by the Combustion Branch at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) on cool flame droplet experiments in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The fuels that will be investigated include liquid alkane fuels, heptane and decane, which are important components and surrogates of logistical fuels. Furthermore, heptane and decane have been studied by GRC combustion researchers in ISS experiments because of their logistical importance. The proposed research will provide insights into the chemistry and stability of cool flames, including those aboard the ISS, using an experimental platform at UW that permits stable cool flame characterization over long burning times and a range of conditions, including lean to rich equivalence ratios and sub- to above-atmospheric pressures. The Science PI and co-PI will utilize existing experimental tools and develop laser diagnostic techniques for the quantification and visualization of cool heptane and decane flame structures, and will compare experimental results to numerical flame simulations to evaluate the accuracy of existing and derived full and reduced chemical kinetics models. Kinetics models will then be applied to ISS cool burning droplet data to evaluate their ability to predict temporal droplet diameter changes.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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