Low reynolds number combustion of a spherical carbon particle

Abstract

A theory is presented for the steady combustion of a spherical carbon particle in the slow viscous flow of an oxidizing ambient. Heterogeneous surface reactions produce radial convection and diffusion from the particle, which couples with the ambient convection to affect the rate of particle mass loss. In the theory, a small Reynolds number characterizes the ambient convection. However, the radial convection, associated with the particle mass loss, is not necessarily small. The gas stream function and chemical species are described. The emphasis is upon explicit analytical relationships for particle mass loss rates that can be used to interpret experimental observations.