Abstract
The spontaneous ignition behavior of liquid sodium was studied experimentally, using the stagnation region of impinging air streams of various humidity, and a unique technique which kept the sodium from reacting until it was heated to a predetermined temperature. It was found that the spontaneous ignition temperature increased with increasing humidity of the air stream, and also that ignition occurred in two distinct stages of surface reaction, and finally a gas phase reaction. The first stage of the surface reaction, which was affected by humidity, was controlled by the rate of the surface reaction, while the second stage was controlled by the oxygen diffusion rate through the boundary layer formed over the sample surface. The ignition mechanism is discussed, and the effect of moisture on the ignition temperature is explained in terms of the formation of “protective” NaOH in the reaction film produced on the sample surface during the ignition process.
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