The Effects of Radiation Shield and Laser Heating on the Soot Formation and Oxidation of Diffusion Flame

Abstract

The effects of radiation heat transfer on the soot formation and oxidation process in laminar diffusion flames have been studied experimentally using a “radiation shield” for an ethylene flame and a laser heating technique for propylene flames. The soot volume fraction of ethylene diffusion flames was measured for two different radiation boundary conditions. One is the “radiation shield” boundary condition (AL), established by placing the flame inside a highly polished aluminum cylinder, and the other is the fully absorbing radiation boundary condition (BB), obtained with a “black body cylinder enclosure”. The soot formation and oxidation processes are enhanced under the “radiation shield” boundary condition. A second set of experiments was conducted for propylene diffusion flames around the sooting conditions. A non-sooting flame can be converted to a sooting flame when a laser light heats up a flame at a height of 7mm above the burner (HAB), where soot particles are formed. On the contrary, a sooting flame can be changed to a non-sooting flame when the flame is heated with a laser light at 13mm HAB, where soot particles are oxidized. In this study, the absorbed amounts of radiation energy, the soot volume fraction, and the increased soot temperatures were measured.