Hydrofluorocarbon refigerants are large contributors to global warming. They can be eliminated, but their replacements tend to be mildly flammable and there are not good codes and standards for their safe use. In order to rank the flammability and risk of the new compounds (and their blends), burning velocity is being used; however, measurement of the burning velocity is challenging because the compounds of most interest have unstretched laminar burning velocities in the range of 1 cm/s to 8 cm/s (i.e., near the flammability limit). Under these conditions, the measurements (and numerical predictions) are strongly affected by stretch, buoyancy, and radiation heat losses. This project consists of experiments and numerical modeling of these flames to understand their fundamental properties, facilitating the development of accurate standard tests and predictive methods, and their safe use at full-scale.

 

key words

Laminar burning velocity; Refrigerant flammability; Numerical flame simulations; Combustion chemistry; Fires and fire safety;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants