Combustion and Flame, Vol.129, No.4, 378-391, 2002
Experimental study of the flow field in and around a one meter diameter methane fire
Simultaneous temporally and spatially resolved, 2-D velocity fields are obtained using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in a one-meter diameter methane fire. The flow rate of methane is 0.066 kg/m(2)-s, comparable to fuel burning rates in a large JP8 pool fire. Raw PIV images are recorded with 35 mm cinematography at 200 images/s. They are digitized and post-processed to obtain velocity data for a region similar to0.8 in high by 1 in wide centered on the centerline of the flame and extending from just above the surface of the burner to include the fuel core, near-field combusting zones, and surrounding air. The data cover I I puff cycles of the fire. Instantaneous, phase-, and time-averaged 2-D velocity plots (103 x 82 vectors) are obtained for each of 1331 time-planes (121 time-planes per puff cycle) spaced 5 ms apart. Each vector represents a statistical estimate of the velocity in 2.1 cm by 0.8 cm volumes, which are overlapped by 50% in the vector plots. Time-averaged turbulent statistics ((u'(2)) over bar, (v'(2)) over bar, & (u'v') over bar) are also presented. Boundary conditions have been carefully measured and the results are intended for validation of numerical simulations of the fire behavior. The results clearly show the dominant effect of puffing, measured at 1.65 cycles/s for this fire, on the temporal and spatial development of the velocity field.