Abstract
Soot deposition from hydrocarbon flames was investigated in order to evaluate the evolution of the deposits during the transient process of heating an object that starts with a cold metal surface that is exposed to a flame. The study focused on the fire/metal surface interface and the critical issues associated with the specification of the thermal boundaries at this interface, which include the deposition of soot on the metal surface, the chemical and physical properties of the soot deposits and their subsequent effect on heat transfer to the metal surface.
A laboratory-scale device (metallic plates attached to a water-cooled sampling probe) was designed for studying soot deposition in a laminar ethylene-air premixed flame. The metallic plates facilitate the evaluation of the deposition rates and deposit characteristics such as deposit thickness, bulk density, PAH content, deposit morphology, and thermal properties, under both water-cooled and uncooled conditions.
Additionally, a non-intrusive Laser Flash Technique (in which the morphology of the deposit is not modified) was used to estimate experimental thermal conductivity values for soot deposits as a function of deposition temperature (water-cooled and uncooled experiments), location within the flame and chemical characteristics of the deposits.
Important differences between water-cooled and uncooled surfaces were observed. Thermophoresis dominated the soot deposition process and enhanced higher deposition rates for the water-cooled experiments. Cooler surface temperatures resulted in the inclusion of increased amounts of condensable hydrocarbons in the soot deposit. The greater presence of condensable material promoted decreased deposit thicknesses, larger deposit densities, different deposit morphologies, and higher thermal conductivities.
