The effects of an electric field on an opposed-jet diffusion flame

Influence of an Electric Field on the Burning Behavior of Solid Fuels and Propellants

“…There are two critical differences between the current study and that of Heinsohn et al [9], the first is the location of the flame with respect to the electrodes. Heinsohn's [9] flame front was held stationary, while the flame front in the current study clearly changes during the combustion process. Future work will focus on holding the flame zone stationary.…”

“…Figure 7 shows that the burning distance varies approximately linearly with voltage flux, and that a higher electrode capacitance results in a more sensitive system. In gas-gas opposed jet diffusion flames, Heinsohn et al [9] demonstrated that the addition of an electric field of either polarity increased the extinction limits of their system. Similarly, Fox [10] observed a substantial shift in lean extinction limits in premixed Bunsen burner.…”

“…Heinsohn et al [9] attribute their results to 1) the interaction of a body force upon neutral molecules caused by ions moving under the influence of the field, 2) since the concentration of reacting neutral species was changing, the combustion chemistry was altered, and 3) the combustion chemistry may have been additionally influenced by the initiation of new reactions. There are two critical differences between the current study and that of Heinsohn et al [9], the first is the location of the flame with respect to the electrodes. Heinsohn's [9] flame front was held stationary, while the flame front in the current study clearly changes during the combustion process.…”

“…Future work will focus on holding the flame zone stationary. The second is that Heinsohn et al [9] were dealing with a gas-gas system and the current system is solid fuel and gaseous oxidizer. Gas-solid systems require heat feedback from the flame zone to pyrolyze the fuel and provide volatile fuel decomposition products into the flame zone for combustion.…”

Electrical Modification of Combustion and the Affect of Electrode Geometry on the Field Produced

“…These ions can be moved and excited when subjected to an external electric field [2]. The effects of this can be used to extinguish flames [3][4][5][6], to increase the flammability limits [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], to reduce the pollutants emitted [8,9,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28], effect the temperature (by entraining air) [9,17,29], modify the burning velocity [7,13,30], or to increase/decrease the heating to surfaces surrounding a flame. The effects have been well documented; however, the results are sometimes contradictory.…”