Effects of combined porous media on quenching and re-ignition characteristics of methane/air premixed combustion in a duct

During the study of foam metal suppression of methane combustion in ducts, it was found that under certain conditions, after the flame is extinguished, a re-ignition phenomenon occurs in the area upstream of the foam metal. In this paper, the process and mechanism for the occurrence of this phenomenon were investigated. The porous media used in the experiments is a two-layer structure consisting of a combination of iron-nickel foam and copper foam and was mounted in a transversal position. Each layer of foam metal has a thickness of 5 mm and a pore size of 20 or 40 holes pores per inch (ppi). The results show that flame extinguishment and re-ignition are highly dependent on the material and pore density of the porous media used. After the flame was quenched by the combination of iron-nickel foam with the same pore density of 40ppi, the re-ignition intensity was higher (a dazzling white light could be observed) and the flame area was larger. However, when a combination of iron-nickel foam with different pore densities was used, the re-ignition intensity, flame oscillation frequency and amplitude were significantly lower. However, both re-ignition flames can last for a long time. In addition, the incorporation of copper foam with high thermal conductivity resulted in the decay of flame propagation speed and the overpressure before and after quenching increased significantly with the increase of pore density of the first layer of iron-nickel foam.

Automated summary

During the study, it was found that re-ignition phenomenon occurs in the area upstream of the foam metal under certain conditions after extinguishing the flame. The study investigated the process and mechanism of this phenomenon. The results showed that flame extinguishment and re-ignition are highly dependent on the material and pore density of the porous media used. The incorporation of copper foam with high thermal conductivity resulted in the decay of flame propagation speed and increased overpressure after quenching with the increase of pore density of the first layer of iron-nickel foam.