Fingering Pattern Formation during Smoldering Combustion of Solid

Abstract

There are various forms in solid combustion, and sometimes interesting combustion behavior may be seen there. When paper is burned by smoldering combustion on the conditions where the natural convection was restricted such as in a microgravity environment, or inside a narrow space, a fingering pattern of combustion may be formed due to combustion instability. Although it is supposed that this instability arises by almost the same mechanism as the thermal-diffusive instability (the Lewis number effect) and some stability analyses are carried out so far, there have been few researches performed where the mechanism is examined by reproducing a phenomenon by a numerical simulation. In the present research, the objective is to elucidate the mechanism of fingering pattern formation, by building the numerical model of the fingering pattern formation in smoldering combustion, and by establishing the prediction method of a fingering pattern. It is expected that clarifying the details of this phenomenon deepens combustion study understanding, and also gives the useful information for fire safety.