Smoldering and Flaming Spread along A Cellulosic Combustible Solid

Abstract

This paper reports experimentally observed characteristics of smoldering and flaming spread along a cellulosic combustible solid. A thin cylindrical sample was burned in a forced oxidizer flow, and quasi-steady, downward opposed-flow spread was observed. The oxidizer velocity and the oxygen concentration were varied, and the spread velocity and the surface temperature were measured. The results indicated that the maximum surface temperature was a key quantity that controls the combustion mode, i.e., smoldering or flaming.