Flame Ignition

The flammability of upholstered furniture is a major concern to engineers and others across a wide swath of organizations. This book was written to provide its audience with the science and engineering needed to better understand the combustibility of the products they manufacture, purchase, and try to extinguish. It addresses the science and engineering information needs of public and private sector fire technology personnel, including fire service students and officers, fire investigators, fire protection engineers, government officials; textile, chemical, and furniture industry personnel, or institutional furniture purchasers.

This book focuses on developing strategies for ultra-lean combustion of natural gas and hydrogen, and contributes to the research on extending the lean flammability limit of hydrogen and air using a hot supersonic jet. The author addresses experimental methods, data analysis techniques, and results throughout each chapter and: Explains the fundamental mechanisms behind turbulent hot jet ignition using non-dimensional analysis Explores ignition characteristics by impinging hot jet and multiple jets in relation to better controllability and lean combustion Explores how different instability modes interact with the acoustic modes of the combustion chamber. This book provides a potential answer to some of the issues that arise from lean engine operation, such as poor ignition, engine misfire, cycle-to-cycle variability, combustion instability, reduction in efficiency, and an increase in unburned hydrocarbon emissions. This thesis was submitted to and approved by Purdue University.

Flame Ignition is a 800 page history of early internal combustion engines built from 1800 to 1900, thoroughly documenting the different types of designs existing during that era. Highlights of the book are chapters that include: Non-Compression Direct-Acting and Atmospheric engines, Non-Compressing Toy engines, Two-Stroke, Four-Stroke, Six-Stroke, Compound and Constant Pressure types.The author included much information on the efforts of the early I. C. engine designers, and the problems they faced. Each of the 8 chapters gives a history of the designs covered, and then the actual engines developed are discussed in alphabetical order. The engines covered all feature flame ignition, although other significant designs are discussed as they relate to the story of flame ignition. Each chapter contains many period engravings, test data, specifications, and full color photos of existing examples.Chapters include non-compression engines including Sombart and Forest designs, toy engines, such as Paradox, Atmospheric engines including the famous Otto and Langen design, two stroke engines like Clerk, four stroke engines including Deutz and Crossley, six stroke engines, compound engines, and constant pressure engines. Highlights of these chapters include an in-depth discussion of Brayton's constant pressure engines, rarely seen prototypes from Otto, and many unusual designs that are only known from ancient advertisements or the odd existing example. Patent drawings and explanations of operating sequences are included for all engines covered. An extensive chapter covers the early activity of the Gasmotoren-fabrik Deutz and Crossley 4 cycle engines, which were the direct ancestors of all 4-stroke cycle engines. Other chapters, including 2-stroke and six stroke engines, illustrate the extents to which early inventors would go to get around the Otto 4-stroke cycle patents, and the wealth of designs that were made possible when the patents were nullified. Also included is an appendix full of valuable information, covering topics such as a global registry of existing flame ignition engines, both in museums and in private hands, as well as test data.

Sources of Ignition: Flammability Characteristics of Chemicals and Products describes the flammability characteristics of substances and deals with the different sources of ignition. Case histories are presented for review and analysis. The book is comprised of six chapters and seven appendices. The introduction gives a basic description of the anatomy of fire and explosions, including the access to fuel and the interaction of oxygen and fuel. A description of the flammable limits of gases, dusts, mists, and mixtures and the method of estimating these follow. The text also explains the flash point of a substance and the method of calculating it, using citations from Fuji and Hermann. The ignition energy of a chemical, as well as how to estimate it using the method of Calcote et al., is also presented. The book explains that autoignition temperature of gases is dependent on different factors, such as time delay, oxygen concentration, and catalyst effects of materials, but may still be estimated citing Zabetakis, 1965 as reference. The formula is given in more detail. Finally, the energy sources for ignition are enumerated as mechanical, electrical, thermal, and chemical. The appendices deal with chemicals, self-heating substances, organic peroxides, substances prone to spontaneous combustions, unstable substances, flammability characteristics of dusts, and a checklist of possible sources of ignition. This book is beneficial to fire safety engineers, firemen, fire prevention maintenance administrators, fire hazard officers, and other personnel whose line of work is in fire safety and prevention.