INFERNITYFLAME IN FREEFALL
CATALOG
ACME GROUP/GASEOUS FUEL/ACME

Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME)

Prevention
Spacecraft cabinSpace stationLunar base
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AI summary
AI-GENERATED

Generated from the curated record only. The model is instructed not to invent numbers; verify all values against the source before engineering use.

Experimental setup

FUEL

Phase
Gaseous
Material
Methane, ethylene, hydrogen and propane; BRE uses gaseous fuel to simulate solid and liquid fuels
Shape
Flat porous burner, coflow burner, gas-jet burner and spherical porous burner
Size
Modular burner set mounted on the CIR chamber axis

CONDITIONS

O2 concentration
Varied / not specified
Pressure
Varied / not specified
Airflow
Varied / not specified

Single values are documented test conditions, not flammability limits. Ranges appear under variables tested.

OBJECTIVES

Improve efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions through fundamental microgravity research on laminar gaseous non-premixed flames, with spacecraft fire prevention as a secondary objective.

Sensors & measurements
  • Color, CH* and OH* imaging
  • Thin-filament pyrometry and color-ratio pyrometry
  • Radiometer arrays
  • Photomultiplier tubes for OH* and CH* emission
  • Gas chromatograph
  • Heat flux transducers and surface thermocouples on BRE burners
Variables tested
  • Six sub-experiments: BRE, CLD Flame, E-FIELD Flames, Flame Design, s-Flame and CFI-G
  • Fuel dilution and oxygen-enriched atmospheres
  • Soot inception and extinction limits
  • Electric field strength up to 10 kV
  • Burner type, flow rate and chamber pressure
Key findings
  1. 01Microgravity sooty flames were taller, wider, cooler and far sootier than normal-gravity flames, with five to eight times more soot.
  2. 02Highly diluted microgravity flames were more stable than normal-gravity flames, extending dilution limits and allowing lifted flames at lower fuel concentrations.
  3. 03BRE uses a flat porous burner fed with gaseous fuel to simulate the burning of solids and liquids and assess flammability test methods for low and partial gravity.
  4. 04E-FIELD Flames applied up to 10 kV to study ion-driven flame control and stability.