INFERNITYFLAME IN FREEFALL
CATALOG
MDCA GROUP/LIQUID FUEL/CFI

Cool Flames Investigation (CFI)

Prevention
Spacecraft cabinSpace stationSpacesuit
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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
Liquid
Material
Heptane droplets
Shape
Spherical droplets burned in a quiescent microgravity environment
Size
Millimeter-scale droplets

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

Investigate the cool diffusion flames first observed during ISS droplet experiments in 2012, characterizing low-temperature burning and its role in near-limit extinction.

Sensors & measurements
  • High-speed droplet and flame imaging
  • Radiometers for low-level flame emission
  • Droplet diameter tracking
  • Combustion product and temperature diagnostics
Variables tested
  • Low-temperature cool flame chemistry in heptane droplets
  • Radiative extinction and near-limit burning
  • Droplet burning history after the visible flame extinguishes
Key findings
  1. 01Cool diffusion flames were discovered during ISS droplet combustion experiments in 2012.
  2. 02CFI examined heptane droplet cool flames, which can burn at low temperature with little or no visible light.
  3. 03The data test low-temperature chemical kinetic models and help explain extinction near flammability limits.