Kinetics and Structure of Superagglomerates produced by Silane and Acetylene

En’Urga Inc. and NIST jointly conducted research into the structure of Superagglomerates produced by burning acetylene and silane in microgravity environments.  The primary motivation for this four year study is to better understand the agglomeration process in flames.  The size distribution and structure of the soot particles produced in the upper portion of the flame will affect the amount of radiation from the flame, the lifetime of the smoke in a building or the atmosphere, the amount of smoke inhaled and deposited in the lungs, the visibility through the smoke, and the detectability of the smoke. 

There are other potential impacts from this study.  Materials containing silicon are becoming more widely used including aerospace applications.  This study will provide basic understanding of the relative burning characteristics of a silicon based fuel and a hydrocarbon fuel.  Silica superagglomerates produced in space could form the basis for improved fuel filters, fire ablatives, low porosity membranes, etc.  Another major impact is the application of the near forward scattering instrument developed by En’Urga Inc. during this project. 

En’Urga Inc. developed a micro-second flash photography system and a small angle scattering nephelometer during the project.  En’Urga Inc. also conducted Brownian simulations of the super-agglomeration formation process.  Further details of the study can be obtained in the following publications. 

Mulholland, G.W., Hamins, A., and Sivathanu, Y., “Kinetics and Structure of Superagglomerates Produced by Silane and Acetylene,” Fifth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop NASA/CP-1999-208917, NASA Glenn Research Center, 1999, 491-494.

Mulholland, G. W., Yang, J. C., Scott, J. H., and Sivathanu, Y., ‘KISS: Kinetics and Structure of Superagglomerates Produced by Silane and Acetylene,’ Sixth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop NASA/CP-2001-210826, NASA Glenn Research Center, 2001, pp. 289-292.

Bundy, M, Mulholland., G.W., Manzello, S., Yang, J., Scott, J.H., Sivithanu, Y., “Microgravity Superagglomerates Produced by Silane and Acetylene” Proceedings of the 41^st Aerospace Sciences Meeting, AIAA 2003 .