Application of validated radiation model in flame spread rate over solid fuels

In this thesis the radiative effects of opposed flow flames spreading over solid fuels are discussed as well as the coupling of a radiation and CFD program. The coupled programs are used to show the radiative heat transfer mechanisms and how they affect the flame globally.;A radiation program is used to calculate radiation properties of the flame such as the heat flux distribution, net heat flow, and mean Plank absorptivity constant for a particular flame. The radiation program imports the temperature fields from a CFD program. Trends in the mean Plank absorptivity constant with varying ambient conditions are analyzed and an application of the radiation program to simulate a physical radiometer is demonstrated for a test case.;The CFD program can import radiation results to help improve the accuracy of the simulation. A script was written to automate the update process to produce more accurate results for flame simulations. Flux distributions, stability and relative error are analyzed to show the coupled programs are producing results within an acceptable error. Trends in error and stability are discussed and stable regions with low enough error are determined.;The coupled programs are used to gather data on flame spread rate and find differences in flame structure and properties of neglecting certain radiation mechanisms. No radiation included produced the hottest fastest moving flame, while no gas to surface radiation produced the coolest flame. Including the gas to surface radiation produced a slightly hotter faster moving flame. This trend was studied across different opposed flow velocities and sample widths. The radiative heat fluxes are analyzed for the cases as well. All the flame simulations in this thesis were run for a microgravity, 21% oxygen, and PMMA fuel.