Upward buoyant filtration combustion (Q1370101)

Heterogeneous combustion in a porous sample with only the top and bottom ends of the sample open to gas flow is considered. Gas enters the sample due to buoyant upward convection. That is, ignition at the bottom produces an upwardly propagating filtration combustion wave which induces hot gas to rise, thus pulling cool, fresh gas containing oxidizer in through the bottom of the sample. The gas moves through the solid products to reach the reaction zone just as in forced forward filtration combustion. In contrast to forced forward filtration combustion, in which the incoming gas flux is fixed by an external source, here the incoming gas flux is determined by the combustion process itself. Thus, a feedback mechanism exists which hinders ignition of the samples, but also makes the wave hard to extinguish, once it has formed. A one-dimensional model is analyzed and two types of wave structures, termed reaction-leading and reaction-trailing according as the reaction occurs at the leading or trailing edge of the heated region of the sample, respectively, are determined.