Combustion 1382 INDEX

In order to maintain high energy efficiency and ensure a long service life of the materials of construction in the combustion chamber, turbine and jet nozzle, a clean burning flame must be obtained that minimizes the heat exchange by radiation and limits the formation of carbon deposits. These qualities are determined by two procedures that determine respectively the smoke point and the luminometer index. 

Luminometer index for the combustion flame of a jet fuel as a function of its volumetric content in aromatics. 

One other characteristic linked to the quality of combustion is called the CIl (Calculated Ignition Index) and is expressed by the equation / ... 

Limiting Oxygen Index. The minimum concentration of oxygen in an O2/N2 mixture that supports combustion of a vertically mounted test specimen is called the limiting oxygen index (3,4). Test specimens are 0.65 x 0.3 cm x 12.5 cm. The principal advantage of this test is its reproducibiUty which makes it useful for quaUty control. The main disadvantage is that the results rarely correlate with the results of other fire tests. 

The limiting oxygen index of Tefzel as measured by the candle test (ASTM D2863) is 30%. Tefzel is rated 94 V-0 by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., in their burning test classification for polymeric materials. As a fuel, it has a comparatively low rating. Its heat of combustion is 13.7 MJ/kg (32,500 kcal/kg) compared to 14.9 MJ /kg (35,000 kcal/kg) for poly(vinyHdene fluoride) and 46.5 MJ /kg (110,000 kcal/kg) for polyethylene. 

The products manufactured are predominantiy paraffinic, free from sulfur, nitrogen, and other impurities, and have excellent combustion properties. The very high cetane number and smoke point indicate clean-burning hydrocarbon Hquids having reduced harmful exhaust emissions. SMDS has also been proposed to produce chemical intermediates, paraffinic solvents, and extra high viscosity index (XHVI) lubeoils (see Lubrication and lubricants) (44). 

Whereas there is no universally accepted specification for marketed natural gas, standards addressed in the United States are Hsted in Table 6 (8). In addition to these specifications, the combustion behavior of natural gases is frequently characteri2ed by several parameters that aid in assessing the influence of compositional variations on the performance of a gas burner or burner configuration. The parameters of flash-back and blow-off limits help to define the operational limits of a burner with respect to flow rates. The yeUow-tip index helps to define the conditions under which components of the natural gas do not undergo complete combustion, and the characteristic blue flame of natural gas burners begins to show yellow at the flame tip. These... 

The Dow Fine and Explosion Index is a useful method for obtaining an estimate of the relative fine and explosion hazards associated with flammable and combustible chemicals. However, the technique is very procedure oriented, and there is the danger of the user becoming more involved with the procedure than the intent. 

Elame-spread and smoke-density values, and the less often reported fuel-contributed semiquantitive results of the ASTM E84 test and the limited oxygen index (LOI) laboratory test, are more often used to compare fire performance of ceUular plastics. AH building codes requite that ceUular plastics be protected by inner or outer sheathings or be housed in systems aH with a specified minimum total fire resistance. Absolute incombustibHity cannot be attained in practice and often is not requited. The system approach to protecting the more combustible materials affords adequate safety in the buildings by aHowing the occupant sufficient time to evacuate before combustion of the protected ceUular plastic. 

ASTM D2863, Test MethodforMeasuring the Minimum Ouygen Concentration to Support Candle-Eike Combustion of Plastics Ouygen Index), Vol. 8.02, ASTM, Philadelphia, Pa., 1991. 

The appearance of n as the index of jc in Eq. (3.28) needs to be Justified. Combustion in gas turbines usually involves substantial excess air and the molecular weight of the mixed products is little changed from that of the air supplied, since nitrogen is the main component gas for both air and products. Thus the mean gas constant (universal gas constant divided by mean molecular weight) is virtually unchanged by the combustion. It then follows that... 

The process is first divided into a number of units which are assessed individually. The dominant material for each unit is then selected and its material factor determined. The material factor in the Mond index is a function of the energy content per unit weight (the heat of combustion). 

U.S. EPA, Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Hazardous Waste Combustors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October 2008. Available at http //www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/combust/ finalmact/index.htm. 

The temperature index (TI) of a polymer is defined as the temperature at which the test specimen just supports combustion in air. 

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