Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames) – An UC Irvine article

“The problem is, it is difficult on Earth to try to understand how combustion works, because gravity and the resulting buoyancy affect the way flames behave. So scientists look to zero-gravity or microgravity environments to get an unadulterated view of the process.”

“NASA scientists and NASA contractors are critical to the operation as modifications and unplanned outcomes are the norm in zero-gravity science. Compromise is a constant companion. ‘We had to plan and calculate everything … it’s a little bit of a struggle,’ Chien says. “And sometimes things fail. Everything is not nice and smooth all the time.'”

“Are the results of Phase I what Dunn-Rankin and Chien expected? No. ‘We were expecting to see what we might see on Earth,’ says Chien, who ran similar experiments on terra firma during her doctoral studies at UCI. “But from the Space Station, we actually are seeing soot eliminated in some cases under the influences of the electric field.”

Full article: https://engineering.uci.edu/news/2018/6/uci-conducts-combustion-research-aboard-international-space-station.

Soot rings leave marks on the cooper electrode mesh from our E-FIELD Flames experiment.

Full post at the link open in new window to the image below.