Droplet Cloud Combustion Experiment Group Combustion in KIBO on ISS

Abstract

Flame spread in fuel spray near the flame base and subsequent excitation of group combustion of the whole spray are necessary for stable combustion of continuous burning of liquid fuel such as in aero engines or gas turbines. In order to elucidate the flame spread mechanism, flame spread experiments of a fuel-droplet array in microgravity have been undertaken. Based on the past short-duration microgravity experiments and a percolation model to describe group combustion excitation of randomly distributed droplet clouds, the droplet cloud combustion experiment named “Group Combustion” is planned as the first combustion experiment in the Japanese Experiment Module “KIBO” on the International Space Station. The objective of this experiment is to verify the flame spread hypotheses regarding the effects of droplet interaction, droplet motion, and radiative heat loss from the flame. The Group Combustion Experiment Module (GCEM) has been developed as experiment-dedicated apparatus. This paper will provide an overview of the experiment.