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Investigating the Mechanism of Effect of Carbon Nanotubes on Flame Spread Over Liquid Fuels

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Abstract

The effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on flame spread over liquid fuels and its mechanisms are investigated in this work. MWNTs have shown a significant flame retarding behavior and are applied as flame retardant additives to increase fire safety. We measured the duration of flame spread over trays filled with diesel oil, kerosene or their mixtures with different concentrations of MWNTs. The results show the significant retardation of flame spread by addition of MWNTs. Comparing the results in copper and steel trays revealed that for 1 g/l of MWNTs, increasing the thermal conductivity of fuel is the dominant flame retarding mechanism, and retardation by disrupting the convective flows in the fuel is negligible. Nevertheless, for higher concentrations of nanotubes, disrupting the convective flows is also an important mechanism of flame spread retardation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Amin Alibakhshi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khaje Nasir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Hamidreza Mirshahvalad

  3. Department of Environmental Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Sara Alibakhshi

Authors
  1. Amin Alibakhshi
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  2. Hamidreza Mirshahvalad
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  3. Sara Alibakhshi
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Correspondence to Sara Alibakhshi.

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Alibakhshi, A., Mirshahvalad, H. & Alibakhshi, S. Investigating the Mechanism of Effect of Carbon Nanotubes on Flame Spread Over Liquid Fuels. Fire Technol 51, 759–770 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0392-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0392-7

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