Thin Layer Boilover of Pure or Multicomponent Fuels

Abstract

In situ burning of fuels spilled on water is of interest as a means forcleaning up these spills. Results of small-scale experiments thatinvestigate the combustion of this layers of fuel on water are reported.They allow to analyze the events that take place in this complexcombustion process, which can lead to the occurrence of explosiveburning, normally referred to as boilover. The work concerns primarilythe influence of the initial fuel layer thickness, pool diameter andfuel boiling point, on the burning rate, time to the start of boilover,burned mass ratio, boilover intensity and temperature history of fueland water. The temperature measurements show that the phenomenon may bedue to boiling nucleation near the fuel/water interface, in sublayerwater that has been superheated. A simple heat transfer analysis of thefuel and water heating provides information about the characteristics ofboilover. Thicker fuel and superheated water layers result in a strongerand faster ejection of the fuel from the pan toward the flame, andconsequently in a more explosive and hazardous boilover event.