Effect of flame radiation on aluminium particle combustion time

This work proposes a numerical model to estimate the radiant heat feedback from the flame of a burning aluminium particle. The objective is to evaluate its role on the burning time. It rests on a detailed combustion simulation of a single particle coupled with a simple two-flux approximation for the radiant flux emitted from the oxide smoke. Radiated flux from the flame is found to be around 1 MW/m2 for atmospheric pressures, going up to more than 5 MW/m2 for higher pressures (30 bar). Parametric simulations show that aluminium size has a small effect while oxygen-rich atmospheres can double the radiated flux. Overall, the role of flame radiation on aluminium burning rate is calculated to lie roughly between 1 and 25%, depending on conditions. This is the first study that clearly evaluates the role of flame radiation on aluminium combustion ; in most configurations, this effect, however, remains limited.