Measuring and Modelling Unsteady Radiation of Hydrogen Combustion

Burning hydrogen emits thermal radiation in UV, NIR and IR spectral range. Especially, in the case of large cloud explosion, the risk of heat radiation is commonly underestimated due to the non-visible flame of hydrogen-air combustion. In the case of a real explosion accident organic substances or inert dust might be entrained from outer sources to produce soot or heated solids to substantially increase the heat release by continuum radiation. To investigate the corresponding combustion phenomena, different hydrogen-air mixtures were ignited in a closed vessel and the combustion was observed with fast scanning spectrometers using a sampling rate up to 1000 spectra/s. In some experiments, to take into account the influence of organic co-combustion, a spray of a liquid glycol-ester and milk powder was added to the mixture. The spectra evaluation uses the BAM code of ICT to model bands of reaction products and thus to get the temperatures. The code calculates NIR/IR-spectra (1 - 10 μm) of non-homogenous gas mixtures of H2O, CO2, CO, NO and HCl taking into consideration also emission of soot particles. It is based on a single line group model and makes also use of tabulated data of H2O and CO2 and a Least Squares Fit of calculated spectra to experimental ones enables the estimation of flame temperatures. During hydrogen combustion OH emits an intense spectrum at 306 nm. This intermediary radical allows monitoring the reaction progress. Intense water band systems between 1.2 and 3 μm emit remarkable amounts of heat radiation according to a measured flame temperature of 2000 K. At this temperature broad optically-thick water bands between 4.5 μm and 10 μm contribute only scarcely to the total heat output. In case of co-combustion of organic materials, additional emission bands of CO and CO2 as well as a continuum radiation of soot and other particles occur and particularly increase the total thermal output drastically.