The oxidation of solid graphite using a 5-kW CO2 laser

✍ Scribed by P. Caminat; E. Saatdjian

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 610 KB
• Volume: 86
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-2180
• DOI: 10.1016/0010-2180(91)90105-k

✦ Synopsis

The combustion of solid graphite was studied experimentally using a 5-kW CO 2 laser to heat an 8-cm-diameter 4-cm-high cylindrical samples to temperatures of the order of 1200"C. The absence of volatile matter and the large size of the samples used here are main obstacles to the combustion of these very pure graphites. A simple model which takes into account the main heat transfer modes here as well as mass loss was developed and its validity checked against the obtained data. The experimental parameters that were varied were the laser power and flux, the aerodynamics and composition of the oxidizer flow. The contribution of each heat transfer mode to the total energy balance is followed during each run. Under certain conditions, the sample continues to burn even though the laser has been shut off.