Transport phenomena; Ignition; Altitude behaviour and scaling of aeroengines: Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. London: Butterworths Scientific Publications, New York: Interscience. 1956. vii+495 pp. 90s, $12.50
✍ Scribed by F.J. Weinberg
- Book ID
- 103037958
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1957
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 143 KB
- Volume
- 1
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0010-2180
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✦ Synopsis
THE publication of the second volume of Selected Combustion Problems makes available the proceedings of the combustion colloquium held under the auspices of the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development at Liege, Belgium, in December 1955.
Since, quoting from the introduction, 'more national and international combustion meetings were held during 1955 than in any year in history,' and since, on present form, it seems likely that even this record will not long remain unchallenged, it is perhaps worth re-stating that the special aim of these meetings lies ultimately in aeronautical applications. It was felt by the organizers that the previous Cambridge meeting contributed greatly to the practical development of this subject and that the published proceedings (Selected Combustion Problems--Fundamentals and Aeronautical Applications) aroused such widespread interest that a second colloquium seemed desirable.
Eighteen papers were presented at the colloquium. These have been subdivided under five headings with some degree of inevitable overlap between sections. As in the earlier colloquium, the procedure was followed of presenting papers at the rate of three or four each morning, the afternoons being devoted entirely to their discussion. The contributions to these discussions, sub-divided under the titles of the papers to which they refer, are presented at the end of each section of the book. together with the authors' replies.
The first section, entitled 'Aircraft Engines and Fuels', consists of two papers, each of which deals with one aspect of the section heading. The contribution on aircraft engines is concerned primarily with the criteria of engine performance. It examines in detail the relative merits of thrust and power in terms also of fuel consumption, weight and other parameters and relates these to practical requirements of optimum performance under various conditions. The second deals with properties of turbojet fuels and presents an excellent summary of physical and chemical requirements. Stability in storage is omitted. The assessment of actual fuels is confined largely to those grades meeting U.S. military fuel specifications. Rapid developments in aircraft performance and engine design may necessitate some revision of the conclusions in future.
The four papers of the second section, entitled 'Ignition and Flammal~ility', illustrate the fact that although ignition criteria were among the first combustion properties to be studied they are still far removed from an ultimate analytical solution. The first paper constitutes a re-statement of the "excess enthalpy' hypothesis, the second deals with ignition of flowing gases, the third with that of liquid propellants and the last presents a review of ignition by temperatures in excess of ~auto-ignition' temperatures and the time delays involved, including both empirical results and their theoretical treatment by thermal and "radical chain' mechanisms. The subsequent discussion echoes the controversial nature of the subject.
The third section, "Transport Properties', consists of three papers, the first of which compiles the underlying fundamental relationships, including equations of state and enthalpy, transfer coefficients in pure gases and mixtures---diffusion under pressure and temperature gradients is considered in addition to those of concentration.