A Stereo Imaging Velocimetry Technique for Analyzing Structure of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-Number (SOFBALL) Data

Stereo Imaging Velocimetry (SIV) is a NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed fluid physics technique for measuring three-dimensional velocities in any optically transparent fluid that can be seeded with tracer particles. SIV provides a means to measure three-dimensional fluid velocities quantitatively and qualitatively at many points. This technique provides full-field 3–D analysis of any optically clear fluid or gas experiment using standard off-the-shelf CCD cameras to provide accurate and reproducible 3–D velocity profiles for experiments that require 3–D analysis. A flame ball is a steady flame in a premixed combustible atmosphere which, due to the transport properties (low Lewis-number) of the mixture, does not propagate but is instead supplied by diffusive transport of the reactants, forming a premixed flame. This flame geometry presents a unique environment for testing combustion theory. We present our analysis of flame ball phenomena utilizing SIV technology in order to accurately calculate the 3–D position of a flame ball(s) during an experiment, which can be used as a direct comparison of numerical simulations.