Flame speed

The flame speed is the measured rate of expansion of the flame front in a combustion reaction. Whereas "flame speed" is generally used for a fuel, a related term is explosive velocity, which is the same relationship measured for an explosive. Combustion engineers differentiate between the laminar and turbulent flame speeds. Flame speed is typically measured in m/s, cm/s, etc.

In engines

In an internal combustion engine, the flame speed of a fuel is a property which determines its ability to undergo controlled combustion without detonation. Flame speed is used along with adiabatic flame temperature to help determine the engine's efficiency. According to one source,

:

"...high flame-speed combustion processes, which closely approximate constant-volume processes, should result in high efficiencies."NASA Technical Note", May 1977, " [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770016170_1977016170.pdf Emissions and Total Energy Consumption of a Multicylinder Piston Engine Running on Gasoline and a Hydrogen-Gasoline Mixture] "] "

ee also

*Chemical kinetics
*Deflagration#Flame_physics
*Burn rate (chemistry)
*Wobbe index
*Octane rating

References