Flow stabilized porous heterogeneous combustor. Part I: Design and development

A heterogeneous combustor was developed where the flame position within the ceramic porous media, contained within the combustor, could be controlled using the reactant flow rate. The porous media within the combustor can be coated with a catalyst to further promote combustion; this apparatus was designed to enable the investigation of various catalysts to be evaluated for their effectiveness as promoters of combustion. A unique feature of the combustion chamber showcased within this work is that the position of the flame is controlled by flow rates rather than the conventional method of flame arrestors, minimizing pressure drop across the combustion chamber. The developed operational system consists of six well-integrated and interconnected parts: the combustion chamber, a reactant storage and metering system, the reactant delivery nozzle, the exhaust sampling port, an externally located microphone, and a CCD camera. Within this present work Al2O3 porous media of 10 ppin was used during the initial testing of the developed system.