A study on sodium spray combustion

Sodium spray combustion was studied through experiments and analysis, in order to clarify the burning rate, pressure and temperature transients in a sodium spray fire. In the experiments, about 400 g sodium was sprayed in a closed vessel of 2 m³, containing nitrogen and 0–21 vol% oxygen. Pressure, temperature and oxygen concentration were measured during and after sodium injection. The experimental results revealed that the temperature in the spray outer region was higher than that of inner region and observed oxygen consumption was not more than 80% of that expected for complete combustion of sodium. To analyze the experiments, a computer program SOFIA-II was developed based on an analytical single droplet combustion model and a two-dimensional temperature and oxygen concentration distribution model in the vessel. The calculated pressure agreed with the experimental pressure on the whole and the peak pressure difference was within 10% error.