Effects of physical properties on one-dimensional downward smoldering of char: Numerical analysis

Smoldering combustion in a packed bed of carbonaceous material is a very complex process, where numerous physical and chemical parameters are involved. This study was conducted to examine the impact of several physical parameters on the behavior of natural downward smoldering. For that purpose, a one-dimensional homogeneous model has been developed. Due to the fact that drying, pyrolysis or oxidative degradation occurs significantly faster than carbon oxidation, only the latter phenomenon was taken into account. The model was evaluated by comparison of numerical simulation results with experimental observations. Sensitivity analysis calculations of different physical properties of the bed material with respect to smoldering time, smoldering front velocity and front temperature suggest that in future experiments special attention should be devoted to accurate determination of bed shrinkage, bulk carbon density, mean void size, oxygen diffusivity in fuel bed.