Promoted Metals Combustion at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures

Abstract Promoted combustion testing of materials, Test 17 of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Standard 6001 (NASA-STD-6001), has been used to assess metal propensity to burn in oxygenrich environments. An igniter at the bottom end of a rod promotes ignition, and if combustion is sustained, the burning progresses from the bottom to the top of the rod. The physical mechanisms are similar to those of the upward flame propagation test, Test 1 of NASA-STD-6001. The differences are in the normal environmental range of pressures, oxygen content, and sample geometry. Upward flammability testing of organic materials can exhibit a significant transitional region between no burning and complete quasi-steady burning. In this transitional region, the burn process exhibits a probabilistic nature. This transitional region has been identified for metals using the promoted combustion testing method at ambient initial temperatures. The work herein is focused on examining the transitional region and the quasi-steady burning region both at conventional ambient testing conditions and at elevated temperatures.