Materials:

- Flame tube
- Control panel (Rotameter)
- Propane tank
- Lighter
- Tape measure
- Timer
- Camera

The equipment setup for this lab consisted of a flame tube connected to a propane/air
fuel supply. The volumetric flow rate of propane and air was measured with rotameters attached
to the valves, allowing the composition of the fuel supply to be carefully controlled. The entire
apparatus was contained within a fume hood.
The air supply was set to a rotameter reading of 80 (32.22 ml/s) for each trial. The
propane supply was initially set to the maximum reading of 150 (3.92 ml/s). At the start of the
trial, a lighter was used to ignite the air-propane mixture exiting the top of the flame tube. The
rotameter reading of the propane supply was decreased in steps of 10, waiting for a few
seconds between each decrement for the fuel level to equilibrate, until the flame was observed
propagating down the flame tube. The time it took for the flame to travel between the two
markings on the flame tube (“flame time”) was recorded using a stopwatch; video footage of
trials can be used to obtain more accurate readings.
Starting from the fuel composition at which the flame started propagating down the tube,
the flow rate of the propane was decreased by 5 mL/s. A lighter was used to ignite the fuel
mixture at the top of the flame tube, and the flame time was recorded. The flow rate of the
propane was then decreased by 5 mL/s and the above procedures repeated, until the fuel
supply at the top of the flame tube could no longer be lit due to insufficient propane flow rate.
 Executive Summary

The purpose of this experiment is to effectively characterize flame speeds given varying
amounts of air and fuel. Given some fixed amount of air and a critical amount of fuel, adjusting
rotameter valves on a nearby control panel coats the open-ended flame tube with a specific
amount of the air-fuel mixture. When the open end of the tube is ignited, the resulting flame
“travels” down the flame tube, combusting any fuel that is not yet combusted until the flame
reaches the bottom of the tube. Markings along the perimeter of the tube denote specific
positions between which the flame is timed, giving the experimenter a flame speed.
In this experiment, the air supply is set to a rotameter reading of 120 (approx. 33 mL/s)
for each trial. The propane supply is initially set to a rotameter reading of 150 (approx. 3.92
mL/s). At the start of the trial, a lighter is used to ignite the air-propane mixture exiting the top of
the flame tube. The flow rate of the propane supply is then decreased in steps of 10 units on the
rotameter, waiting for a few seconds between each decrement for the fuel level to equilibrate,
until the flame is observed propagating down the flame tube. The time it takes for the flame to
travel between the two markings on the flame tube (“flame time”) is recorded using a stopwatch;
video footage of trials can be used to obtain more accurate readings.
Starting from the fuel composition at which the flame started propagating down the tube,
the flow rate of the propane is decreased by 5 units on the rotameter. A lighter is used to ignite
the fuel mixture at the top of the flame tube, and the flame time is recorded. The flow rate of the
propane is then decreased by 5 units on the rotameter and the above procedure is repeated until
the fuel supply at the top of the flame tube could no longer be lit due to insufficient propane flow
rate.
The graphs below show the flame time and flame speed with respect to the volume
percentage of propane.