U.S.-Bulgaria Cooperative Research in Combustion Experimentsand Numerical Modelling of Dust Explosions and Spontaneous Self Heatings

美国-保加利亚研究奖授予保加利亚美国大学的马丁·赫茨伯格博士，表彰他与美国矿产局合作，与保加利亚科学院、采矿与地质大学、采矿研究与技术以及采矿研究与技术研究所（在保加利亚方面）合作，开展“粉尘爆炸和自发自发加热的燃烧实验和数值模拟”研究。研究人员将对粉尘的易爆性和煤的自发自热进行实验研究，并对这些燃烧过程进行理论数值模拟。相非均相体系的燃烧在现代技术中起着至关重要的作用。本研究计划的易燃性部分的目的是研究导致可燃性极限存在的基本物理过程。解决保加利亚地下矿井中存在严重危害的低阶煤自燃问题的需要，强烈地促使人们重新评估Semenov和Frank-Kamenetskii经典理论中自燃过程的基本原理，该理论需要进行大量修改，以包括自然对流和气体输送进入（和离开）自热质量的过程。此外，必须在煤的放热表面氧化速率中加入放热/吸热水分输送过程，并且这些过程的数值模拟必须是三维的。该燃烧研究项目通过使美国和东欧的领先专家在共同感兴趣和能力强的领域结合互补的人才和集中资源，实现了推进科学知识的计划目标。

This U.S.-Bulgaria Research award is to Dr. Martin Hertzberg of the American University in Bulgaria, to work with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, in cooperation (on the Bulgarian side) the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the University of Mining and Geology, and the Mining Research and Technology, and the Mining Research and Technology Institute, to work on "Combustion Experiments and Numerical Modelling of Dust Explosions and Spontaneous Self-Heatings." The researchers will perform experimental studies of the explosability of dusts and the spontaneous self-heating of coals, complemented by theoretical numerical modelling of those combustion processes. The combustion of phase-heterogeneous systems plays a critical role in modern technology. The objective of the explosability part of this research program is to study the fundamental physical processes responsible for the existence of flammability limits. The need to solve the problem of spontaneous combustion of low rank coals presenting severe hazards in underground Bulgarian mines provides a strong incentive to reevaluate the fundamentals of the spontaneous ignition process formulated in the classical theory of Semenov and Frank-Kamenetskii, which theory requires substantial modifications in order to include the processes of natural convection and gas transport into (and out of) the self-heating mass. In addition, the exothermic/endothermic moisture transport process must be added to the exothermic surface oxidation rate of coals, and the numerical modelling of those processes must be three-dimensional. This project in combustion research fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling leading experts in the United States and Eastern Europe to combine complementary talents and pool resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence.