Smoldering of porous media: numerical model and comparison of calculations with experiment

Numerical modelling of smoldering in porous media under natural convection is considered. Smoldering can be defined as a flameless exothermic surface reaction; it is a type of heterogeneous combustion which can propagate in porous media. Peatbogs, landfills and other natural or man-made porous objects can sustain smoldering under natural (or free) convection, when the flow rate of gas passed through the porous object is unknown a priori. In the present work a numerical model is proposed for investigating smoldering in porous media under natural convection. The model is based on the assumption of interacting interpenetrating continua using classical approaches of the theory of filtration combustion and includes equations of state, continuity, momentum conservation and energy for solid and gas phases. Computational results obtained by means of the numerical model in one-dimensional case are compared with the experimental data of the smoldering combustion in polyurethane foam under free convection in the gravity field, which were described in literature. Calculations shows that when simulating both co-current combustion (when the smoldering wave moves upward) and counter-current combustion (when the smoldering wave moves downward), the numerical model can provide a good quantitative agreement with experiment if the parameters of the model are well defined.