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Eleventh symposium (International) on combustion
BOOK REVIEWS ELEVENTH SYMPOSIUM (INTERNATIONAL) ON COMBUSTION
(Berkeley, California, August 1966) The Combustion Institute: Pittsburgh, Pa, 1967. xxi + 1200pp. {illus.)$42.00 Tins is the latest volume of recorded proceedings of a series of biennial Symposia which must be approaching some kind of a record lbr regularity and longevity. The Elex'enth Symposium (International) on Combustion was held in August 1966, at the University of California at Berkeley. Nearly 700 persons from 19 countries attended the presentation of the 117 technical papers contained in this volume. The wide variety of scientific and engineering specialities which are brought together in the field of "combustion'-and which make it both so difficult and so thscinating--is reflect~xl in the grottping of the papers under headings similar to those in earlier volumes. These include a plenary lecture by A, G. Gaydon on "The Use of Shock Tubes for Studying Fundamental Combustion Processes', two Discussions consisting of invited papers on Chemical Kinetics and Energy Transfer (14 papers) and Heterogeneous Combustion (10), and contributed papers on Charged Species in Combustion Processes (6), Carbon in Flames (6). Combustion of Ammonium Perchlorate (5), Fire Research (10), Radiation from Rocket Exhaust Plumes (5), Detonations (10), Combustion and Flow (! 1), Flame Mechanisms and Structure (10), Flame Structure and Properties (8), Engine and Engine-related Combustion (6), Explosion and Ignition Kinetics (10), and Flame Spectroscopy (5) .These headings are reasonably descriptive on the whole, although there are a few glaringly misplaced papers which the programme committee (understandably) arranged in inappropriate sessions--probably in order to avoid scheduling a session called 'Miscellaneous', which has a derogatory ring to it. In general, the trend toward more fundamental studies of combustion topics and more
soundly-based practical combustion applications evident in the previous t~vo or three Sympo:fia is continued in this one. Although it is a bit hard to tell the difference from the printed volume, the two sessions labelled "Discussions" were a special feature of this Symposium (as weU as of the t~vo previous meetings). These consist of invited papers on a subject which are preprhlted and available well b{ advance of the meeting so ',hat they cart be read and digest~xl beforehand. The authors are then supposed to give only a brief summary of their papers at the meeting, the bulk of the time thus b~:ing allotted to pertinent (and presumably better prepared) discussion. All of this discussion which the contributor(s) (and the editor) considered important enough to write down is included in the volume. In this respect the first Discussion on Chemical Kinc,.[cs aa.d Energy Transfer is somewhat disappointing in that 4 of the 14 papers contain no discussion at all. There is a considerable amount of new and valuable material in this group, however, o~ quite a variety ofchemical kinetic and vibrati,~t~al .relaxation topics. A hear 3, emphasis i,z placed on shock tube results, wi~.h 8,3~~the t4 papers employing tLis tool. The second Discussior, on 14e-~,)geneous Combustion proyoked t)ar iivelier ,..-.__-~..,,~,.~ ..... iadgii~g from the printed record. This may rd'lect the greater complexities of this field o~" research, greater interest, or simply the mood of those present. Seven of the ten papers in this group are really review articles, and very little new work was presented. In fact, this reviewer was struck by how slow progress in this fieM seems to be, which probably will surprise no one. The book also contains the discussion (if any) which ensued after each of the contributed papers. This reviewer has amused himself by applying the suggestive (but oversimplified and obviously shaky) criterion ofjudging the interest aroused by a 9aper according to the number of persons it stimulated to make a comment. For each group of papers, the total number of 427
428
m)uK Ri[vn~ws
speakcl,x (excluding the authors' response,,) divided by the total number of papers gives a "stimulus index" (S.I.) lbr that particular speciality. On this basis the sessions on Combustion of Ammonium Perchlorate and Charged Species in Combustion Processes (S.I, = 3.4 and 3.0, respectively) p r o w to be the most iivei', amongs~ the contributed papers by quite a margin. The Discussion on Heterogeneous Combustion, which x~,as partially rigged in advance, of course, was the Symposium winner with an S.i. = 4.3 comments per paper. Most of the other sessions ranged around 1,0 to 1.5. Statistics aside, the point should be made that this idea of printing all of the important discussion of the papers is an outstanding and unique feature of this book. After all, the real purpose of a Symposium such as this is to foster personal discussion of current and unsettled research questions. If the only aim were the printing of research papers the regular technical journals could do the job. In this reviewer's opinion, the virtue of including criticism, questions, pertinent comments, etc. immediately after each paper is well worth the admittedly high cost (about 15 per cent of the cost of the book) and effort, in this way the aura of sanctity which anything tends to acquire just by being bound in hard covers is partially counteracted. On the whole, there seems to be a fair proportion of good material contained in this collection. Anyone who had ever written a paper to be presented at a meeting knows full well that the tendency is not to submit one's 'best stuff'. One is tempted to save that for the regular )ournals where the publication lag is far shorter, since in this 'publish or perish' era the danger (fancied or not) of being scooped is less, and the audience for the regular journals is usually much larger, Thus most compilations of papers from meetings and symposia tend to have a high proportion of unexciting pot-boilers or ~mi-review types of articles, There seems to be no cure for the publication lag problem, Despite the heroic efforts and great experience of the Symposium editor, W, G. Befl, who has few peers in this field, there was still a lapse of almost 14 months b e t ~ n the time an author submitted a paper and the time it appeared in
Vol. I l
print, and this period probably cannot be appreciably shortened. Thus the fact that this volume appears to have an above-average share of papers which should 'last' a while speaks well lbr the increasingly high regard the scientific community holds tbr these Combustion Symposia. Finally, a word should be said about the format and printing of this book. It is hard to see how such a large and complex work could have been put together and presented ia clearer or more pleasing style. It could well serve as a model for scores of other slipshod and hasty assemblages of papers. All those persons connected with this excellent product deserve hearty congratulations. A. A. WESTENBERG
M A J O R AIRCRAI~II" FIRES Symposium No. 1
Ministry of Technolo~ and Fire Offices' Committee. Joint Fire Research Organization. Her Majesty's Stationery Office: London, 1967. vi + 102 pp. 8 in. by 12 in. 27s 6d THiS publication comprises the papers contributed to a symposium held at the Fire Research Station, Boreham Wood, Herts. on 9 December 1966, together with a report of the discussion on these papers. As pointed out in the preface, it is timely that a reassessment of the aircraft fire problem be made for as aircraft become larger, the number of deaths in an accident may well become 500 instead of the 50 to 100 of the present day. The first paper reviews aircraft fire statistics for the U.K. based on Ministry of Aviation records of civil aircraft accidents, one of the conclusions being that there is some indication of a tendency for the fatal casualty rate and the fire incidence to increase with the size of aircraft involved, Research on aircraft fires is reviewed in the second paper, both IJ.S. and U.K. work being considered. The third paper considers "fires involving military aircraft on the ground--problems and possibilities for the future', although it begins by-pointing out that the distinction which is commonly made be-
(Berkeley, California, August 1966) The Combustion Institute: Pittsburgh, Pa, 1967. xxi + 1200pp. {illus.)$42.00 Tins is the latest volume of recorded proceedings of a series of biennial Symposia which must be approaching some kind of a record lbr regularity and longevity. The Elex'enth Symposium (International) on Combustion was held in August 1966, at the University of California at Berkeley. Nearly 700 persons from 19 countries attended the presentation of the 117 technical papers contained in this volume. The wide variety of scientific and engineering specialities which are brought together in the field of "combustion'-and which make it both so difficult and so thscinating--is reflect~xl in the grottping of the papers under headings similar to those in earlier volumes. These include a plenary lecture by A, G. Gaydon on "The Use of Shock Tubes for Studying Fundamental Combustion Processes', two Discussions consisting of invited papers on Chemical Kinetics and Energy Transfer (14 papers) and Heterogeneous Combustion (10), and contributed papers on Charged Species in Combustion Processes (6), Carbon in Flames (6). Combustion of Ammonium Perchlorate (5), Fire Research (10), Radiation from Rocket Exhaust Plumes (5), Detonations (10), Combustion and Flow (! 1), Flame Mechanisms and Structure (10), Flame Structure and Properties (8), Engine and Engine-related Combustion (6), Explosion and Ignition Kinetics (10), and Flame Spectroscopy (5) .These headings are reasonably descriptive on the whole, although there are a few glaringly misplaced papers which the programme committee (understandably) arranged in inappropriate sessions--probably in order to avoid scheduling a session called 'Miscellaneous', which has a derogatory ring to it. In general, the trend toward more fundamental studies of combustion topics and more
soundly-based practical combustion applications evident in the previous t~vo or three Sympo:fia is continued in this one. Although it is a bit hard to tell the difference from the printed volume, the two sessions labelled "Discussions" were a special feature of this Symposium (as weU as of the t~vo previous meetings). These consist of invited papers on a subject which are preprhlted and available well b{ advance of the meeting so ',hat they cart be read and digest~xl beforehand. The authors are then supposed to give only a brief summary of their papers at the meeting, the bulk of the time thus b~:ing allotted to pertinent (and presumably better prepared) discussion. All of this discussion which the contributor(s) (and the editor) considered important enough to write down is included in the volume. In this respect the first Discussion on Chemical Kinc,.[cs aa.d Energy Transfer is somewhat disappointing in that 4 of the 14 papers contain no discussion at all. There is a considerable amount of new and valuable material in this group, however, o~ quite a variety ofchemical kinetic and vibrati,~t~al .relaxation topics. A hear 3, emphasis i,z placed on shock tube results, wi~.h 8,3~~the t4 papers employing tLis tool. The second Discussior, on 14e-~,)geneous Combustion proyoked t)ar iivelier ,..-.__-~..,,~,.~ ..... iadgii~g from the printed record. This may rd'lect the greater complexities of this field o~" research, greater interest, or simply the mood of those present. Seven of the ten papers in this group are really review articles, and very little new work was presented. In fact, this reviewer was struck by how slow progress in this fieM seems to be, which probably will surprise no one. The book also contains the discussion (if any) which ensued after each of the contributed papers. This reviewer has amused himself by applying the suggestive (but oversimplified and obviously shaky) criterion ofjudging the interest aroused by a 9aper according to the number of persons it stimulated to make a comment. For each group of papers, the total number of 427
428
m)uK Ri[vn~ws
speakcl,x (excluding the authors' response,,) divided by the total number of papers gives a "stimulus index" (S.I.) lbr that particular speciality. On this basis the sessions on Combustion of Ammonium Perchlorate and Charged Species in Combustion Processes (S.I, = 3.4 and 3.0, respectively) p r o w to be the most iivei', amongs~ the contributed papers by quite a margin. The Discussion on Heterogeneous Combustion, which x~,as partially rigged in advance, of course, was the Symposium winner with an S.i. = 4.3 comments per paper. Most of the other sessions ranged around 1,0 to 1.5. Statistics aside, the point should be made that this idea of printing all of the important discussion of the papers is an outstanding and unique feature of this book. After all, the real purpose of a Symposium such as this is to foster personal discussion of current and unsettled research questions. If the only aim were the printing of research papers the regular technical journals could do the job. In this reviewer's opinion, the virtue of including criticism, questions, pertinent comments, etc. immediately after each paper is well worth the admittedly high cost (about 15 per cent of the cost of the book) and effort, in this way the aura of sanctity which anything tends to acquire just by being bound in hard covers is partially counteracted. On the whole, there seems to be a fair proportion of good material contained in this collection. Anyone who had ever written a paper to be presented at a meeting knows full well that the tendency is not to submit one's 'best stuff'. One is tempted to save that for the regular )ournals where the publication lag is far shorter, since in this 'publish or perish' era the danger (fancied or not) of being scooped is less, and the audience for the regular journals is usually much larger, Thus most compilations of papers from meetings and symposia tend to have a high proportion of unexciting pot-boilers or ~mi-review types of articles, There seems to be no cure for the publication lag problem, Despite the heroic efforts and great experience of the Symposium editor, W, G. Befl, who has few peers in this field, there was still a lapse of almost 14 months b e t ~ n the time an author submitted a paper and the time it appeared in
Vol. I l
print, and this period probably cannot be appreciably shortened. Thus the fact that this volume appears to have an above-average share of papers which should 'last' a while speaks well lbr the increasingly high regard the scientific community holds tbr these Combustion Symposia. Finally, a word should be said about the format and printing of this book. It is hard to see how such a large and complex work could have been put together and presented ia clearer or more pleasing style. It could well serve as a model for scores of other slipshod and hasty assemblages of papers. All those persons connected with this excellent product deserve hearty congratulations. A. A. WESTENBERG
M A J O R AIRCRAI~II" FIRES Symposium No. 1
Ministry of Technolo~ and Fire Offices' Committee. Joint Fire Research Organization. Her Majesty's Stationery Office: London, 1967. vi + 102 pp. 8 in. by 12 in. 27s 6d THiS publication comprises the papers contributed to a symposium held at the Fire Research Station, Boreham Wood, Herts. on 9 December 1966, together with a report of the discussion on these papers. As pointed out in the preface, it is timely that a reassessment of the aircraft fire problem be made for as aircraft become larger, the number of deaths in an accident may well become 500 instead of the 50 to 100 of the present day. The first paper reviews aircraft fire statistics for the U.K. based on Ministry of Aviation records of civil aircraft accidents, one of the conclusions being that there is some indication of a tendency for the fatal casualty rate and the fire incidence to increase with the size of aircraft involved, Research on aircraft fires is reviewed in the second paper, both IJ.S. and U.K. work being considered. The third paper considers "fires involving military aircraft on the ground--problems and possibilities for the future', although it begins by-pointing out that the distinction which is commonly made be-