Quantitative species measurements in microgravity flames with near-IR diode lasers.

Absolute concentrations of water vapor are measured in microgravity (µ-g), nonpremixed methane, and propane jet flames with diode-laser wavelength modulation spectroscopy. These experiments are performed in the 2.2-s µ-g drop facility at the NASA Lewis Research Center. Abel inversion methods are used to determine time-dependent radial profiles from eight line-of-sight projections across the flames. At all measured heights above the nozzle, water vapor spatial distributions in µ-g flames are much wider than their 1-g counterparts. Radial growth of the water signal continues throughout the drop, verifying earlier suggestions that a steady state is not reached during the duration of the test, despite a quasi-steady flame shape. Large amounts of water vapor are observed at larger radii, at odds with visual (video) observations and numerical predictions.