Bowes, P. C.; Davey, L. D. Self-Heating and Ignition in Two-Component Systems Preliminary Experimental Study.Fire Research Station, Borehamwood, England FR Note 643; 12 p. November 1966. self-heating; ignition; sawdust
olive oil

Gross, D.; Robertson, A. F. Self-Ignition Temperatures of Materials From Kinetic-Reaction Data.National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, Vol. 61, No. 5, 413-417, November 1958. Research Paper 2909; autoignition; ignition temperature; self-heating; kinetics; spontaneous combustion

Results of experimental determinations of the kinetic constants of the self-heating reaction are presented for wood fiberboard, cotton linters, sugar pine, cork, crepe rubber, GRS rubber, natural, synthetic, and blended foam rubber (with and without additive), various oils (raw linsed, cottonseed, rapessed, sperm, olive, castor, and neatsfoot) applied to cotton gauze in a ratio of 1 part of oil to 6 parts of cotton by weight, ammonium perchlorate, and nitrocellulose plastic. Under the assumption that self-heating follows a first-order reaction, these constants were used to calculate the critical radii of spherical piles for each of four surface temperatures likely to be experienced in long-period storage. Calculated self-ignition temperatures of piles of 1/8-inch-diameter to 22-inch-diameter spheres of wood fiberboard and 1/8-inch-diameter to 2-inch-diameter spheres of cotton linters were in reasonable agreement with previous measurements by N. D. Mitchell (National Fire Protection Association Quarterly 45: 162, 1951).

Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
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