STS-94, July 11, 1997, MET:9/17:40 (approximate). Today was a hot day for combustion science, with the Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion Experiment completing a number of successful burns. This experiment is performed in the Middeck Glovebox. The photo shows a droplet of 95% heptane and 5% hexadecane, suspended and positioned by the fiber wire, just as it is being ignited by the glowing coil beneath. Study of the physical properties of burning fuel from this experiment is expected to contribute to more efficient use of fossil fuels and reduction of combustion by-products on Earth.

MOVIE! A movie (1.2MB), shows this burn. It's a time-lapse (34 seconds condensed to 12 seconds), and clearly shows particles emanating from the droplet during the burn. The droplet will shrink to nothing as it is consumed.

STS-94 July 11, 1997. The Droplet Combustion Experiment continues today, burning heptane droplets in 1/2 atmosphere pressure consisting of oxygen and helium. During this mission, scientists have seen for the first time droplets which stop burning due to heat loss by radiation. From these data, the investigators hope to understand the physical and chemical processes that take place in droplet combustion in different environments, including conditions under which the flames extinguish, the chemistry of the combustion reaction, and the production of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and soot particles.

MOVIE! A time-lapse movie (0.96MB), shows this burn.  

STS-94, July 8, 1997, MET:6/20:30 (approximate). This is the capillary-driven heat transfer experiment (CHT), which takes place in the Glovebox. CHT's primary purpose is to experiment with the process of transferring heat from one side (the left in the picture) to the other (the right hand side) through the use of the small capillary driven forces. What happens is that water is evaporated from the left side by a heater, and is theoretically transferred to the other side where it condenses and cools, thereby transferring the heat. This is an ideal system to dissipate a few watts in space from an electronics box, for example, as you have no power, no moving parts, and a fairly lightweight apparatus.

Data from CHT will help scientists understand why this promising method of cooling spacecraft equipment will often lock up and stop moving heat. A box with banks of light emitting diodes (LEDs) displays temperatures and other conditions in the experiment.