Radiative heat loss impact modelling on thermal decomposition analysis in a reactive slab of variable thermal conductivity

In this article, an investigation into the impact of radiative heat loss in a stockpile of combustible material is considered. The heat loss is due to exothermic chemical reaction when carbon containing material of the stockpile reacts automatically with oxygen trapped within the system. The study is modelled in a rectangular slab of thermal conductivity that varies with temperature and loses heat to the surrounding environment by radiation. The differential equations governing the problem are solved numerically using Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (RKF) method coupled with shooting technique. The behaviour of each embedded kinetic parameter of the system due to variation with temperature, oxygen depletion (O2) and carbon dioxide emission (CO2), is analysed and results are graphically expressed and discussed appropriately. The results show that kinetic parameters which enhance exothermic chemical reaction correspondingly increase the temperature and CO2 emission of the combustion process. Copyright © 2018 VBRI Press.