Propane Fueled Fast Cook-Off Burner

Abstract

A propane burner assembly is provided for producing a fast cook-off environment. The burner assembly includes a frame, parallel delivery pipes, a pair of manifolds with a corresponding pair of feed lines, a supply line, a fuel reservoir, a valve and an igniter pilot. The frame geometrically defines a platform region with a plurality of corners. The frame includes at least two opposite sides. The delivery pipes are supported by the frame. Each delivery pipe has a plurality of orifices. The manifold pair supplies propane to the delivery pipes. The manifolds are respectively disposed adjacent the two opposite sides. The feed lines transport propane to the manifolds. The fuel reservoir stores the propane. The supply line delivers propane from the fuel reservoir to the feed lines. The valve controls delivery of propane to the feed lines. The igniter pilot initiates combustion. Activating the valve enables propane to eject through the orifices to propagate combustion within the frame.

1 . A propane burner assembly for producing a fast cook-off testing environment, said burner assembly comprising:
 a frame that geometrically defines a platform region with a plurality of corners, said frame having first and second sides opposite each other;   a parallel plurality of delivery pipes supported by said frame, each delivery pipe having a plurality of orifices;   first and second manifolds to supply propane to said delivery pipes, said manifolds being respectively disposed adjacent said first and second sides;   first and second feed lines to transport said propane to said manifolds;   a fuel reservoir for storing said propane;   a supply line for delivering said propane from said fuel reservoir to said feed lines;   a valve for controlling delivery of said propane to said feed lines; and   an igniter pilot for initiating combustion, wherein activating said valve enables said propane to eject through said orifices to propagate said combustion within said frame;   
     
     
         2 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said frame further includes a post at each corner of said plurality of corners, with a panel disposed between each pair of posts. 
     
     
         3 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein same valve is a solenoid valve. 
     
     
         4 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said manifolds supply said propane to alternating delivery pipes. 
     
     
         5 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , further including an instrumentation structure for disposing a plurality of thermal measurement instruments, each instrument being arranged in a grid. 
     
     
         6 . The burner assembly according to  claim 5 , wherein said instrument is a thermocouple. 
     
     
         7 . The burner assembly according to  claim 5 , wherein said instrument is a directional slug calorimeter. 
     
     
         8 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , where in said platform region is rectangular. 
     
     
         9 . The burner assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein said adjacent delivery pipes are antiparallel. 
     
     
         10 . The burner assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said fuel reservoir stores a fuel mixture of propane and at least one of methane, ethane and butane.