Prediction of flammability of gases by using F-number analysis.

A novel method of predicting flammability limits has been proposed. This method utilizes a new flammability index called F-number. For this purpose, an empirical expression of F-number has been derived to account for the flammability characteristics of various organic substances. The analysis has been done by fitting to the observed values of F-number for a wide variety of organic gases and vapors. As a result, it has been found that F-number is an excellent tool to analyze the flammability characteristics of various substances. It has also been shown that the values of upper and lower flammability limits can be derived from F-number together with the stoichiometric concentration corrected for the effect of selective diffusion.