About ISF

ISF aims at improving the understanding of the formation of carbon-based particles at technical conditions. The biennial workshop series provides a forum for open discussions and interaction between delegates around the following two research programs:

Laminar flames - Chemical kinetics (PAH, inception, growth and oxidation), particle dynamics (moment methods, sectional models, coalescence vs. aggregation) shock tubes and pressurised.

Turbulent flames - Jet flames, bluff body flames, swirl flames, pool fires, influence of scale, pressurised.

To participate in the forum, researchers should contact the Program Leaders for the field of greatest relevance to their research. In addition to workshop participation the series offers ongoing interaction between the meetings via teleconferences. Unlike a regular conference, data is presented by the program leaders in a consolidated manner to maximise time for discussion and learning. Delegates can also participate via posters.

Aims of the workshop

• To identify common research priorities in the development and validation of accurate, predictive models of flames with soot and to coordinate research programs to address them.
• To identify and coordinate well-defined target flames that are suitable for model development and validation, spanning a variety of flame types and fuels in each of the research programs.
• To establish an archive of the detailed data sets of target flames with defined accuracy; and to provide a forum for the exchange and dissemination of these data.

All members of the research community are invited to participate in the process of contributing either experimental data or modelling calculations for one of the target flames through the Program Leaders.

The workshop sets new targets for each successive meeting, at which the performance of different models are compared against detailed measurements. Comparisons are performed in simplified flames that are carefully designed for the development and validation of numerical models, while being relevant to practical environments. Different types of flames, spanning laminar, turbulent and pressurised, are also linked together through fuel type, residence time regime and pressure, so that models can be validated in a greater range of conditions.

The workshop addresses the coupling between the formation, oxidation and emission of soot, together with their role in radiation heat transfer, in the context of practical flames. Relevant research in all of these fields is welcome.

Target flames

The workshop advances understanding of current predictive capability through comparison of the predictions of different models against others and against experimental data, in well characterised flames. A number of particular data sets are therefore chosen within each program as target flames for each workshop. Further information about targeted flames can be found on the data sets page.

Workshop committees