The advanced study of flame behavior requires specially designed and constructed experimental equipment and a high-performance, programmable software that is capable of technical computing as precise control is necessary to acquire accurate data and to determine and study the characteristics of flame such as flame spread and ignition time delay. Some of the equipment used to study these characteristics include the San Diego State University Flame Tower, Flame Stabilizer, Radiometer, and Ignition Apparatus. The Flame Tower is an eight-meter-tall chamber that houses an enclosed six-meter track along which a sample holder travels up and down axially. The movement of the sample holder is controlled using a pulley system that is connected to a direct-drive electric motor. The Flame Stabilizer immobilizes a flame and allows testing of various attributes including CO2 level and temperature. The Ignition Apparatus utilizes a current-controlled heating element that ignites fuels at a known heat flux and records the ignition time delay. Lastly, the Radiometer measures radiative heat flux while simultaneously recording an image of the measured radiative field. These experimental apparatuses are all controlled via MathWorks MATLAB software in order to ensure precise data acquisition and reduce post-processing time. Each apparatus employs unique programming that incorporates a graphical user interface (GUI) to provide a user-friendly control environment for the researcher. In addition, each program is capable of recording and storing data that can subsequently be analyzed using MATLAB.
