1. The Flame Tracker @ SDSU

2. Flame Controller Layout Thermocouple Stepper Motor Moving Apparatus

3. Flame Tracker: How It Works! Stepper Motor Lead Screw Carriage Guide Rail Fuel Tracking Thermocouple Flame Test Stand Teflon Nut Pillow Block Sample Holder As the flame reaches the tracking thermocouple, the stepper motor moves the sample upward to maintain a constant thermocouple temperature. The flame becomes stationary with respect to the thermocouple, hence, the laboratory.

4. Stepper Motor & Controller Serial Port communication Created software driver instead of expensive board

5. Labview Control Program. Front panel with Velocity vs. Time graph Transformation equation parameters

6. Wiring Diagram

7. Software Driver Labview makes special driver board for stepper motor Designed software driver using serial port vi’s.

8. Transform Control Diagram

9. Hardware Pentium IV 1.4GHz Breakout board with Analog Device 5B47 modules

10. The Initial Test, AFP, Air, 0.16 mm Thick The velocity graph above shows a preliminary plot of the spread rate as measured by the flame tracker. It is the velocity at which the sample is moved to hold the flame stationary with respect to the laboratory coordinates.

11. A stationary flame. Thermocouple

12. Flame Tracker in Operation: Spreading Flame Converted to Stationary Flame Thermocouple

13. Repeatability of the Spread Rate Measurement by the Flame Tracker

14. Comparison with Manual Measurement