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Show OPENING REMARKS by James E. Hovis, Chairman American Flame Research Conunittee Welcome to the 55th Technical Meeting of the .American Flame Research Committee. The American Flame Research Committee is - A Bridge To Understanding between industry, combustion research and now government agencies - a national forum to communicate common needs of industry as an input to the extent and direction of applied combustion research. Our industry, today, is faced with extreme pressure to make better products at lower costs, to conserve energy, and to do this within ecological constraints neces sary to the welfare of both worker and surrounding population. There exists today in America, more so than ever before, the need to communicate the common needs of industry as a priIIle input to combustion research. The needs must be understood, defined and transmitted to research programs now carried on by industry, research and academic institutions and government. The American Flame Research Committee is a National Committee of the Inte rnational Flame Re search Foundation headquarte red in IJmuiden, Holland. There are eight (8) such national conunittees as well as four associate members from other countries. The International Flame Research Foundation was formed in 1948 in recognition of a se rious lack of applied combustion re search related to the use of fossil fuel energy as a prime industrial source of heat. A major accomplishment of the International Flame Research Foundation through the early years involved the design and development of all of the necessary instruments to measure local conditions in order that combustion and flame characteristics: could be properly defined. Important contributions have been made over the years through studies of pulverized coal, gas and oil flames both in the areas of fundamental and applied research. The work done by the research station at IJmuiden has been consistently supported by the national research committee s , strongly by the European coal and steel community in the past, and recently, by research contracts placed both by governments and industry. The facilities at the International Flame Research Station include two l a rg.e te st furnace s, one 6' x 6' x 20' long and anothe r 5' x 5' x 30 I long supported by all types of auxiliary equipment such as air preheaters, coal pulverizer's , oil conditioning systems, etc. The facility is equipped with the most advanced measuring equipment in existance. 1 - 1 |