Flow Induced by Fire in a Compartment.
Flow Induced by Fire in a Compartment.
(7222 K)
Steckler, K. D.; Quintiere, J. G.; Rinkinen, W. J.
NBSIR 82-2520; 101 p. July 1982.
Combustion Institute, Symposium (International) on
Combustion, 19th. August 8-13, 1982, Haifa, Israel,
Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 913-920 pp, 1982.
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ON BOOK SHELF: QD516.S92 1982
Order number: PB83-107714
Keywords:
air flow; compartment fires; entrainment; flow rates
Abstract:
Fifty-five full-scale steady-state experiments were
conducted to study the flow induced by a simulated pool
fire in a compartment under conditions characteristic of
the developing fire. The mass flow rate through the
door or window opening and bounds on the fire plume
entrainment rate are presented as a function of opening
geometry, fire strenght, and fire location. The
characteristics of the measured opening flow rates are
explained by a simple hydrostatic model based on
temperature distribution. A good correlation between
the measured results and the idealized flows, taking
into account the complete temperature distribution, is
demonstrated. Entrainment results for fires near walls
are in reasonable agreement with results from
free-standing plume models. Except for the smalles
openings, fires in other locations entrain at a rate two
to three times the rate predicted by these models. This
phenomenon is attributed to room disturbances caused by
the opening flow and is similar to the behavior of a
fire plume in a cross wind.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899