Dynamics, Transport and Chemical Kinetics of Compartment Fire Exhaust Gases. Annual Report. September 1994-September 1995.
Dynamics, Transport and Chemical Kinetics of Compartment
Fire Exhaust Gases. Annual Report. September
1994-September 1995.
(5305 K)
Vandsburger, U.; Roby, R. J.
NIST GCR 96-688; 75 p. June 1996.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB96-195508
Keywords:
exhaust gases; compartment fires; air entrainment;
combustion gases; carbon monoxide; corridors; fire
research; large scale fire tests; hydrocarbons; pool
fires; toxic gases; reaction kinetics
Abstract:
The investigation focuses on the transport of carbon
monoxide (CO) away from a burning compartment and the
conditions necessary for the existence of fatally high
concentrtions of CO at remote locations. The study is
conducted at the Building Fire Research Laboratory at
Virginia Tech. During the past year, the research has
concentrated on the transport of CO away from a
reduced-scale burning compartment located on the side of
the end of a hallway. High levels of CO were transported
to remote locations by limiting the air entrainment into
the plume of compartment fire gases entering the
hallway. In experiments with limited plume air
entrainment and external burning high levels of CO
(2.5-2.8%-wet) were measured exiting the compartment and
at locations across the hallway. High levels of CO
(1.6-2.4%-wet) were also measured in the gases moving
down the side of the hallway opposite the compartment,
while low levels of CO (0.4-1%-wet) were measured in
gases along the compartment side of the hallway.
External burning resulted in the oxidation of mostly
unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), with only 0.5% measured
exiting the hallway. The non-uniform transport of
combustion gases down the hallway explains the locations
of fatalities in previously reported fires.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899