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An Experimental Study on the Effect of Design Flue Gas Temperature on the Fire Safety of Chimneys

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Abstract

Recently, numerous fires have started in Finland around roof penetrations of metal chimneys. One reason for the fires is the high flue gas temperatures of fireplaces. EN standards do not determine the flue gas temperatures of fireplaces meant for the specification of temperature classes of chimneys. At present, the design of chimneys is based on the temperature indicated in the CE marking of fireplaces. The temperature indicated in the CE marking is the mean temperature of the nominal test. In order to investigate how representative and safe this mean temperature is, tests on different fireplaces were conducted. Flue gas temperatures of the fireplaces were measured during a nominal test, a safety test and extra heating. Even in the nominal test, the highest flue gas temperature was 37°C to 212°C higher than the mean temperature. The highest flue gas temperature in the safety tests was about 120°C to 380°C higher than the mean temperature indicated in the CE marking. During the extra heating test, the highest flue gas temperature was 160°C to 350°C higher than that indicated in the CE marking. Due to the present method of determining flue gas temperatures, chimneys may be tested at a too low temperature.

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Funding

The Fire Protection Fund of Finland has provided funding for my work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 600, 33720, Tampere, Finland

    Perttu Leppänen, Timo Inha & Matti Pentti

Authors
  1. Perttu Leppänen
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  2. Timo Inha
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  3. Matti Pentti
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Correspondence to Perttu Leppänen.

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Leppänen, P., Inha, T. & Pentti, M. An Experimental Study on the Effect of Design Flue Gas Temperature on the Fire Safety of Chimneys. Fire Technol 51, 847–866 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0415-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0415-4

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