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Characterization of Medium-Scale Propane Pool Fires

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Abstract

A series of experiments are conducted in a 37 cm diameter gas burner situated in a quiescent environment. Time-averaged local measurements of the temperature, velocity, soot, and gaseous species are obtained in 21kW, 34kW, and 50 kW propane fires above the burner centerline. Global measurements of the radiative fraction, flame height, soot and CO yields, and total heat feedback to the burner are also obtained. Time-averaged gaseous species concentrations are measured using a gas chromatograph with mass selectivity and thermal conductivity detectors. The time-averaged soot mass fraction is measured simultaneously via a gravimetric technique. Additional gaseous species and soot measurements are obtained in the exhaust duct via gas analyzers and laser transmission measurements, respectively. A mixture fraction analysis shows that these propane fires exhibit similar trends in which the experimental data nearly matches the idealized state relationships. Carbon monoxide concentrations obtained throughout the fire are presented as a function of mixture fraction and compared among the different propane fire sizes. The dataset provides a comprehensive picture of the mean structure of the three propane fires.

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Notes

  1. Certain commercial products are identified in this work to specify adequately the equipment used. Such identification does not imply a recommendation by the authors, nor does it imply that this equipment is the best available for the purpose.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Matthew Bundy and Artur Chernovsky of NIST for their expertise, setting up the data collection, exhaust measurement, and data archiving systems and to Marco Fernandez and Laurean DeLauter for their help conducting the experiments.

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  1. Fire Research Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr., Gaithersburg, 20899, Maryland, USA

    Ryan L. Falkenstein-Smith, Kunhyuk Sung & Anthony Hamins

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  1. Ryan L. Falkenstein-Smith
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  2. Kunhyuk Sung
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  3. Anthony Hamins
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Correspondence to Anthony Hamins.

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Falkenstein-Smith, R.L., Sung, K. & Hamins, A. Characterization of Medium-Scale Propane Pool Fires. Fire Technol 59, 1865–1882 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-023-01412-9

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