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A new look at compartment fires, part I

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Abstract

This is the first part of a two-part paper in which the author has endeavored to present all available information on compartment fires in a consistent theoretical framework. This well-documented review of the state of the art should serve as a valuable reference for researchers for some time to come.

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Abbreviations

a :

coefficient, dimensionless

A :

area; surface area; free surface area, m2

b :

thickness of boundary elements, m

B :

breadth of compartment, m

c :

specific heat; without subscript or with numeral subscript: specific heat of lining material, J/kg K

C :

constant

d :

characteristic dimension of flame base, m

D :

depth of compartment, m

g :

acceleration due to gravity, m/s2

G :

mass of wood; fire load, kg

h :

height of windows, m

h :

coefficient of heat transfer, J/m2s K

H :

height of compartment, m

H :

enthalpy, J/kg

ΔH :

heat of combustion, J/kg

k :

thermal conductivity of lining material, J/m s K

l :

length of flame, m

n :

constant exponent, dimensionless

p :

perimeter at the flame base, m

R :

rate of change of mass of fuel (wood), kg/s

q :

heat flux; heat loss flux, J/m2s

Q :

heat flow; without subscript: rate of evolution of chemical energy, J/s

t :

time, s

T :

temperature, K

U :

mass flow, kg/s

v :

velocity of gas at flame base, m/s

x :

distance of key component from surface of insulation, m

α:

factor (Equations 23a and 23b), dimensionless

β:

factor (Equations 41a and 41b, dimensionless

ζ:

empirical factor, dimensionless

η:

empirical factor, dimensionless

κ:

thermal diffusivity of lining material, m2/s

ρ:

density; without subscript or with numeral subscript: density of lining material, kg/m3

σ:

Stefan-Boltzmann constant, J/m2s K4

τ:

time of primary burning; time of fully developed fire, s

ϕ:

specific surface of fuel (wood), m2/kg

Φ:

ventilation parameter, kg/s

a :

of air

b :

of flame base; at flame base

B :

due to burning outside compartment

c :

of char; for feeding char oxidation

C :

conductive

e :

entrained into flame

E :

effective

f :

of fuel (wood)

F :

of floor

g :

of gaseous mixture (indicates space-averaged values); due to gases leaving

h :

of heat sources

m :

maximum; pertaining to maximum

N :

net

o :

att = 0; at reference point; at reference level

p :

from pile of wood

R :

radiant

s :

of bounding surfaces

t :

total (surface area of compartment, heat flux)

T :

at temperatureT

v :

of volatiles; of gaseous mixture consisting mainly of volatiles

W :

of windows

z :

in zones of pyrolysis

τ:

att = τ

−:

bar above symbol or group of symbols: pertaining to period 0 <t ≤ τ; average over period 0 <t ≤ τ

=:

two bars above symol: pertaining to period τ <t ≤2τ

*:

critical

H :

for a compartment of heightH

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fire Research Section Division of Building Research National Research Council of Canada, Canada

    T. Z. Harmathy

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Harmathy, T.Z. A new look at compartment fires, part I. Fire Technol 8, 196–217 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02590544

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