• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.21-28
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• 2012

The objective of this study is to evaluate the prediction accuracy of FDS(Fire Dynamic Simulator) for the thermal and chemical characteristics of under-ventilated fire with unsteady fire growth in a semi-closed compartment. To this end, a standard doorway width of the full-scale ISO 9705 room was modified to 0.1 m and the flow rate of heptane fuel was increased linearly with time (until maximum 2.0 MW based on ideal heat release rate) using a spray nozzle located at the center of enclosure. To verify the capability of FDS, the predicted results were compared with a previous experimental data under the identical fire conditions. It was observed that with an appropriate grid system, the numerically predicted temperature and heat flux inside the compartment showed reasonable agreement with the experimental data. On the other hand, there were considerable limitations to predict accurately the unsteady behaviors of CO and $CO_2$ concentration under the condition of continuous fire growth. These results leaded to a discrepancy between the present evaluation of FDS and the previous evaluation conducted for steady-state under-ventilated fires. It was important to note that the prediction of transient CO production characteristics using FDS was approached carefully for the under-ventilated fire in a semi-closed compartment.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.128-135
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• 2010

In this study, a mixture fraction analysis was performed to investigate the characteristics of chemical species production in compartment fires burning hydrocarbon fuels such as methane, heptane, and toluene. A series of fire experiments was conducted in the ISO 9705 standard room, and gas species concentration and soot fraction were measured at two locations in the upper layer of the compartment. The mass fractions of measured chemical species, such as unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), oxygen ($O_2$), and soot were presented as a function of mixture fraction and compared with state relationships based on the idealized reaction of hydrocarbon fuels. The mixture fraction analysis made it possible to rearrange hundreds of species measurements, which were done under various fire conditions and at two locations of the upper layer, in term of the unified parameter, i.e. the mixture fraction. The results also showed that inclusion of soot in the mixture fraction calculation could improve the performance of analysis, especially for the sooty fuels such as heptane and toluene.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.131-138
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• 2010

Experimental and numerical studies were conducted to investigate the thermal and chemical characteristics of heptane fires in a full-scale ISO 9705 room. Representative fire conditions were considered for over-ventilated fire (OVF) and under-ventilated fire (UVF). Fuel flow rate and doorway width were changed to create OVF and UVF conditions. Detailed comparisons of temperature and species concentrations between experimental and numerical data were presented in order to validate the predictive performance of FDS (Fire Dynamic Simulator). The OVF and UVF were explicitly characterized with distributions of temperature and product formation measured in the upper layer, as well as combustion efficiency and global equivalence ratio. It was shown that the numerical results provided a quantitatively realistic prediction of the experimental results observed in the OVF conditions. For the UVF, the numerically predicted temperature showed reasonable agreement with the measured temperature. The predicted steady-state volume fractions of $O_2$, $CO_2$, CO and THC also agreed quantitatively with the experimental data. Although there were some limitations to predict accurately the transient behavior in terms of CO production/consumption in the UVF condition, it was concluded that the current FDS was very useful tool to predict the fire characteristics inside the compartment for the OVF and UVF.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.32-38
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• 2010

Multi-dimensional fire dynamics were studied numerically with the change in ventilation conditions in a full-scale ISO 9705 room. Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) was used for the identical conditions conducted in previous experiments. Flow rate and doorway width were changed to create over-ventilated fire (OVF) and under-ventilated fire (UVF). From the numerical simulation, it was found that the internal flow pattern rotated in the opposite direction for the UVF relative to the OVF so that a portion of products recirculated to the inside of compartment. Significant change in flow pattern with ventilation conditions may affect changes in the complex process of CO and soot formation inside the compartment due to increase in the residence time of high-temperature products. The fire behavior in the UVF created complex 3D characteristics of species distribution as well as thermal and flow structures. In particular, additional burning near the side wall inside the compartment significantly affected the flow pattern and CO production. The distribution of CO inside the compartment was explained with 3D $O_2$ distribution and flow patterns. It was observed that gas sampling at local positions in the upper layer were insufficient to completely characterize the internal structure of the compartment fire.