• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.98-103
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• 2010

A series of fire experiments have been performed to examine the measurement bias of the bare bead thermocouple widely used in fire testing and analyze the measurement bias of bare bead thermocouple comparing with the measured temperature using the aspirated thermocouple. The measured temperature of the bare bead thermocouple was lower than that of the aspirated thermocouple in the hot upper layer while it showed opposite trends in the upper layer. Also, the bare bead thermocouple showed higher measurement bias in the lower layer rather than upper layer in the compartment fire. The maximum relative percentage error of the bare bead thermocouple against the aspirated thermocouple reached 250% in the present study. The present study points out the need of correction process of the measured temperature by bare bead thermocouple for improving the reliability of the fire tests.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.7-13
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• 2017

An experimental study was conducted to identify the quantitative measurement bias for the bare-bead thermocouple (TC), which was widely used for measuring temperature in fire experiments. To this end, an apparatus could be controlled individually gas flow rate, preheating temperature and incident radiative heat flux was developed to simulate the thermal environments of fire. A relative measurement bias of bare-bead TC was evaluated with the comparison of double-shield aspirated TC. As a result, the relative measurement bias of bare-bead TC was gradually increased with the increase in radiative heat flux with constant gas temperature. The relative bias was also significantly increased with the decrease in gas temperature. Quantitatively, at the gas temperature of $20^{\circ}C$, the bare-bead TC had the relative bias of approximately 400% with the radiative heat flux of $20kW/m^2$ corresponding to thermal radiation level of the flashover. The present study was intend to provide fire researchers with methodologies for the reanalyses of temperature measured using bare-bead TC, radiation corrections, and validation of fire modeling.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.14-20
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• 2017

A numerical study was conducted to identify the predictive performance for the bare-bead thermocouple (TC) using FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) in simulated thermal environments of fire. A relative prediction bias of TC temperature calculated from reverse-radiation correction by FDS was evaluated with the comparison of previous experimental data. As a result, it was identified that the TC temperatures predicted by FDS were lower than the temperatures measured by bare-bead TC for the ranges of heat flux and gas temperature considered. The relative prediction bias of TC temperature by FDS was gradually increased with the increase in radiative heat flux and also significantly increased with the decrease in the gas temperature. Quantitatively, at the gas temperature of $20^{\circ}C$, the TC temperature predicted by FDS had the relative bias of approximately -20% with the radiative heat flux of $20kW/m^2$ corresponding to thermal radiation level of the flashover. It is predicted from the present study that more accurate validation of fire modeling will be possible with the quantitative prediction bias occurred in the process of reverse-radiation correction of temperature predicted by FDS.