Abstract
A series of reduced-scale experiments were carried out in order to investigate thermal behaviors of the flame/plume ejected from a mechanically air-supplied fire compartment. The purpose of this study is to develop a rational method for predicting risks of the building-to-building fire spread caused by window flames, in which the wind often intensifies its hazard by elevating the compartment pressure. A stainless vessel filled with alcohol fuel was placed inside a reduced-scale compartment, which has an opening on one side and a mechanical air-supply opening on the opposing side. Temperatures and velocities at various points inside and outside of the compartment were measured. Following the experimental observation, line heat-source assumption was adopted, which characterizes the flame/plume behaviors in two-dimension. A dimensionless parameter Q' was derived from the governing differential equations, in order to generalize the measurement results. Reasonable correlations were achieved, and expressions for temperature rise along the trajectory line ΔT_m and characteristic flame/plume width b_T are deduced.
