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Author
Jaluria, Y. | Cooper, L. Y.
Title
Negatively Buoyant Wall Flows Generated in Enclosure Fires.
Coporate
Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Journal
Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Vol. 15, 159-182, 1989
Keywords
enclosures | walls | buoyant flow | penetration
Abstract
This paper considers wall flows that arise in enclosure fires. Such flows are generated due to the temperature difference between the wall and the adjacent environment as well as due to the downward turning of the fire-plume-driven ceiling jet at the corners of the compartment. At various stages of fire growth and at several locations, the flow is subjected to an opposing buoyancy force. These flows are termed negatively buoyant and the paper investigates in detail the penetration and heat transfer characteristics of flows relevant to enclosure fires. The transport of mass, momentum and energy in wall flows is determined quantitatively, using available analytical results on boundary layer flows. The significance of wall flow effects in a typical compartment fire is studied. It is shown that these effects are important, since they cause additional transport which is comparable to that due to the fire plume or the flow at the opening, and must be included in a mathematical model for an accurate prediciton of the changing environment in the enclosure.