- Author
- Brehob, E. G.
- Title
- Upward Flame Spread on Vertical Walls With External Radiation.
- Coporate
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
- Sponsor
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- Thesis, May 1994, 219 p.
- Contract
- NIST-CONTRACT-60NANB8D0849
- Keywords
- flame spread | walls | mass loss
- Abstract
- Upward flame spread is an important phenomenon to understand for assessment or prediction of hazardous fire situations, since flame spread is most rapid in that direction. Previous investigations have yielded insight into the process, but the problemis complex and not yet fully understood. In the present study, external radiation is incorporated into the upward flame spread problem to add the effect of surrounding fire radiating to the burning wall. In enclosure or room fires, the interaction of burning walls supplying radiation to other walls can significantly enhance the fire hazard by causing sustained flame spread on materials that do not allow flame spread without the aid of external radiaiton and by the enhanced spread rates due to the radiation. The current work entailed primarily an experimental investigation of the upward flame spread problem. An upward flame spread test facility was designed which could burn 1.2 m high by 0.3 m wide samples at moderate levels of external radiation (0-15 kW/m²). Measurements of flame height as a function of time were made on vertical samples of wall material. The materials tested were typical wall materials or wall coverings such as; pine, plywood, solid poplar, cotton textile, cardboard, hardboard, and Douglas Fir particle board. In addition to flame spread measurements, thermosouples were used to measure surface temperature and heat flux gages were used to measure total heat feedback to the sample surface. The experimental measurement of total heat feedback was used to model forward heat feedback, an important parameter in predicting upward flame spread rates and necessary input for some upward flame models. Flame tip and temperature histories were used to validate the numerical model.