FireDOC Search

Author
Bryant, R. A.
Title
Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements of Flow Through a Doorway of an Enclosure Fire Analogue.
Coporate
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Report
Poster Session V and Reception,
Book or Conf
Combustion Institute/Western States, Central States and Eastern States. Fourth (4th) Joint Meeting of the U.S. Sections. Hosted by The Eastern States Section of the Combustion Institute and Drexel University. Poster Session V and Reception. March 20-23, 2005, Philadelphia, PA, 1-6 p., 2005
Keywords
combustion | doorway | enclosures | combustion products | fluid flow | experiments | fluid dynamics | heat release rate | velocity fields | mass flow
Identifiers
comparison of mass flow rate computations; Stereoscopic PIV measurements in the doorway; Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV); reduced-scale fluid flow analogue of a fire experiment
Abstract
A fire within a room or enclosure acts as a pump, pulling ambient air in while pushing combustion products mixed with air out. The openings through which the gases flow are referred to as vents and typically are doorways and windows. Quantifying the ventilation available to an enclosure fire is an important step to understanding fire behavior. Ventilation provides the necessary oxygen to the fire while also serving to moderate the temperature of the compartment in the early stage of the fire growth. The gaseous products that move out of an enclosure transfer heat and combustion products from the localized point of the fire to remote locations within a built structure. Ventilation therefore can play two important roles in fire spread, 1) to reduce the hazard by moderating the enclosure temperature, 2) to increase the hazard by transferring the heat, smoke and toxic gases to other locations of a built structure.