UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Ventilation effects on the thermal characteristics of fire spread modes in open-plan compartment fires

Gupta, V; Hidalgo, JP; Cowlard, A; Abecassis-Empis, C; Majdalani, AH; Maluk, C; Torero, JL; (2021) Ventilation effects on the thermal characteristics of fire spread modes in open-plan compartment fires. Fire Safety Journal , 120 , Article 103072. 10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103072. Green open access

[thumbnail of Gupta (2019) - IAFSS.pdf]
Preview
Text
Gupta (2019) - IAFSS.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Our understanding of fire behaviour and heating conditions for load-bearing structural elements was developed from an immense body of research in small under-ventilated compartment fires. Within the context of contemporary architecture, large open-plan compartments are commonplace, yet understanding of the first principles that define fire behaviour in such enclosures remains limited. Past experiments have revealed that fires in open-plan compartments exhibit three distinct fire spread modes: a fully-developed fire, a growing fire, and a travelling fire. This paper studies the thermal characteristics arising from these fire spread modes and the effects of the ventilation imposed. An experimental analysis of the energy distribution and spatial heating is conducted on a series of large-scale compartment fire tests, with the fire spread mode and ventilation conditions systematically varied. Each fire spread mode is shown to induce significant and characteristic spatial heat distributions. Moreover, the analysis of the ventilation modes shows equivalent thermal loads imposed on the structure in cases where the opening areas are large, and plume flows are dominant despite lower gas temperatures and irradiation. Thus, fires in open-plan compartments pose unique and possibly more severe thermal loading to structural systems, a characteristic not captured by current design fire methodologies.

Type: Article
Title: Ventilation effects on the thermal characteristics of fire spread modes in open-plan compartment fires
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103072
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103072
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Compartment fires, Fire dynamics, Heat transfer, Large-scale experiments, Structural fire design, Tall buildings, Compartment fire framework, Travelling fires
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10100167
Downloads since deposit
Loading...
265Downloads
Download activity - last month
Loading...
Download activity - last 12 months
Loading...
Downloads by country - last 12 months
Loading...

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item