Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

A theoretical model for flame spread over a rod fuel in a quiescent environment is presented that can be used to predict the structure and spreading rate of flame. The model includes steady-state, two-dimensional momentum, energy and species equations in gas phase and continuity and energy equations in solid phase. In a reference frame attached to the flame front, the flame spreading rate becomes an eigenvalue for this problem. The relationships between flame spreading rate and diameters of fuel rod and ambient oxygen concentration are presented. It is concluded that the flame spreading rate decreases as the diameter of fuel rod is increased whereas is increased as ambient oxygen concentration is increased.