Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

This paper describes a series of pool fire experiments in a 1 m by I .5 m by I m compartment. A single rectangular opening was used for the ventilation with opening factors ranging from 0.0039 to 0.071. Fuel mass as a function of time was recorded to determine the effects of ventilation on the mass loss rate. The vent inflow and outflow were calculated from the temperature profiles within the compartment and ventilation opening. Results indicate that the global equivalence ratio is approximately constant at 1.7 over the range of opening factors investigated for vents with the Ho/Wo<8. When the Ho/Wo>12 the global equivalence ratio is closer to 3. These results have practical application in zone models in which the compartment enhanced mass loss can be estimated from the ventilation opening in the compartment.