Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

A methodology for simulating the dynamics of large industrial fires in the outdoor environment is presented. The large eddy simulation techniques developed by the authors and their collaborators are used to simulate a fire on top of a large oil storage tank adjacent to several neighboring tanks. The governing equations are modified to account for the stratification of the ambient atmosphere. A radiative transport model based on the emission of radiant energy from localized burning Lagrangian elements is introduced. Energy is absorbed by smoke generated as part of the combustion processes occurring within the burning elements. The model is used to estimate the radiative heat transfer to the tanks as a function of the amount of soot generated by the fire, the relative position of the tanks, the ambient wind field, and the atmospheric stratification. This example is used to outline the issues that must be addressed in order to make a realistic assessment of the hazards generated by large industrial fires.