Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Some generalizations on compartment fires, the dimensionless plots of the initial peak pressure and the time to extinction, are presented using data from small-scale experiments favoring low ventilation conditions. Two regimes of behavior are found: (1) Early, pressurized fires leading to extinction, and (2) Quasi-steady fires and flow conditions. Oscillating fires occur at the transition between (1) and (2). A critical value of Q* was found for this transition. A theoretical analysis to support the experimental critical value was shown. A relationship for the oxygen concentration in the upper and the lower part layer was examined. This enabled an estimation of the mixing between the upper layer and the inlet vent flow. In ventilation-limited fires, the behavior of a limited area of fuel surface in flames was analyzed.