Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Experimental results are generally used as reference for validation of numerical tools. Afterwards, calculation tools can be used to extend the study by getting numerical results concerning slightly different cases. The present application is somewhat different. It is aimed at evaluating the relevance of experimental results by using numerical tools to analyze the test results and to know up to what extent the experimental device can disturb the fire test. In the present paper, an experimental test simulating a hotel bedroom fire was performed in a compartment using pieces of furniture. During post-flashover period of the fire, external flames emerging from the opening were observed. The combustion gases flowing out of the room were collected by a calorimeter hood placed above to determine the heat release rate by oxygen consumption. In order to assess the impact of the calorimeter hood on the fire within as well as outside the room, two numerical simulations are compared. The first one is aimed at reproducing the test as well as possible in order to adjust some numerical parameters. The second one is used to simulate the same case without the hood to evaluate how it affects the flow and consequently the fuel/air exchange within the compartment.