Abstract
Mathematical models of the convective transport induced by large fires are presented. The models are chosen to illustrate the role of scaling laws in the mathematical development and computer implementation of simulations. The basic equations governing large fire dynamics are presented in a form suitable for these studies. The role of vorticity and heat release is emphasized in this formulation. Two different fire scenarios are examined; each with a unique analysis aimed at the phenomena of interest. First, a “kinematic” approach to fire plume dynamics is used to relate vorticity and heat release distributions obtained from plume correlations to fire induced winds. The utility of this approach is illustrated by appeal both to experiments on individual laboratory plumes and simulations of mass fires. The interaction of fire plumes with atmospheric winds is illustrated by a smoke dispersion model that couples a simplified description of the stratified atmosphere with a CFD based simulation of the large scale fire induced motions. Simulations of crude oilfire plumes compared with large scale experiments are shown to demonstrate the use of this model. A brief discussion of additional factors involved in the analysis of large fires is outlined.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Rehm, R.G. and Baum, H.R., 1978, “The equations of motion for thermally driven, buoyant flows”, Journal of Research of the Natural Bureau of Standards, Vol. 83, pp. 297–308.
Goldstein, S., 1960, Lectures on Fluid Mechanics, Interscience, New York, pp. 23–24.
Mell, W.E., McGrattan, K.B., and Baum, H.R., 1996, “Numerical simulation of combustion in fire plumes”, Twenty-Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 1523–1530.
Baum, H.R. and McCaffrey, B.J., 1988, “Fire induced flow field – theory and experiment”, Fire Safety Science – Proceedings of the Second International Symposium, Hemisphere, New York, pp. 129–148.
McCaffrey, B.J., 1983, “Momentum implications for buoyant diffusion flames”, Combustion and Flame, Vol. 52, pp. 149–167.
Taylor, G.I., 1958, “Flow induced by jets”, Journal of Aerospace Sciences, Vol. 25, pp. 464–465.
Quintiere, J.G., 1990, “Canadian mass fire experiment”, National Institute of Standards and Technology Report NISTIR 4444.
Quintiere, J.G., 1993, “Canadian mass fire experiment”, Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Vol. 5, pp. 67–78.
Trelles, J. and Pagni, P.J., 1997, “Fire-induced winds in the 20 October 1991 Oakland Hills fire”, Fire Safety Science – Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium, Y. Hasemi, Ed., International Association for Fire Safety Science, pp. 911–922.
Zhou, X.C. and Gore, J.P., 1998, “Experimental estimation of thermal expansion and vorticity distribution in a buoyant diffusion flame”, Twenty-Seventh Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 2767–2773.
Turner, J.S., 1985, “Proposed pragmatic methods for estimating plume rise and plume penetration through atmospheric layers”, Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 19, pp. 1215–1218.
Wilson, R.B., 1993, “Review of development and application of CRSTER and MPTER models”, Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 27B, pp. 41–57.
Batchelor, G.K., 1967, An Introduction to Fluid Dymanics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 580–593.
Baum, H.R., McGrattan, K.B., and Rehm, R.G., 1994, “Simulation of smoke plumes from large pool fires”, Twenty-Fifth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 1463–1469.
McGrattan, K.B., Baum, H.R., and Rehm, R.G., 1996, Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 30, pp. 4125–4136.
Trelles, J., McGrattan, K.B., and Baum, H.R., 1999a, AIAA Student Journal. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Vol. 37, pp. 1588–1601.
Trelles, J., McGrattan, K.B., and Baum, H.R., 1999b, Combustion Theory and Modeling, Vol. 3, pp. 323–341.
Baum, H.R., Rehm, R.G., and Gore, J.P., “Transient combustion in a turbulent eddy”, Twenty-Third Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 715–722.
Zhou, X.C., Gore, J.P., and Baum, H.R., 1996, “Measurements and predictions of air entrainment rates of pool fires”, Twenty-Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 1453–1459.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Baum, H.R. (2008). Modeling and Scaling Laws for Large Fires. In: Saito, K. (eds) Progress in Scale Modeling. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8682-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8682-3_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8681-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8682-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)