Fire Protection Engineering
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2241
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Item Effects of Fire Whirl Generator Dimensions on Flame Length and Burning Rate(2020) Dowling, Joseph Lee; Gollner, Michael J; Fire Protection Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In-situ burning remains an efficient method of oil spill cleanup, but the implementation of fire whirls over the spilled fuel has the potential increase the speed and efficacy of the process by increasing burning rate and temperature. Logistical requirements would then be placed on the size of the fire whirl generator. A range of wall heights between 0 and55 cm were tested for a fixed-frame fire whirl generator with a liquid fuel source 10.5cm in diameter to analyze the effect on the burning rate and flame length of resulting fire whirls. For very short walls, with heights approximately equal to the fuel pool diameter,an increase of almost double was shown in the mass loss rate. The flame length for the fire whirl increased drastically for wall heights above a critical value of 35 cm, forming stable on-source fire whirls. This indicates that the inflow boundary layer of the fire whirl is a crucial feature causing an increase in the burning rate, while a critical wall height is necessary for aerodynamic effects to form stable on-source fire whirls with extended flame engths.Item USING A BURNING RATE EMULATOR (BRE) TO EMULATE CONDENSED FUELS AND STUDY POOL FIRE BEHAVIOR IN 1G(2019) Auth, Eric; Sunderland, Peter B; Quintiere, James G; Fire Protection Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Burning Rate Emulator (BRE) is a device constructed to emulate condensed fuels using gaseous fuel mixtures by matching heat of combustion, heat of gasification, smoke point, and surface temperature. The burner’s heat flux gauges are calibrated for local heat flux measurements and the copper top-plate calorimeter is calibrated for measuring net heat flux to the surface, which allows for determination of an effective heat of gasification to compare to condensed fuels. Seven condensed fuels with known properties are burned and emulated using methane, ethylene, and propylene gas diluted with nitrogen. Propane gas is used to study the general pool fire characteristics displayed by gaseous flames on the BRE. Flame anchoring, flammability regions, flame height, and convective heat transfer are analyzed. Based on a radial heat flux distribution, the readings from the heat flux sensors agree with the calorimeter when applied to a flame. Example flame images are shown.Item A Model for Non-Oxidative and Oxidative Pyrolysis of Corrugated Cardboard(2013) Semmes, Molllie Rose; Stoliarov, Stanislav I; Fire Protection Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Corrugated cardboard is widely used in warehouse facilities. The flammable nature of the material, coupled with its ubiquitous presence makes the material a serious fire hazard. As a result, there is interest in developing a universal pyrolysis model that can accurately predict the burning characteristics of the cardboard. Pyrolysis of a double-wall corrugated cardboard was studied in anaerobic and oxygen containing atmospheres using thermogravimetric analysis and a newly developed Controlled Atmosphere Pyrolysis Apparatus (CAPA). The effects of moisture were also examined under non-oxidative conditions. A previously developed cardboard pyrolysis model was demonstrated to reproduce anaerobic gasification. This model was extended to include oxygen diffusion, oxidation reactions, and modified evaporation reactions. The modified model was validated against the mass loss rate data collected in the CAPA at 10.5 vol.% of oxygen and at 2.2 vol.% oxygen with moisturized samples under incident radiant heat fluxes of 20, 40, and 60 kW m-2.