LARGE-SCALE POOL FIRES
Abstract
A review of research into the burning behaviour of large pool fires and fuel spill fires is presented. The features which distinguish such fires from smaller pool fires are mainly associated with the fire dynamics at low source Froude numbers and the radiative interaction with the fire source. In hydrocarbon fires, higher soot levels at increased diameters result in radiation blockage effects around the perimeter of large fire plumes; this yields lower emissive powers and a drastic reduction in the radiative loss fraction; whilst there are simplifying factors with these phenomena, arising from the fact that soot yield can saturate, there are other complications deriving from the intermittency of the behaviour, with luminous regions of efficient combustion appearing randomly in the outer surface of the fire according the turbulent fluctuations in the fire plume. Knowledge of the fluid flow instabilities, which lead to the formation of large eddies, is also key to understanding the behaviour of large-scale fires. Here modelling tools can be effectively exploited in order to investigate the fluid flow phenomena, including RANS- and LES-based computational fluid dynamics codes. The latter are well-suited to representation of the turbulent motions, but a number of challenges remain with their practical application. Massively-parallel computational resources are likely to be necessary in order to be able to adequately address the complex coupled phenomena to the level of detail that is necessary.
Dates
- Submission Date2006-07-23
- Revision Date2006-09-10
- Acceptance Date2006-10-10
References
- Mudan, K. S., Croce, P. A., Fire Hazard Calculations for Large Open Hydrocarbon Fires, SFPE Handbook on Fire Protection Engineering, 2nd ed., National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Ma., USA, 1988, pp. 2-45 to 2-87
- Mudan, K. S., Thermal Radiation Hazards from Hydrocarbon Pool Fires, Prog. Energy Combust. Sci., 10 (1984), 1, pp. 59-80
- Joulain, P., Behavior of Pool Fires: State of the Art and New Insights, Proceedings, 27th Symposium (Int.) on Combustion, 1998, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, 1999, pp. 2691-2706
- Gottuk, D. T., White, D. A., Liquid Fuel Fires, SFPE Handbook on Fire Protection Engineering, 3rd ed., National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Ma., USA, 1995, pp. 2-297 to 2-316
- Wu, N., Baker, M., Kolb, G, Torero, J. L., Ignition, Flame Spread and Mass Burning Characteristics of Liquid Fuels on a Water Bed, Spill Science & Tech Bulletin, 3 (1996), 44, pp. 209-212
- Ross, H. D., Ignition of and Flame Spread Over Laboratory-Scale Pools of Pure Liquid Fuels, Prog. Energy Combust. Sci., 20 (1994), 1, pp. 17-63
- Koseki, J. A., Gritzo, L. A., Kent, L. A., Wix, S. D., Actively Cooled Calorimeter Measurements and Environment Characterization in a Large Pool Fire, Fire and Materials, 20 (1996), 2, pp. 69-78,
- Gritzo, L. A., Nicolette, V. F., Tieszen, S. R., Moya, J. L., Holen, J., Heat Transfer to the Fuel Surface in Large Pool Fires, Proceedings (Ed. S. C. Chan), 8th International Symposium Transport Phenomena in Combustion (ISTP-VIII), Taylor & Francis, Washington D. C., 1995, Vol. 1, pp. 701-712
- Drysdale, D. D., Introduction to Fire Dynamics, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd ed., New York, USA, 1999
- Zukoski, E. E., Properties of Fire Plumes, in: Combustion Fundamentals of Fire (Ed. G. Cox), Academic Press, Oxford, UK, 1995, pp. 101-220
- Quintiere, J. G., Grove, B. S., Unified Analysis for Fire Plumes, Proceedings, 27th Symposium (Int.) on Combustion, 1998, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, 1999, pp. 2757-2766
- Modak, A., Radiation from Products of Combustion, Tech. Rep. #040E6, BU-1, Factory Mutual Research Corp., Norwood, Ma., USA, 1978
- Hottel, H. C., Review - Certain Laws Governing Diffusive Burning of Liquids, by Blinov, V. I., Khudiakov, G. N., Fire Research Abstracts and Review, 1 (1958), pp. 41-44
- Nakakuki, A., Heat Transfer Mechanisms in Liquid Pool Fires, Fire Safety Journal, 23 (1994), 4, pp. 339-363
- Babrauskas, V., Estimating Large Pool Fire Burning Rates, Fire Technology, 19 (1983), 4, pp. 251-261
- Apte, V. B., Effect of Scale and Fuel Type on the Characteristics of Pool Fires for Fire Fighting Training, Fire Safety Journal, 31 (1998), 4, pp. 339-363
- Blinov, V. I., Khudzakov, G. N., Diffusion Burning of Liquids, U. S. Army Translation NTIS No. AD296762 (in Russian), Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moscow, 1961
- Lois, E., Swithenbank, J., Fire Hazards in Oil Tank Arrays in a Wind, Proceedings, 17th Symposium (Int.) on Combustion, 1978, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, 1979, pp. 1087-1098
- Carvel, R. O., Beard, A. N., Jowitt. P. W., A Bayesian Estimation of the Effect of Forced Ventilation on a Pool Fire in a Tunnel, Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 18 (2001), 4, pp. 279-302
- Kurioka, H., Oka, Y., Satoh, H., Sugawa, O., Fire Properties in Near Field of Square Fire Source with Longitudinal Ventilation in Tunnels., Fire Safety Journal, 38 (2003), 4, pp. 319-340
- Apte, V. B., Green, A. R., Kent, J. H., Pool Fire Plume Flow in a Large-Scale Wind Tunnel, Proceedings, 3rd Symposium on Fire Safety Science, Edinburgh, UK, 1991, pp. 425-434
- Carvel, R., Beard, A., Jowitt, P., Fire Spread Between Vehicles in Tunnels: Effects of Tunnel Size, Longitudinal Ventilation and Vehicle Spacing, Fire Technology, 41 (2005), 4, pp. 271-304
- Hall, A. R., Pool Burning: A Review, Rocket Propulsion Establishment, Westcott, UK, 1972
- Orloff, L., Simplified Radiation Modeling of Pool Fires, Proceedings, 18th Symposium (Int.) on Combustion, 1980, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, 1981, pp. 549-561
- Magnus, G., Tests on Combustion Velocity of Liquid Fuels and Temperature Distribution in Flames and Beneath Surface of the Burning Liquid, Proceedings, 8th International Symposium on the Use of Models in Fire Research, Washington D. C., 1960, pp. 76-92
- Burgoyne, J. H., Katan, L. L., Fires in Open Tanks of Petroleum Products: Some Fundamental Aspects, Journal Inst. Petroleum, 33 (1947), 1, pp. 158-191
- Garo, J. P., Vantelon, J. P., Koseki, H., Thin-Layer Boilover: Prediction of its Onset and Intensity, Combust. Sci. Technol., 178 (2006), 7, pp. 1217-1235
- Hristov, J., Planas-Cuchi, E., Arnaldos, J., Casal, J., Accidental Burning of a Fuel Layer on a Waterbed: A Scale Analysis of the Models Predicting the Pre-Boilover Time and Tests to Published Data, Int. J. Thermal Sciences, 43 (2004), 3, pp. 221-239
- Pagni, P. J., Pool Fire Vortex Shedding Frequencies, in: Some Unanswered Questions in Fluid Mechanics (Eds. L. M. Trefethen, R. L. Panton), Appl. Mech. Rev., 43 (1990), 8, pp. 153-170
- Malalasekera, W. M. G., Versteeg, H. K., Gilchrist, K., A Review of Research and an Experimental Study on the Pulsation of Buoyant Diffusion Flames and Pool Fires, Fire and Materials, 20 (1996), 6, pp. 261-271
- Torero, J. L., Olenick, S. M., Garo, J. P., Vantelon, J. P., Determination of the Burning Characteristics of a Slick of Oil on Water, Spill Science and Tech. Bulletin, 8 (2003), 4, pp. 379-390
- Faeth, G. M., Laminar and Turbulent Gaseous Diffusion Flames, in: Microgravity Combustion: Fire in Free Fall (Ed. H. D. Ross), Academic Press, Oxford, UK, 2001
- Köylü, Ü. Ö., Faeth, G. M., Structure of Overfire Soot in Buoyant Turbulent Diffusion Flames at long residence times, Combust. Flame, 89 (1992), 2, pp. 140-156
- Köylü, Ü. Ö., Faeth, G. M., Farias, T. L., Carvalho, M. G., Fractal and Projected Structure Properties of Soot Aggregates, Combust. Flame, 100 (1995), 4, pp. 621-633
- Gore, J. P., Faeth, G. M., Structure and Radiation Properties of Luminous Turbulent Acetylene/Air Diffusion Flames, J. Heat Transfer, 110 (1998), 1, pp. 173-181
- Leung, K. M., Lindstedt, R. P., Jones, W. P., A Simplified Reaction Mechanism for Soot Formation in Nonpremixed Flames, Combust. Flame, 87 (1991), 3-4, pp. 289-305
- Moss, J. B., Stewart, C. D., Flamelet-Based Smoke Properties for the Field Modelling of Fires, Fire Safety J., 30 (1998), 3, pp. 229-250
Volume
11,
Issue
2,
Pages101 -118