Reduced-Scale Experiments to Characterize the Suppression of Rack-Storage Commodity Fires.
Reduced-Scale Experiments to Characterize the
Suppression of Rack-Storage Commodity Fires.
(2156 K)
Hamins, A.; McGrattan, K. B.
NISTIR 6439; 36 p. November 1999.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000;
Fax: 703-605-6900.
Website: http://www.ntis.gov
Order number: PB2000-101019
Keywords:
pallet storage; experiments; fire suppression; burning
rate; cardboard; ignition; water; sprinklers
Abstract:
A series of reduced-scale experiments were conducted to
investigate the burning and water suppression of
rack-storage commodity fires. The objective of the
research reported here is to support the NIST Fire
Dynamics Simulator (FDS), a computational fluid dynamics
model that endeavors to predict fire growth, spread,
sprinkler activation, and suppression by water in
rack-storage commodity tires. The model requires
appropriate and implementable sub-grid algorithms that
adequately represent the full-scale heat and mass
transfer that occurs in a warehouse fire with
rack-storage of standard commodities. In particular,
this report describes experiments that investigated the
effect of water application on the time required to
achieve ignition of the unburned commodity and on the
heat release rate of the burning commodity. Several
types of experiments were conducted. These include
ignition measurements using the LIFT apparatus and the
cone calorimeter, and heat release rate measurements
using oxygen consumption calorimetry. All of these
measurements were made with and without water
application. The data were analyzed using algorithms
that were appropriate and readily implementable in the
FDS. A description of the experimental apparatus and
procedures precedes a description of the experimental
results.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899