Heat Feedback to the Fuel Surface in Pool Fires

Abstract

A series of measurements designed to investigate the heat feedback in pool fires burning liquid fuels are reported. Such measurements are essential for the development and validation of detailed models which predict the burning rate of liquid hydrocarbons and solid polymers. The radial variation of the local radiative and local net heat flux incident on the surface of 0.30 m diameter pool fires were measured. A water-cooled, nitrogen purged, narrow view-angle gauge was developed to measure the radiative flux incident on the fuel surface. Measurements of the mass burning rate in a burner composed of annular rings was used to estimate the local heat feedback. A number of different fuels were studied, yielding flames with a wide range of heat release rates and luminosities. Consideration of the heat balance for a control volume enclosing the liquid PPOI indicated that radiation was an important component of the heat feedback for non-luminous fires and a dominant component in luminous fires.