Contribution to flashover modelling: Development of a validated numerical model for ignition of non-contiguous wood samples

A computational model of flashover is presented that closely follows the experimental setup at CNRS-ENSMA-Poitiers. A propane burner with thermal power of 55 kW is used as a primary source of fire and square beech wood samples (30 mm×30 mm×5 mm) as fire spread targets. The computational model describes the wood pyrolysis with a progress variable. Using the conservation of heat fluxes at the solid–gas interface, the thermal diffusion in the wood samples is coupled with the convective and the radiative heat transfer in the ambient gas phase. The incoming heat flux at the upper surface of the wood samples reaches values between 20 and 30 kW/m². With the ignition and subsequent combustion of the pyrolysis volatiles, the heat flux increases by approx. 12 kW/m². The results show that the ignition of the wood samples is triggered at an approx. surface temperature of 650 K. Due to large local variations in incident heat flux, significant differences in the ignition times of the wood samples are observed. The comparison of the calculated and the experimentally measured temperature shows a good agreement for the first wood sample and the model predicts the ignition time very well. But for the second and the third wood samples the model overpredicts the temperature, which leads to a premature ignition of these wood samples.     

Extinction of surface stabilized gaseous diffusion flames: Part I Simplified numerical model and implications for solid fuels in fires

In this work a previously proposed empirical and analytical criterion for extinction is numerically extended and validated for varying fuel dilution, oxidant dilution, strain rate, and surface temperature. The output of this work is presented in two parts: the current Part I uses simple kinetics and constant thermal transfer properties and Part II uses detailed kinetics, varying thermal transfer properties, flame radiation feedback and flame suppression agents in order to demonstrate that conclusions from the simplified model are still valid. In addition this work goes beyond the concept of critical flame temperature or mass flux for extinction by including the influence of slow chemical kinetics through the Damkohler number which becomes even more important for commonly used fire retarded materials.Extinction of flames on solid fuels is modeled by decoupling the pyrolysis chemistry from the gas-phase combustion chemistry using the flame energy feedback versus pyrolysis rate curves and an energy balance at the surface. This approach has the advantage of identifying and deducing key materials properties for solid and gaseous phase from experiments. Simulations are performed in a planar stagnation-point flow diffusion flame configuration using one-step Arrhenius chemical kinetics and a simplified transport model with Lewis number equal to unity. Only quasi-steady conditions are considered for the gaseous phase even if the pyrolysis rate of the solid is transient because the response time for the solid phenomena is, in general, much larger than the response (diffusion) time for the gaseous phenomena.It is found that at high pyrolysis rates and low straining rates (infinitely fast kinetics regime) there is no leakage of oxygen to the surface of solid fuel. However, as the solid fuel extinction is approached, oxygen leakage occurs because the effective air to fuel mass stoichiometric ratio becomes less than one owing to fuel dilution near the surface. At high straining rates, solid combustion cannot be sustained at any pyrolysis rate. In the infinitely fast kinetics regime, an appropriate scaling has been developed which collapses the convective heat flux curves onto a single one. In general, the critical pyrolysis fuel mass flux exhibits a universal behavior for variation of various model parameters when plotted versus a modified Damköhler number, and becomes constant when the latter is sufficiently high. Comparison with experiments is discussed, and the implications of the criterion for characterizing ignition flammability properties of solid fuels are also discussed.     

Combustibility Parameters for Enclosure Lining Materials Obtained During Surface Flame Spread Using a Reduced Scale Ignition and Flame Spread Technique

A reduced scale ignition and flame spread technique, RIFT, was implemented in the cone calorimeter system to obtain thermocombustibility properties of enclosure lining materials during flame spread over the sample surface. Previously, a thermal model of ignition and opposed flow flame spread was used to analyze flame spread data obtained using RIFT. Here, a framework is discussed for deducing critical material combustibility parameters from the measured heat release and mass loss rates as the spreading flame proceeds to the point of flame extinction. The nature of the data and analytical framework allows users to deduce spreading flame flux from the heat release rate (HRR) and mass loss rate (MLR) data relatively economically and directly. The anomalies highlighted by comparing flame spread data in the RIFT system compared to data from the BS 476 Part 7 apparatus indicates that the RIFT system is well-suited for developing and refining models describing ignition, flame spread, and mass burning.     

辐射热流下有限厚度PMMA着火特性研究

探究透明PMMA（聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯）厚度和4种不同恒定热流对材料表面温度、质量损失率、着火时间及着火温度的影响。利用反演模型并结合部分实验数据得到PMMA的热物性参数,将其他工况模拟结果与实验测量值及理论分析值相互对比,验证了数值模型和理论分析的准确性和可靠性。结果表明,PMMA着火时间的下降趋势随热流的增大而逐渐变缓。PMMA厚度小于3 mm时,表面温度和质量损失率随厚度增大而减小。PMMA厚度大于3 mm时,着火温度的平均值为（628±20） K,其着火特性几乎不随厚度的变化而变化,故着火温度可作为PMMA着火判据。     

Critical mass flux for flaming ignition of wet wood

Wood is a common building material and can constitute the bulk of the fuel load in structures. Cellulosic, woody material is also the fuel in a wildland fire. Wood and forest fuels are porous and hygroscopic so their moisture content varies with the ambient temperature and relative humidity. A complete understanding of both structural and wildland fire thus involves understanding the effect of moisture content on ignition. The ignition criterion considered in this work is critical mass flux – that a sufficient amount of pyrolysis gases must be generated for a diffusion flame to establish above the surface. An apparatus was built to measure the critical mass flux for sustained flaming ignition of woody materials for varying environmental conditions (incident heat flux and airflow (oxidizer) velocity). This paper reports the variation of measured critical mass fluxes for poplar with externally applied incident radiant heat flux, airflow velocity, and moisture content. The critical mass flux is seen to increase with increasing levels of moisture content, incident heat flux, and airflow velocity. Future work will focus on modeling these experiments and exploring the changes in critical mass flux with species, thickness, and live fuels.     

Piloted ignition times,critical heat fluxes and mass loss rates at reduced oxygen atmospheres

Ignition, pyrolysis and burning of materials in reduced oxygen atmospheres occur when recirculating combustion gases are mixed with the air flowing into an enclosure. Still the incoming air can be sufficient for the complete combustion of the pyrolysis gases. Thus, for the prediction of fires in enclosures it is essential to understand the ignition and burning of materials in a reduced oxygen atmosphere even when plenty of oxidizer is available for complete combustion. Previous work employing gaseous fuels has shown that under these conditions, but before extinction, burning of gaseous fuels issuing from a nozzle is complete but radiation from the flames decreases owing to the reduction of their temperature. Complementary to that work, piloted ignition of solids is investigated here at reduced oxygen concentrations by measuring the ignition times and mass loss rates of the solid at ignition.These results were obtained in a cone calorimeter modified to supply air at reduced oxygen concentrations. Two types of plywood, normal and fire retardant 4 mm thick were examined at three imposed heat fluxes 25, 35 and 50 kW/m² and at oxygen concentrations of 21%, 18% and 15% by volume. Because heating at these heat fluxes and material thickness corresponds to intermediate thermal conditions (i.e. neither thin nor thick), novel analytical solutions are developed to analyze the data and extract the thermal and ignition properties of the material. The same novel solutions can be applied to modeling concurrent or countercurrent flame spread. Moreover, a theory for piloted ignition explains why the ignition times and mass pyrolysis rates are weakly dependent on reduced oxygen concentrations.     

热塑性高分子材料强制点燃过程模拟与分析

采用锥形量热仪对典型热塑性高分子材料——聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)在不同外部入射热通量下进行了强制点燃的实验研究。在气相反应和固相反应动力学及传递过程分析的基础上，建立了热塑性高分子材料强制点燃过程的数学模型，通过数值分析的方法将点燃数据相关联，得到PMMA强制点燃的点燃时间与临界表面温度的表达式，并计算了PMMA不同外部入射热通量下强制点燃时间及点燃的临界表面温度。模拟计算结果与实验结果的比较表明，二者基本吻合。采用所得到的数据关联式对强制点燃过程的影响因素进行了定量分析。     

Absorption of thermal energy in PMMA by in-depth radiation

An experimental technique is developed to quantify the absorption of thermal energy in black PMMA (Polycast) by in-depth radiation in semi-transparent media. In-depth heating occurs when non-reflected incident heat flux enters the solid without first being absorbed at the exposed surface. Transient conduction due to temperature gradients occurs within the solid in response to this in-depth absorption. An analytical model is developed for predicting time to ignition for such in-depth heating situations. Using the measured absorption coefficient, κ, the analytical prediction for time to ignition is found to be in excellent agreement with data from experiments of Saito and Delichatsios.     

Application of sensitivity analyses to condensed-phase pyrolysis modeling

In this study, sensitivity analyses are performed on a given pyrolysis model. An approach is presented, which involves complex-step differentiation, to compute the normalized first-order local sensitivity coefficients of relevant model outputs with respect to the inputs, i.e. the material properties. This approach is systematic and robust and provides sensitivity coefficients that are dynamic; that is, sensitivity values are given as a function of time for the entire pyrolysis process. In order to demonstrate the proposed methodology, the anaerobic thermal degradation of generic homogeneous materials (a semi-transparent non-charring material, simulating a thermoplastic, and an opaque charring material) exposed to heat flux levels leading to thermally thin and thermally thick material responses is considered. The dynamic sensitivities of mass loss rate and surface temperature are calculated and discussed. The information inferred from the sensitivity analyses presented herein can provide insights into the behavior of a given pyrolysis model and help reduce its complexity for specific applications.     

An experimental evaluation of critical surface temperature as a criterion for piloted ignition of solid fuels

With a view to developing a simple engineering method for the prediction of piloted ignition, the validity of the critical surface temperature criterion for piloted ignition is examined experimentally for seven thermoplastic materials. The results indicate that the surface temperature at piloted ignition for each material studied varies by ±15 K or less. As such, the surface temperature criterion appears to be suitable for engineering calculations.

Analysis of time-surface temperature histories shows that the radiant heat source temperature has a significant effect on the material heating over the range of source temperatures utilized (700–1050 K). The variations in material heating are of sufficient magnitude to cause changes in ignition times by a factor of two or more for different heat sources present in typical fire scenarios.

Our current level of understanding of piloted ignition is shown to be insufficient to support extrapolation procedures to determine the minimum incident radiant flux required for piloted ignition. An experimental approach to determination of the minimum radiant flux required for piloted ignition is demonstrated to be feasible.     

Radiant smoldering ignition of plywood

This paper investigates the role of self-heating in the smoldering ignition of 18 mm (three-quarter inch) thick maple plywood exposed to radiant heat fluxes between 6 and 15 kW/m² in the cone calorimeter for up to 8 h. The minimum heat flux for smoldering ignition was experimentally determined to be 7.5 kW/m². This compares favorably to predictions made using classical self-heating theory. The role of self-heating was explored via temperature measurements distributed within the specimens. Elevated subsurface temperature profiles indicated self-heating was an important ignition factor resulting in ignition at depth with smolder propagation to the surface and into the material. The ignition depth was shown to be a function of the heat flux with the depth moving towards the surface as the heat flux increased.     

XPS挤塑板燃烧特性实验研究

进行XPS挤塑板燃点温度测定和辐射引燃实验。研究表明:XPS挤塑板点燃温度约为355℃;0.019 4kW/(m2.s)的辐射热流增量不足以引燃挤塑板试样,当辐射热流大于0.060 4kW/(m2.s)时挤塑板试样能够被引燃,引燃温度分别为362、385℃。辐射引燃实验过程中挤塑板表面温度最大值分别为975、996℃。辐射引燃过程中XPS保温板质量损失速率呈现三个阶段:平缓减少阶段、急剧骤减阶段和相对稳定阶段。质量骤减阶段保温板质量呈明显的线性变化。     

Controlled atmosphere pyrolysis apparatus II (CAPA II): A new tool for analysis of pyrolysis of charring and intumescent polymers

A new gasification apparatus has been developed to enable a comprehensive analysis of pyrolysis of charring and intumescent materials. This apparatus provides well defined boundary conditions and highly resolved measurements of mass, temperature and sample profile evolution of a disk-shaped 0.07 m diameter material sample exposed to radiant heat. All measurements are collected simultaneously, in a single experiment, and recorded as a function of time. The oxygen concentration in the pyrolysis zone is controlled and can be reduced below 1 vol% to ensure that the measurements are free of oxidation effects. The radiation from an external conical heater has been carefully characterized to account for changes in the sample surface position, including the surface's angular orientation. Using an empirical expression, the radiation heat flux can be predicted with less than 2% error based on the known surface position and heat flux set point. The NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) has been utilized in the direct numerical simulation mode to investigate convective losses from the sample surfaces. The convective heat transfer coefficient computed for the top (radiation exposed) surface has been found to be dependent on the surface position; its space-averaged value has been validated against experimental measurements. The capabilities of the apparatus are demonstrated using poly(vinyl chloride). It is shown that the apparatus provides repeatable data necessary for modeling of transport processes inside pyrolyzing intumescent solids. Non-one-dimensional nature of these processes is discussed.     

喷涂油漆在薄金属表面燃烧特性研究

摘 要：通过锥形量热仪研究了喷涂油漆在薄金属表面的燃烧特性。选用35,50,65,80 kW/m2共4种热辐射强度,得到点燃时间、热释放速率、CO释放速率等参数。结果发现：薄金属表面油漆为典型的热薄型固体,点燃时间的倒数与热辐射强度呈线性关系。喷涂层数越多,引燃所需的热辐射强度越小,火灾危险性也越高,试验得到1层喷涂、2层喷涂和3层喷涂的临界热流强度分别约为30.8,10.0,5.0 kW/m2。热释放速率呈现出双峰特性,第一峰值和第二峰值随热辐射强度呈线性增长关系,且峰值随喷涂层数的增加而增加。CO释放速率则呈现出3个峰值。随着热辐射强度增加,各样品的火灾性能指数不断降低,火灾蔓延指数不断升高,火灾危险性增加。     

Ignition of wood under time-varying radiant exposures

Many studies have utilized a small-scale experimental apparatus such as the cone calorimeter to investigate the piloted ignition of wood exposed to constant levels of incident heat flux; however, there is a deficiency of similar studies related to the non-piloted ignition of wood exposed to time-varying heat fluxes which might represent more realistic fire exposures. In this study, a method was established for producing well-controlled, time-varying exposures using the conical radiant heater of a cone calorimeter. Experiments were conducted in which the incident flux, time to non-piloted ignition, and back-surface temperature of spruce wood were measured. Measured data were used in combination with a numerical heat transfer model to compute the time-dependent temperature distribution through each specimen, and thereby deduce the surface temperature at ignition. From the 30 specimens tested, the average surface temperature for non-piloted ignition of wood was determined to be 521±10 °C. From this surface temperature range, the heat transfer model was used to predict the range of time over which non-piloted ignition was likely to occur for a given time-varying exposure. This procedure was found to produce excellent predictions of ignition time for the time-varying exposures considered in this study. In addition, several existing ignition models were considered, and their suitability for predicting the non-piloted ignition of wood was assessed.     

Smolder ignition of polyurethane foam: effect of oxygen concentration

Experiments have been conducted to study the ignition of both forward and opposed smolder of a high void fraction, flexible, polyurethane foam in a forced oxidizer flow. Tests are conducted in a small scale, vertically oriented, combustion chamber with supporting instrumentation. An electrically heated Nichrome wire heater placed between two porous ceramic disks, one of which is in complete contact with the foam surface, is used to supply the necessary power to ignite and sustain a smolder reaction. The gaseous oxidizer, metered via mass flow controllers, is forced through the foam and heater. A constant power is applied to the igniter for a given period of time and the resulting smolder is monitored to determine if smolder is sustained without the assistance of the heater, in which case smolder ignition is considered achieved. Reaction zone temperature and smolder propagation velocities are obtained from the temperature histories of thermocouples embedded at predetermined positions in the foam with junctions placed along the fuel centerline. Tests are conducted with oxygen mass fractions ranging from 0.109 to 1.0 at a velocity of 0.1 mm/s during the ignition period, and 0.7 or 3.0 mm/s during the self-sustained propagation period. The results show a well-defined smolder ignition regime primarily determined by two parameters: igniter heat flux, and the time the igniter is powered. These two parameters determine a minimum igniter/foam temperature, and a minimum depth of smolder propagation (char), which are conditions required for ignition to occur. The former is needed to establish a strong smolder reaction, and the latter to reduce heat losses from the incipient smolder reaction to the surrounding environment. The ignition regime is shifted to shorter times for a given igniter heat flux with increasing oxygen mass fraction. A model based on concepts similar to those developed to describe the ignition of solid fuels has been developed that describes well the experimental ignition results.     

Char cracking of medium density fibreboard due to thermal shock effect induced pyrolysis shrinkage

Pyrolysis experiments were conducted on medium density fibreboard (MDF) in inert atmosphere and different ambient pressures, to investigate the char shrinkage and cracking. It is found that the char cracking under uniform heat flux is a typical thermal shock process induced by unbalance shrinkage along the sample thickness during pyrolysis. To predict the number of char fissures, the critical stress criterion and energy conservation theory are used to develop mathematical models under plane constitutive stress state, which reveal that under the same surface degradation the number of char fissures (blisters) strongly relates to the pyrolysis depth at cracking time. Increasing external heat flux decreases the pyrolysis depth and increases the number of char fissures. Both experiments and numerical modelling are used to validate the models. The experimental results show that the horizontal shrinkage is 11% of original length and the micro-structure of char fissures of MDF is less uniform compared to the one of natural wood with a cellular pattern. The surface stresses after cracking are found similarly close to the tensile strength under different heat fluxes, while the surface stresses are very different assuming no crack, which indicates the cracking process reduces the surface stress to lower than the tensile strength. The modelled cracking times are different from the observed cracking time as the fissures are hard to identify at its initial stage and only when they have expanded to certain size the fissures are visually observed. Using the modelled cracking time, the number of char blisters can be well correlated with the pyrolysis depth.     

考虑水分影响的木材热解过程数学模拟

针对常见可燃物在典型火场情形中的热解行为提出了一种考虑水分影响的数学模型.模型采用了一阶阿仑尼乌斯热解动力学,考虑了固体内部瞬间传热过程、对流传热、热解过程的热效应,水分和挥发分流动等过程,模型揭示了热解木材中的温度、失重率和水分变化等重要特性.计算得到的结果和试验值吻合较好,通过对不同辐射,不同含水率下的木材可燃物热解过程的模拟计算,预测了木材在典型火灾环境中的热解行为.     

110 kV高压电缆着火过程数值模拟研究

为了研究综合管廊局部空间内电缆接头内热源作用下的着火过程,通过运用数值模拟软件FDS 三维传热和热解模型对110 kV 高压电缆接头着火过程建模分析。研究了内外热源对电缆着火过程的不同影响,分析了不同运行状态下的温度分布情况,对比了不同缆芯材料的热传导作用对电缆着火过程的影响。结果表明,正常运行和短时过载状态下,电缆的火灾危险性很小,但长期过载和接头故障则会大大提高电缆的火灾危险性;不同于外部火焰由外向内对电缆的直接点燃,内热源作用下电缆的引燃需要较长时间的升温过程和热传导过程;相同条件下,铝芯电缆在着火时间,HRR 峰值及火灾发展速度方面都大于铜芯电缆;缆芯材料较强的热传导性能可以显著降低电缆内部热量聚集的速度,降低火灾发生的几率;提出了适用于内热源条件下的电缆燃烧驱动形式,即随着时间的推进,电缆燃烧过程从最初的内热源驱动阶段逐渐过渡到内热源与火焰共同驱动的阶段。     

不同保温形式下典型热桥的热湿传递研究

为了研究建筑热桥在室内外热湿条件综合作用下墙体内部温湿度分布,本文以Henry提出的热湿传递模型为基础,建立了建筑热桥二维热湿传递数学模型,并以上海地区冬季室外典型年气象参数作为计算条件,计算了L形建筑热桥在该条件周期作用下墙体内部温湿度分布和热流密度变化,对热桥局部保温提出了建议.