A combined overall and surface energy balance for fully-developed ventilation-controlled liquid fuel fires in compartments

As part of the research to extend the understanding of fully-developed wood fires to non-cellulosic fuels, the outline of a theoretical energy balance for a liquid fuel fire in a compartment is presented. A computer solution of the heat balance is described and the results of simulated fires are given to illustrate the uses of the model and the limitations of the assumptions made in the theory.The results show systematic departures from the well known assumption of the constancy of the ratio of burning rate to ventilation rate; this can account for some of the scatter commonly found in measurements of this ratio.