Fundamentals of Fire Phenomena

James G. Quintiere, Department of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-3031, USAEducated as a mechanical engineer, Professor Quintiere received a B.S. degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology (1962), and a M.S. (1966) and Ph.D. (1970) from New York University. His career in fire safety began in 1971 when he joined the National Bureau of Standards, now known as the National Institute of Science and Technology. He left in 1989, as Chief of the Fire Science and Engineering Division, to join the faculty of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. Dr. Quintiere's research in fire has covered a wide range of topics including compartment fire behavior, fire induced flows, fire growth on materials and scale model studies. He is currently Chairman of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). He received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal (1976) and Silver Medal (1982) as well as the Howard W. Emmons Lecture Award from the IAFSS in 1986. He has written over 75 journal publications and reports.

"... this is an excellent textbook for teaching or learning Fire dynamics!" (Fire Technology, January 2007)"... an excellent textbook for teaching or learning fire dynamics... comprehensive and useful...." (Fire Technology, October 2006)

• Preface xiiiNomenclature xvii1 Introduction to Fire 11.1 Fire in History 11.2 Fire and Science 21.3 Fire Safety and Research in the Twentieth Century 81.4 Outlook for the Future 101.5 Introduction to This Book 111.5.1 Thermodynamics 131.5.2 Fluid mechanics 141.5.3 Heat and mass transfer 151.5.4 Supportive references 16References 17Problems 172 Thermochemistry 192.1 Introduction 192.2 Chemical Reactions 202.3 Gas Mixture 232.4 Conservation Laws for Systems 252.4.1 Constant pressure reaction 272.4.2 Heat of combustion 282.4.3 Adiabatic flame temperature 292.5 Heat of Formation 302.6 Application of Mass and Energy Conservation in Chemical Reactions 312.7 Combustion Products in Fire 35References 41Problems 413 Conservation Laws for Control Volumes 493.1 Introduction 493.2 The Reynolds Transport Theorem 503.3 Relationship between a Control Volume and System Volume 533.4 Conservation of Mass 543.5 Conservation of Mass for a Reacting Species 563.6 Conservation of Momentum 593.7 Conservation of Energy for a Control Volume 61Problems 704 Premixed Flames 774.1 Introduction 774.2 Reaction Rate 784.3 Autoignition 804.4 Piloted Ignition 854.5 Flame Speed, Su 884.5.1 Measurement techniques 894.5.2 Approximate theory 904.5.3 Fuel lean results 934.5.4 Heat loss effects and extinction 934.6 Quenching Diameter 954.7 Flammability Limits 984.8 Empirical Relationships for the Lower Flammability Limit 1024.9 A Quantitative Analysis of Ignition, Propagation and Extinction 1054.9.1 Autoignition calculations 1054.9.2 Piloted ignition calculations 1074.9.3 Flame propagation and extinction calculations 1074.9.4 Quenching diameter calculations 108References 109Problems 1105 Spontaneous Ignition 1175.1 Introduction 1175.2 Theory of Spontaneous Ignition 1195.3 Experimental Methods 1245.4 Time for Spontaneous Ignition 127References 130Problems 1316 Ignition of Liquids 1356.1 Introduction 1356.2 Flashpoint 1356.3 Dynamics of Evaporation 1376.4 Clausius–Clapeyron Equation 1416.5 Evaporation Rates 146References 154Problems 1547 Ignition of Solids 1597.1 Introduction 1597.2 Estimate of Ignition Time Components 1617.2.1 Chemical time 1617.2.2 Mixing time 1627.2.3 Pyrolysis 1637.3 Pure Conduction Model for Ignition 1647.4 Heat Flux in Fire 1667.4.1 Typical heat flux levels 1667.4.2 Radiation properties of surfaces in fire 1677.4.3 Convective heating in fire 1677.4.4 Flame radiation 1697.4.5 Heat flux measurements 1707.4.6 Heat flux boundary conditions 1707.5 Ignition in Thermally Thin Solids 1717.5.1 Criterion for thermally thin 1717.5.2 Thin theory 1727.5.3 Measurements for thin materials 1747.6 Ignition of a Thermally Thick Solid 1767.6.1 Thick theory 1767.6.2 Measurements for thick materials 1807.6.3 Autoignition and surface ignition 1827.7 Ignition Properties of Common Materials 184References 188Problems 1888 Fire Spread on Surfaces and Through Solid Media 1918.1 Introduction 1918.2 Surface Flame Spread – The Thermally Thin Case 1948.3 Transient Effects 1988.4 Surface Flame Spread for a Thermally Thick Solid 2008.5 Experimental Considerations for Solid Surface Spread 2028.5.1 Opposed flow 2028.5.2 Wind-aided 2078.6 Some Fundamental Results for Surface Spread 2108.7 Examples of Other Flame Spread Conditions 2138.7.1 Orientation effects 2138.7.2 Porous media 2158.7.3 Liquid flame spread 2168.7.4 Fire spread through a dwelling 217References 219Problems 2209 Burning Rate 2279.1 Introduction 2279.2 Diffusive Burning of Liquid Fuels 2339.2.1 Stagnant layer 2339.2.2 Stagnant layer solution 2379.2.3 Burning rate – an eigenvalue 2419.3 Diffusion Flame Variables 2439.3.1 Concentrations and mixture fractions 2439.3.2 Flame temperature and location 2469.4 Convective Burning for Specific Flow Conditions 2489.5 Radiation Effects on Burning 2559.6 Property Values for Burning Rate Calculations 2599.7 Suppression and Extinction of Burning 2619.7.1 Chemical and physical factors 2619.7.2 Suppression by water and diluents 2629.8 The Burning Rate of Complex Materials 2679.9 Control Volume Alternative to the Theory of Diffusive Burning 2699.9.1 Condensed phase 2719.9.2 Gas phase 2749.10 General Considerations for Extinction Based on Kinetics 2779.10.1 A demonstration of the similarity of extinction in premixed and diffusion flames 2799.11 Applications to Extinction for Diffusive Burning 281References 285Problems 28610 Fire Plumes 29710.1 Introduction 29710.2 Buoyant Plumes 30210.2.1 Governing equations 30210.2.2 Plume characteristic scales 30610.2.3 Solutions 30810.3 Combusting Plumes 31110.4 Finite Real Fire Effects 31310.4.1 Turbulent axial flame temperatures 31310.4.2 Plume temperatures 31710.4.3 Entrainment rate 31910.4.4 Flame height 32210.4.5 Jet flames 32310.4.6 Flame heights for other geometries 32510.5 Transient Aspects of Fire Plumes 32610.5.1 Starting plume 32710.5.2 Fireball or thermal 328References 332Problems 33411 Compartment Fires 33911.1 Introduction 33911.1.1 Scope 34011.1.2 Phases of fires in enclosures 34011.2 Fluid Dynamics 34211.2.1 General flow pattern 34211.2.2 Vent flows 34311.3 Heat Transfer 34711.3.1 Convection 34811.3.2 Conduction 34811.3.3 Radiation 34911.3.4 Overall wall heat transfer 35111.3.5 Radiation loss from the vent 35111.4 Fuel Behavior 35211.4.1 Thermal effects 35211.4.2 Ventilation effects 35311.4.3 Energy release rate (firepower) 35411.5 Zone Modeling and Conservation Equations 35511.5.1 Conservation relationships 35611.5.2 Dimensionless factors in a solution 35711.6 Correlations 35811.6.1 Developing fires 35811.6.2 Fully developed fires 36011.7 Semenov Diagrams, Flashover and Instabilities 36511.7.1 Fixed area fire 36611.7.2 Second item ignition 36611.7.3 Spreading fires 368References 369Problems 37012 Scaling and Dimensionless Groups 37712.1 Introduction 37712.2 Approaches for Establishing Dimensionless Groups 37812.2.1 Buckingham pi method 37912.2.2 Partial differential equation (PDE) method 37912.2.3 Dimensional analysis 38012.3 Dimensionless Groups from the Conservation Equations 38012.3.1 Conservation of mass 38112.3.2 Conservation of momentum 38112.3.3 Energy equation 38212.3.4 Heat losses 38412.3.5 Mass flows 38512.3.6 Liquid droplets 38612.3.7 Chemical species 38812.3.8 Heat flux and inconsistencies 38912.3.9 Summary 39212.4 Examples of Specific Correlations 39412.4.1 Plume interactions with a ceiling 39512.4.2 Smoke filling in a leaky compartment 39612.4.3 Burning rate 39712.4.4 Compartment fire temperature 39812.4.5 Effect of water sprays on fire 40012.5 Scale Modeling 40112.5.1 Froude modeling 40212.5.2 Analog scaling methods 403References 407Appendix 409Flammability Properties 409Archibald Tewarson 409Index 435