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Coursework

Name:

Student Number:

Date:
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Part C. (LO 1) fluid flows

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a) Critically discuss the “ventilation parameter” AH and how it relates (if at all) to the
mass flow at the doorway of a fire-compartment, to the neutral plane, and to the thermal
discontinuity plane.

The ventilation parameter AH 1/ 2 greatly influences fire characteristics in a burning

compartment. As the ventilation factor increases, combustion process becomes oscillatory, then
stable. Considering that A is the area of the door and H is the height, increase in parameters A
and H increases the mass flow at the doorway (Kudo, et al., 2006).

In a naturally ventilated compartment, the air pressure in the compartment will be positive above
the neutral plane. Thus, air will flow through intermediate level apertures formed. This will
reduce the ventilation factor. Below the neutral plane, the air pressure in the compartment will be
negative, thus, external air will be drawn into the compartment through intermediate level
apertures (McCaffrey & Rockett, 1977). This will increase the ventilation factor.

The functional height of the thermal discontinuity plane is related to the height and area of the
doorway. The ventilation parameter increases as thermal discontinuity in a fire compartment
increases depending on the conditions of combustion (Barham, 2006). How thermal
discontinuity and the neutral plane vary with the height of the ventilation, the size and position of
the burner provide a clear illustration of transient behavior of compartment fire, and perhaps, a
quantitative description of parameters that lead to flash-over (Robertson, 1977).

(b) Critically evaluate smoke production and smoke properties for different materials and
how engineers predict the smoke spread in building configurations.

Smoke production serves as a basic element in characterization of a fire environment. The

amount and properties of the smoke emission depend on the conditions under which the
combustion occurs – from flaming, pyrolysis, to smoldering. The smoke produced from a fire
represents a balance between the phases of fire growth in the portion enriched with fuel and
combustion with oxygen.

Presently, it is difficult to predict smoke emission from a fire as a function of chemistry of the
fuel and conditions of combustion. However, it is established that materials such as aromatic
polymers, e.g. polystyrene, generates more smoke compared to single carbon bonded
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hydrocarbons such as polypropylene. Certainly, the smoke emitted in flaming combustion is

characterized by a greater content of elemental carbon (Mulholland, 2014). Smoldering
combustion process produces smoke droplets. Materials that are able to smolder include flexible
polyurethane foam and cellulosic materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, etc.

Engineers use sophisticated Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Fire Dynamic Simulator
(FDS) models to determine the smoke and impact of potential fires on various building
configurations. CFD analysis allows design professionals and fire-fighting engineers to
accurately determine the growth of a fire, development of smoke and its dispersion in atrium, a
building or other inhabited place (Shan-jun, et al., 2011).

Part D. (LO 4) Fire suppression

(a) Analyse three conditions essential for combustion and fire (the fire triangle). Specify
three associated methods of fire-fighting and relate these methods with the action of water,
foam, or neutral gas. (10 marks)

The three conditions required for combustion and fire are fuel, oxygen and heat. The fuel source
or combustible material is the one that burns. It can be anything that is flammable, such as fabric,
chemicals, wood, paper etc. The second element is oxygen. For a fire to start and continue
burning, there must be oxygen. The third and most crucial element in a fire event is heat. A fire
will only ignite when a certain amount of heat is reached. The heat is also required for the
growth of a fire.
If these three elements are combined in the right mixture proportion, a fire results. Removing any
of these elements will extinguish the fire (FireRescue, 2011). Thus, there are three methods of
fire fighting associated with these three elements. These include: removing or reducing oxygen
supply by use of a neutral gas or foam, cooling the heat using a cooling agent such as water, and
removing the fuel (Wighus & Aune, 2015).
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(b) Critically review different mechanisms of fire extinguishment (cooling of flame,

reduction of fuel and/or oxygen, and interference with combustion reactions). (10 marks)
There are four mechanisms used to extinguish a fire. These are as follows:

Removing the fuel: Removing he fuel is not practical in many fire scenarios. When flammable
liquid fires are involved, it is appropriate to shut off valves and storage vessels isolated from the
fire to cut fuel supply. Controlled burning of the fuel or firebreak is also applicable in cases of
forest fires. When the fire consumes all the fuel or when the fuel supply is exhausted, it will stop
burning on its own.

Removing the oxygen: Oxygen is very essential for a fire to start and continue burning. Fire can
be extinguished by smothering it with sand, a non-flammable blanket or dirt. It can also be
extinguished by asphyxiation, wet blanket, foam blanket, CO2 extinguisher, Sodium bicarbonate
(grease fire) and gaseous fire suppression using halon, an inert gas or a neutral gas. Reducing the
concentration of oxygen will retard the process of combustion (FireRescue, 2011).

Removing the heat: One of the first step fire-fighters take to extinguish fire is perhaps applying a
cooling agent, like water or a chemical fire retardant. The conversion of water into steam
removes heat energy from the burning fire. Another way to reduce heat is to cut off the source of
heat supply e.g. electricity supply and separating burning materials from unburnt materials.

Interrupting the chain reaction: Extinguishing agents such as halons and dry chemicals are very
effective in different fire circumstances. They do not remove oxygen, fuel or heat, but are
thought to suppress or bond with free radicals resulting from the combustion process, thus,
discontinuing the chain of reaction (Voelkert, 2009).
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Part E. (LO 1) Heat transfer

The mean thermal inertia   kc of skin has been estimated as 1.7 kW s1/2 m-2 K-1.
Formula (3) estimates the surface temperature of skin exposed to a constant heat flux:

2Q  t
T  T0 
  (3)

How would the “thermal penetration depth” of skin vary with time for someone in a
developing room-fire environment?

If the person is in a developing room-fire environment, the thermal penetration depth through the
skin over time will vary significantly. This is mainly due to the fact that temperatures in the room
will continue rising (Huang & Togawa, 2016). Therefore, thermal penetration depth will increase
in proportion to the rising temperatures. As temperatures rise, the human skin starts to feel pain
at about 44oC, burn injury (48oC), first degree burn, second degree burn (55oC), burned tissues
(62oC), and eventually complete destruction of the human skin at about 72oC. These changes
illustrate how thermal penetration depth varies with increasing room temperatures in a
developing fire. Given that the mean thermal inertia of skin is approximated to be 1.7 kW s 1/2 m-2
K-1 and the skin temperature at a constant heat flux is given by equation 3, then it shows that
increase in temperature in the room will increase the skin temperatures.
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References

Barham, R., 2006. Fire Engineering and Emergency Planning: Research and applications.
s.l.:Routledge.

FireRescue, 2011. Firefighting 101: What is a fire triangle?. [Online]

Available at: https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/apparatus-accessories/articles/
1206070-What-is-a-fire-triangle/
[Accessed 14 December 2016].

Huang, J. & Togawa, T., 2016. Measurement of the thermal inertia of the skin using successive
thermograms taken at a stepwise change in ambient radiation temperature. Physiological
Measurement, 16(4).

Kudo, Y. et al., 2006. Modeling on the Contentious Backdraft in a Low - Ventilated Condition.
Bulletin of Japan Association for Fire Science and Engineering, 56(1), pp. 15-22.

McCaffrey, B. J. & Rockett, J. A., 1977. Static Pressure Measurements of Enclosure Fires.
JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards, 82(2), pp. 107-117.

Mulholland, G. W., 2014. Smoke Production and Properties. [Online]

Available at: http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire95/PDF/f95126.pdf
[Accessed 14 December 2016].

Robertson, A. F., 1977. Fire Standards and Safety. s.l.:ASTM International.

Shan-jun, M., Zhe, Z., Dong, L. & Zhi-jian, H., 2011. Engineering Simulation of Smoke
Extraction Design in Atrium Fires of Student Union. Procedia Engineering, Volume 11, pp. 325-
334.

Voelkert, J. C., 2009. Fire And Fire Extinguishment: A Brief Guide To Fire Chemistry And
Extinguishment Theory For Fire Equipment Service Technicians. [Online]
Available at: www.nafed.org/resource/resmgr/KnowledgeCenter/FandFE_2015.pdf
[Accessed 12 December 2016].

Wighus, R. & Aune, P., 2015. Engineering Relations for Water Mist Fire Suppression Systems.
[Online]
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Available at: https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/el/fire_research/R0000240.pdf

[Accessed 13 December 2016].