A Numerical Study on Fire Development in a Confined Space Leading to Backdraft Phenomenon

Aleksander Król, Małgorzata Król and Stanisław Krawiec
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Aleksander Król: Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland
Małgorzata Król: Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Stanisław Krawiec: Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: This paper presents the results of numerical experiments on fire development and the backdraft phenomenon. The numerical model of fire development built with the use of Ansys Fluent was then validated based on literature data taken from real fire experiments. Some theoretical foundations of airflow and combustion modelling were added. Some features of the numerical model, which allowed for its high accuracy to be achieved, were widely discussed. Since large buoyancy forces were involved, to reproduce the decrease of the atmospheric pressure with height, a variable static pressure was applied using UDF (user-defined function).The results showed good accordance taking into account both the temperature profiles and the distribution of the airflow velocity. Once the model was validated, the research was extended to examine the backdraft phenomenon. The results revealed characteristic phases of the phenomenon and the occurrence of the gravity current as well, which were reported by empirical experiments.

Keywords: fire development; fire modeling; Ansys Fluent; backdraft (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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