Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements of Flow Through a Doorway of an Enclosure Fire Analogue

Published

March 23, 2005

Author(s)

Rodney A. Bryant

Abstract

A fire within a room or enclosure acts as a pump, pulling ambient air in while pushing combustion products mixed with air out. The openings through which the gases flow are referred to as vents and typically are doorways and windows. Quantifying the ventilation available to an enclosure fire is an important step to understanding fire behavior. Ventilation provides the necessary oxygen to the fire while also serving to moderate the temperature of the compartment in the early stage of the fire growth. The gaseous products that move out of an enclosure transfer heat and combustion products from the localized point of the fire to remote locations within a built structure. Ventilation therefore can play two important roles in fire spread, 1) to reduce the hazard by moderating the enclosure temperature, 2) to increase the hazard by transferring the heat, smoke and toxic gases to other locations of a built structure.

Proceedings Title

4th Joint Meeting

Conference Dates

March 20-23, 2005

Conference Title

U.S. Sections of the Combustion Institute

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

buoyant flow, fire scaling, flow measurement, low speed flow, particle image velocimetry

Citation

Bryant, R. (2005), Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements of Flow Through a Doorway of an Enclosure Fire Analogue, 4th Joint Meeting, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861342 (Accessed May 11, 2026)

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