Characterization of Candles Flames as Ignition Sources

Published

November 1, 2005

Author(s)

Scott E. Dillon, Anthony Hamins, Matthew Bundy

Abstract

Common household open flame and radiant ignition sources are the actual or suspected cause for many fires. Because of their popular use, fire investigators have identified candles as one of the most important of these ignition sources. In spite of this, the ignition potential from candle flames is not well characterized and the properties of paraffin wax are not easily accessible. The purpose of this research is to identify the burning behavior and properties of common candles in order to provide additional tools for use by investigators. The properties of paraffin wax were obtained from literature as well as experimentally. The candles were burned under controlled laboratory conditions in order to measure the mass burning rate, regression rate, flame height, and heat flux. Using the properties of paraffin wax and characteristics of the candles, numerous simulations were performed with the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to model the burning rate and heat flux profile of a candle flame. The modeling results were then compared with the flame height and heat flux data obtained experimentally.

Citation

Journal of Fire Protection Engineering

Volume

15

Issue

4

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

burning, candle, FDS, fire model, flames, ignition, parrafin, wax

Citation

Dillon, S. , Hamins, A. and Bundy, M. (2005), Characterization of Candles Flames as Ignition Sources, Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861302 (Accessed October 10, 2025)