Experimental Study of the Three Dimensional Internal Structure of Underventilated Compartment Fires in an ISO 9705 Room.

Published

February 8, 2012

Author(s)

Kelly M. Opert, Andrew J. Lock, Matthew F. Bundy, Erik L. Johnsson, Cheolhong Hwang, Anthony P. Hamins, Stephen P. Fuss, Ki-Yong Lee

Abstract

This report documents a set of 9 full scale ISO 9705 room under-ventilated compartment fire experiments for the purpose of guiding the development of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) computer fire model - Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The gas species composition and temperature throughout the interior of the compartment was mapped during quasi-steady burning conditions using movable measurement probes. In conjunction with the gas species and temperature measurements, global heat release rate, global burning mass rate, and local heat flux measurements were taken. The tests yielded detailed maps. From the data collected, the mixture fraction (with and without soot included in the calculations), local equivalence ratio, carbon monoxide and soot yields, fractional carbon monoxide and soot ratios, and combustion efficiency for each test were determined. Results from ethanol (a low sooting fuel) and heptane (a mildly sooting fuel) are presented. The results collected in this set of experiments were also compared and contrasted to the results of similar tests done in the previous report in this series of testing, NIST Technical Note 1603: Experimental Study of the Effects of Fuel Type, Fuel Distribution, and Vent Size on Full-Scale Underventilated Compartment Fires in an ISO 9705 Room.

Citation

Technical Note (NIST TN) - 1736

Report Number

1736

NIST Pub Series

Technical Note (NIST TN)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

compartment fires, fire, room fires, heat release rate, soot, gas species, temperature, ISO 9705, heat flux, ethanol, heptane, carbon balance method, combustion efficiency, product yields, mixture fraction, local equivalence ratio, mass fraction, under-ventilated fires, ventilation-limited fires, liquid fuels, temperature, thermocouples

Citation

Opert, K. , Lock, A. , Bundy, M. , Johnsson, E. , Hwang, C. , Hamins, A. , Fuss, S. and Lee, K. (2012), Experimental Study of the Three Dimensional Internal Structure of Underventilated Compartment Fires in an ISO 9705 Room., Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908944 (Accessed October 15, 2025)