A number of fire ventilation scenarios were investigated in order to identify the proper ventilation scheme for conducting design fire tests in a medium-sized residential room of a size of 4.2 m long, 3.8 m wide and 2.4 m high. The ventilation schemes were based on using a window, door, or both with different sizes. The fuel package that was used in all scenarios consisted of a mock-up sofa made of polyurethane foam and two wood cribs underneath it. The selection of this fuel package is supported by fire statistics that many fatal residential fires begin with an item of upholstered furniture. The CFD technique was used to conduct the numerical simulations for eleven ventilation scenarios using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) version 5. The effect of window and door sizes, and fire load location on the heat release rate, burning rate, temperature during the period of fully-developed fire (post-flashover), and the onset of post-flashover and its duration were investigated.
Self-standing Compartment Fire Tests on Sandwich Panels
