Fire driven flow in an inclined trench

Measurements are presented of flow velocity and temperature in an inclined trench of square cross-section; flame lengths and flow velocities have been measured for trench fires with a rate of heat release per unit width of between 10 and 1500 kW/m. For all of the fires studied, and for angles of inclination of betw;een 20 and 45 degrees, the flow is dominated by large, buoyancy-driven, plume-like structures that are convected up the trench. The results suggest that time-dependent calculations that capture the development of such large structures would greatly increase the accuracy of numerical simulations of the flow.