WALL AND CORNER FLOWS DRIVEN BY A CEILING JET IN AN ENCLOSURE FIRE

This paper presents the results from an experimental simulation of the wall and corner flows generated by a fire-plume driven ceiling jet in a compartment fire. An experimental arrangement is employed to determine the transport processes resulting from these flows in typical full-scale fires in rooms. Of particular interest were the flow and heat transfer in the comer, the heat transfer rate to the wall and the ceiling, the downward penetration distance of the wall flow and the entrainment into the flow. The results obtained are presented in terms of dimensionless variables in order to simulate the conditions for a wide range of fires. The chosen range of the governing parameters corresponds to the values encountered in typical room and enclosure fires. Some results are also presented on a jet impinging at an inclination, other than normal, with the wall to simulate the radial spread of the ceiling jet in an actual fire. It is found that the ceiling-jet-driven wall and comer flows are very important in an accurate mathematical modeling of enclosure fires. The results are also applied to a typical room fire in order to determine the relative importance of these effects.