An experimental study of the influence of environmental wind on the smoke flow behaviour and temperature distribution in room-corridor fire

Abstract

As buildings are always in a windy environment, in many cases the influence of the environmental wind cannot be neglected. Therefore, this work conducted an experimental study of the influence of environmental wind on the smoke flow behaviour and temperature distribution in the typical room-corridor fire. In the experiments, different wind velocity and HRR (heat release rate) were tested. Experimental results indicated that the environmental wind would exhibit an obvious influence on the spilled smoke flow in the corridor. When the wind velocity is relatively small, the environmental wind has a positive effect on the spilled smoke flow, and the smoke distribution would show a symmetrical and high temperature region, which would become larger with the wind velocity. With the continuous increase in the velocity, the smoke would be blown downstream of the corridor, causing an obvious decrease in the maximum ceiling temperature. To characterize the temperature distribution along the corridor ceiling, a one-phase exponential correlation is proposed to predict the ceiling temperature distribution in both the upstream and downstream directions of the corridor. The research findings may benefit the design and management of the smoke control system and provide guidance in improving the fire safety level of the commonly existing room-corridor structures.