Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of the combustion of flexible polyurethane foam with larger geometries

Abstract

Numerical modelling of the combustion of flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) is challenging, as the structural collapse and shrinkage of the foam complicate its pyrolysis, and two fuel items are involved in the combustion. Two-layer pyrolysis models were established based on the bench-scale tests over the past decade, but the accuracy was limited when simulating the combustion of FPUF with larger geometries. To improve the accuracy of the numerical simulation, small-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the combustion of FPUF with a larger geometry. Firstly, numerical simulations using a two-layer pyrolysis model proposed in the most recent research were performed to simulate the combustion of FPUF in the small-scale experiments. It was found that the heat release rate (HRR) was over-predicted in the initial combustion stage. Subsequently, based on the analysis of the visual and measured data obtained from the small-scale experiments, a three-layer model was proposed to describe the pyrolysis of FPUF in flaming combustion. The three-layer model was validated with the comparison of the predicted and experimental data. The results indicate that the numerical simulation using the three-layer model has a better performance in replicating the combustion of FPUF under well-ventilated conditions. While, the capability of the three-layer model was limited when it was used to simulate the combustion of FPUF in under-ventilated conditions, as it is found that ventilation influences the HRR of FPUF to a significant extent.