Abstract
In this article, large-scale experimental studies were conducted to figure out the fire characteristics, such as fire-spreading, toxic gases, and heat release rates, using large-scale calorimeter for one- and two-vehicle fires. The initial ignition position was the passenger seat, and thermocouples were attached to each compartment in the vehicles to determine the temperature distribution as a function of time. For the analysis, the time was divided into sections for the various fire-spreading periods and major changes, e.g., the fire spreading from the first vehicle to the second vehicle. The maximum temperature of 1400 °C occurred in the seats because they contained combustible materials. The maximum heat release rates were 3.5 MW and 6 MW for one and two vehicles, respectively. Since the time to reach 1 MW was about 240 s (4 min) before and after, the beginning of the car fire appears to be a medium-fast growth type. It shows the effect on the human body depending on the concentration of toxic substances such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.
Highlights
Many vehicle fire studies are being carried out since vehicle accidents result in catastrophe due to various reasons such as drivers’ negligence, electrical faults, deliberately lit and arson in parking lots [1], buildings, and tunnels, and so forth
The aim of this study was to investigate how fire spreads through a vehicle using an actual vehicle-fire test, and to analyze the heat release rate for two vehicles using a large-scale calorimeter
The influence of the toxic gases generated from the vehicle fires was analyzed
Summary
Many vehicle fire studies are being carried out since vehicle accidents result in catastrophe due to various reasons such as drivers’ negligence, electrical faults, deliberately lit and arson in parking lots [1], buildings, and tunnels, and so forth. Calorimeters, which can estimate a heat release rate, smoke generation, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and so on, have been widely used for experimental study [2,3,4,5]. In the case of heat release rate, it has been regarded as one of the most important factors during experimental studied since it can be used to calculate the size of the fire and be more used in performance-based design (PBD). Katsuhiro et al [6] found that the temperature distribution and maximum HRR reached 3 MW by changing the initial ignition location of the fire. They found that the fire spread radically after the windows were broken
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