Abstract
One kind of flashover in compartments can result from a thermal instability caused by the energy generation rate increasing faster with temperature than the rate of aggregated energy losses. This paper describes qualitatively how various factors affect this instability, and demonstrates a quasi-steady approach that can be used to explain the growth of fires in enclosures. Thermal radiative feedback from the enclosure is considered to be the significant factor in determining the fuel gasification rate and is the primary cause of the instability. For a plausible expression for thermal feedback, it is found that the upper enclosure mean gas temperature at the onset of instability can range from 300°C to 650°C in most cases. However, the corresponding fuel gasification rate for a fixed surface area fuel at criticality is only roughly 50% greater than the free or open burn value. Finally, the possibility of an “extinction” instability for ventilation controlled fires is also indicated.
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