Influence of Different Low Air Pressure on Combustion Characteristics of Ethanol Pool Fires

Abstract

Small-scaled ethanol circular pool fire experiments were conducted in a self-designed low pressure experiment tank to investigate the influence of ambient pressure on the combustion characteristics of the pool fire. The difference of combustion characteristics under different pressure environment were investigated, combustion characteristics of ethanol pool fire, such as fuel's mass burning rate, flame shape, flame centre-line temperature and plume velocity in different ambient pressure conditions were measured. The experiment results show that the mass burning rate decrease when the ambient pressure decrease, and the variation could be well fitted by a power function. Plume centre-line velocity also decrease with the ambient pressure. Generally, flame height would increase with the decreasing of the ambient pressure, until reaching the turning point, and then decrease. Temperature rise of plume centre-line take a power function of height and heat release rate.