Note on maximum rise of fire plumes in temperature-stratified ambients

Abstract

The treatment by Morton et al. of turbulent plumes from a point source of buoyancy in a stably stratified environment has received rather little attention in the fire research and engineering literature, yet has great relevance for the initial fire environment. This note interprets their work for application to building fires, with emphasis on the maximum height achieved by plumes in temperature-stratified spaces and deviations in plume behavior from that in a uniform environment.