Quantitative Salt-Water Modeling of Fire-Induced Flows for Convective Heat Transfer Model Development

Abstract

This research provides a detailed analysis of convective heat transfer in ceiling jets by using a quantitative salt-water modeling technique. The methodology of quantitative salt-water modeling builds on the analogy between salt-water flow and fire induced flow, which has been successfully used in the qualitative analysis of fires. Planar laser induced fluorescence and laser doppler velocimetry have been implemented to measure the dimensionless density difference and velocity in salt-water plumes. The quantitative salt-water modeling technique has been validated through comparisons of appropriately scaled salt-water measurements, fire measurements, and theory. This analogy has been exploited to develop an engineering heat transfer model for predicting heat transfer in impinging fire plumes using salt-water measurements along with the adiabatic wall modeling concept. Combining quantitative salt-water modeling and adiabatic wall modeling concepts introduces new opportunities for studying heat transfer issues in basic and complex fire induced flow configurations.