Reconstruction of the Grenfell Tower fire – Part 4: Contribution to the understanding of fire propagation and behaviour during horizontal fire spread

Abstract

SummaryThe tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017, involving a combustible façade system, have raised concerns regarding the fire risk that these systems pose. In this series of articles, so far published, fire development inside the initial apartment has been investigated using an appropriate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Several scenarios including different fire sources and ventilation conditions were addressed. Fire propagation through the window to the external façade and to higher apartments was modelled. This model was validated by comparing the numerical results with the visual observations reported in the Grenfell Inquiry. A CFD model of the complete east face of the Grenfell Tower was then created. This paper details CFD modelling of the complete Grenfell Tower façade during the late horizontal phase of fire spread. As the physics of lateral flame spread is different from that for upward flame spread, it is important to assess the validity of the model, thus far developed, for this configuration. Fire propagation over the whole façade is modelled and compared with observations from the real disaster. This provides a better understanding of its fire behaviour and of the contribution of architectural details and their impact on fire spread.