Abstract
This study investigates the effect of environmental moisture conditions on the calculated incident radiant heat flux (irradiance) by plate thermometers (PT). Alterations were made to the moisture content of the PT insulation layers to achieve these conditions. Irradiance was calculated using a pre-determined equation based on fully insulated conditions and validated using a Schmidt-Boelter radiometer. The study consisted of two phases; (i) investigating the effect of preheating PT to the accurate irradiance, (ii) investigating the effect of moisture in the PT on the measurement of irradiance. Calculated irradiance agreed with measured for preheated PT, but not with unheated PT. Four representative moisture conditions were identified for phase two, whereby samples were equilibrated at 0, 45, 65, and 98 wood moisture equivalent (%WME). No noticeable difference identified between measured and calculated irradiance was detected within 0–65%WME. PT with 98%WME showed a difference between the irradiance as the moisture inside the PT insulation absorbed energy from the PT to vaporize. Therefore, using preheated PT with any %WME under 65 is recommended to obtain accurate enough irradiance measurements. The result can use to improve determining the fire spread mechanisms and accurate measurements of irradiance in outdoor fires such as informal settlements fires.
Highlights
Heat transfer in a fire scenario significantly affects the strength and performance of structural components such as beams, columns, and slabs
The purpose of the current study is to identify whether the calculated incident radiant heat flux of
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of moisture content in the plate thermometers (PT) insulation on the incident radiant heat flux calculations
Summary
Heat transfer in a fire scenario significantly affects the strength and performance of structural components such as beams, columns, and slabs. It is critical to appropriately define the thermal environment to which these components are exposed, to estimate their structural performance in fire conditions. The density of housing is so high that an extremely fast fire spread is typically observed; fire incidents in informal settlements is even analogous to wildfires [3]. To understand this disastrous fire spread phenomenon, real-scale fire tests with mockup informal settlements have been conducted outdoors [4]
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