Experimental study of fire growth and ejected plume in a cross-ventilation compartment under wind condition

In this study, a set of reduced-scale experiments were conducted to study the influence of external wind on the fire growth and ejected plume in a compartment with two openings. The approaching wind velocity was set as 1.5 and 3.0 m/s, respectively. The temperatures in the fire compartment were also measured by thermocouple matrixes. The images of the projected flames from the opening and the fuel mass loss rate were recorded by digital video and electronic balance, respectively. It is observed that the wind with velocity of 1.5 m/s can reduce the combustion severity by decreasing the ventilation in the fire room and enhance the duration time of combustion. On the contrary, the wind with velocity of 3 m/s can promote the combustion severity by increasing the ventilation in the fire room and reduce the duration time of combustion. The theoretical analysis shows how the external wind that coupled with the thermal buoyance influence the ventilation of the compartment, and a critical velocity or a dimensional number are suggested to predict the ventilation of the fire room, which is believed to influence the compartment fire behavior greatly.