An analysis of a fire resulting from a traffic accident

This paper is an attempt to define fire behaviour The work is based on an analytical study of afire origin, its development and spread The study is based on thermodynamics, heat transfer and a study of hydrodynamics and combustion, which represent the basis of fire dynamics. The article describes a practical example of a leak of hazardous chemicals from a tank truck. Because of the flammability of the fluid, afire may start. We have tried to model the fire propagation around a flammable-gas warehouse and show how the surrounding area could be affected The model also considers weather conditions, in particular the wind speed and direction. The computer code Safer Trace, which is based on zone models, was used to do this. This means that the phenomena are described with simplified physical and empirical equations, and one of the disadvantages of this computer code is its inability to consider the ground topology. Mathematical models are presented, and they show the propagation of a hazardous fluid in the environment, while considering the meteorological data. (C) 2003 Journal of Mechanical Engineering. All rights reserved.