EFFECT OF FLAME TILTING ON RADIATIVE HEAT-TRANSFER

Flames tilted by wind are of considerable practical interest because t hey occur often in our environment and are responsible for a lot of da mage. This paper is devoted to the effect of this type of flame on rad iative heat transfer which can significantly increase the rate of fire propagation. The proposed theoretical model associates the search for an efficient approach, the facility of use and an acceptable computat ional time. Its main characteristics are as follows: two-dimensional f ormulation, the conservation equations being expressed in elliptic or parabolic form according to the local nature of the flow; discretizati on by a finite-volume technique; turbulence model k - epsilon; conserv ative parameter combustion model; soot formation model based upon a st eady-state between formation and oxidation destruction velocity; assum ption of equivalent grey body behavior for calculation of radiative pr operties. The model is validated using experimental data from two kind s of pool fires (small and moderate scales). The comparison of the pre dicted values with the fluxes measured in downwind or upwind positions shows that this approach is claimed to result in significant computat ional efficiency.