FIRE DRIVEN FLOW IN AN INCLINED TRENCH

Measurements are presented of flow velocity and temperature in an incl ined trench of square cross-section; flame lengths and flow velocities have been measured for trench fires with a rate of heat release per u nit width of between 10 and 1500 kW/m. For all of the fires studied, a nd for angles of inclination of betw;een 20 and 45 degrees, the flow i s dominated by large, buoyancy-driven, plume-like structures that are convected up the trench. The results suggest that time-dependent calcu lations that capture the development of such large structures would gr eatly increase the accuracy of numerical simulations of the flow.