Pulsation Behavior of Pool Fires in a Confined Compartment with a Horizontal Opening

This study reveals the flame pulsation behavior of pool fires in a confined compartment with a horizontal opening. A series of tests were carried out in a small-scale compartment with a central horizontal opening to obtain parameters, such as the mass loss rate (MLR), oxygen concentration, flame height, flame pulsation frequency. Results showed that the average MLR in the steady burning period varied with the opening size, whereas the oxygen concentration value at extinction remained constant for larger horizontal opening size. The mean flame height as obtained by image processing was compared with the predicted correlation for different horizontal openings. The flame pulsation frequency was obtained by performing a fast Fourier transform on the flame height. The influences of the pool fire diameter and horizontal opening size on the flame pulsation frequency were considered. The empirical correlation with exponent of −0.5 between the pulsation frequency and diameter was verified for confined compartments, as well as the effect of the horizontal opening size on the flame pulsation frequency. In addition, the flame pulsation frequency could be characterized by a scaling relationship between the Strouhal number and Froude number.