Experimental study demonstrates heat flux attenuation up to 76% with four-side opening sprinklers during compartment fires, indicating substantial mitigation of external fire spread.
This study investigated the effectiveness of sprinklers installed around an opening in mitigating the spread of fire between fire compartments. Full-scale fire experiments were conducted using a compartment based on the ISO 9705-1 room geometry. Three experimental configurations were evaluated: an unprotected opening (UO), an opening with a top sprinkler (OTS), and an opening with four-side sprinklers (OFSS). A propane burner was operated at heat release rates of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5 MW, and flame behavior and heat flux outside the opening were measured. Under the UO condition, the flame and high-temperature regions expanded as the heat release rate increased, and flame ejection through the opening was observed at 2.5 MW. The average heat flux attenuation ranged from approximately 30% to 45% for the OTS configuration and from 52% to 76% for the OFSS configuration. These results indicate that sprinklers installed around an opening can reduce external thermal exposure, with greater mitigation achieved when sprinklers are installed on all four sides of the opening.
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Han et al. (2026) studied this question.
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