CFD Prediction of Pool Fire Burning Rates and Flame Feedback

A computational fluid dynamic model with full coupling between gaseous and liquid phases is developed to predict burning rates of small- to medium-size pool fires. Rates of fuel release are calculated using predictions of flame feedback to the surface of the pool. Favre-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved to describe flow in the gaseous phase. Hydrocarbon combustion is described using an eddy breakup model. The heat conduction equation in the region with a regressing surface is solved to model liquid vaporization. A pool fire is modeled as an unsteady process, from the time of ignition until convergence to a quasi-steady burning rate. Comparisons are made to a number of experiments reported in the literature and include burning rates for different fuels, as well as total and radiative flame feedback to the burning surface.