The Effect of Fuel Quantity and Location on Small Enclosure Fires

Results from an experimental program undertaken to study the effect of fuel quantity and location on ethanol pool fires in the open and in a small enclosure (an ISO 9705 room) are compared with simulations using the Fire Dynamics Simulator version 4.03 (FDS4). The fuel in trays is placed at three locations (front, back, and center) within the room enclosure as well as directly under the calorimeter hood. The measured heat release rate (HRR) is found to vary substantially when a fuel package consisting of different quantities of ethanol is placed at different locations within the room. Instead of prescribing this HRR into the FDS simulation, these experimental results are compared with HRR predictions obtained using the FDS4 combustion model. The comparison reveals that there are significant and variable differences between the experimental results and the FDS4 predictions in contrast to simulations where the HRR is prescribed.