Fire induced flow through an opening

Abstract The buoyantly driven flow of fire gases out through a window or door of a burning room is calculated for a constant density hot gas layer. An experimental model employing kerosene and water is developed to test the validity of the theory. The results indicate that the theory, with flow coefficients determined from the experiment can adequately predict the behavior. While the theory discussed fails to predict the room layer depth at low inflow rates by a large factor, the absolute error of only a few inches is of no practical consequence. Fire safety implications for doorway and window design are noted. Flow formulas useful for practical calculations are presented.