Finite difference calculation of pool fires

The objective of this work, has been to develop a calculation tool that can be used to predict heat loads, smoke concentrations and fire development of fires offshore. The method is based on a finite difference solution of the basic equations from fluid dynamics together with different mathematical models. The most important of these models are the k -e model of turbulence, the Eddy Dissipation Concept for combustion (EDC), the Soot Model by Magnussen, and the Discrete Transfer Model for radiation by Shah and Lockwood. All the resulting three dimensional and transient equations are solved by a special version of the more general computer code KAMELEON. The methods developed have been tested for several different fire cases including enclosed pool fires with from 1 to 15 openings and open pool fires with and without wind. The calculations have been performed for both small scale and full scale. No problem oriented adjustments of constants in the models have been made. Fire development, temperatures and heat fluxes, have been checked against experimental data from the Norwegian Fire Research Laboratory. Both this and comparison with data from literature, show good agreement between calculated and experimental values. It is apparent that the tool developed describes the physics well enough to give valuable information about practical fire cases. The numerical code has proved to be stable for a great variety, of different combustion cases, and the computations can be made fast enough to be a practical tool in fire safety studies.