Salt water modeling of fire induced flows in multicompartment enclosures

Salt water modeling is used to study fire-induced flows in multicompartment structures. Scaling laws relating salt water flows and hot gas flows are developed. Results from 1/20 scale salt water simulations of fire-induced flows in a single-story multiroom structure are shown to be in good agreement with available full-scale results. Experiments involving a 1/20 scale model of a U.S. Navy ship demonstrate the feasibility of using the technique to study hot gas flows in compartmented structures too complex to study economically by other means.