Commodity Classification Paper Recently Published in the Fire Safety Journal

The paper, "Warehouse commodity classification from fundamental principles. Part I: Commodity & burning rates" was recently published in the Fire Safety Journal. Check it out here

This paper sets a personal record for length of time from submittal to acceptance and posting. It was submitted in September, 2009 and became available online in April, 2011. A year and a half!

Abstract:
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the burning behavior of an individual Group A plastic commodity over time. The objective of the study was to evaluate the use of a nondimensional parameter to describe the time-varying burning rate of a fuel in complex geometries. The nondimensional approach chosen to characterize burning behavior over time involved comparison of chemical energy released during the combustion process with the energy required to vaporize the fuel, measured by a B-number.
The mixed nature of the commodity and its package, involving polystyrene and corrugated cardboard, produced three distinct stages of combustion that were qualitatively repeatable. The results of four tests provided flame heights, mass-loss rates and heat fluxes that were used to develop a phenomenological description of the burning behavior of a plastic commodity. Three distinct stages of combustion were identified. Time-dependent and time-averaged B-numbers were evaluated from mass-loss rate data using assumptions including a correlation for turbulent convective heat transfer. The resultant modified B-numbers extracted from test data incorporated the burning behavior of constituent materials, and a variation in behavior was observed as materials participating in the combustion process varied. Variations between the four tests make quantitative values for each stage of burning useful only for comparison, as errors were high. Methods to extract the B-number with a higher degree of accuracy and future use of the results to improve commodity classification for better assessment of fire danger are discussed.

"Fan of Fire" Image Wins 3rd Place at the 2011 Joint Meeting of the Combustion Institute

Our entry into the Combustion Art contest, "Fan of Fire", won 3rd place! Take a look at the image and abstract below, or go to the announcement: http://www.cssci.org/

Third Place — “Fan of Fire - Surface Inclination Effects on Upward Flame Spread”
“This "fan of fire" visually displays the effect gravity has on upward flame spread over thermally-thick materials. Starting from the left "ceiling fire", as the inclination angle or tilt of a burning surface is increased underside flames transition from blue, well-mixed laminar flames into increasingly turbulent yellow flames on the topside that "lift" from the surface dramatically increasing the flame thickness. These images were taken perpendicular to the surface of a thick sample of Polymethyl Methacrylate mounted flush into insulation board as flames spread upward. These tests have helped in finding critical inclinations with maximum flame spread rates, burning rates and heat fluxes from the flame.”
Michael Gollner and Xinyan Huang (University of California, San Diego)