Small-Scale Enclosure for Characterizing the Fire Buildup Potential of a Room. Final Report.

Published

June 1, 1975

Author(s)

W J. Parker, B T. Lee

Abstract

A 0.76 by 0.76 m (30 inch) enclosure with a 0.61 m (24 inch) high ceiling was used to model some fires in a 3 x 3 x 2.4 m (10 x 10 x 8 ft) burnout room. Temperatures, oxygen concentrations, air velocity, and conductive and radiative heat fluxes were measured. The highest averaga air temperature in the upper part of the room was taken as a measure of the fire buildup potential of the room. Upper air temperatures attained in the model were similar in most cases to those in the full-scale compartment. From energy balance considerations this air temperature was related to the oxygen depletion in the room and was shown to correlate well with the oxygen content of the combustion gas and air exhausting from the model and full-scale room fires.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) -

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

fire growth, fire tests, flashover, room fires, scale models, thermal radiation, oxygen concentration

Citation

Parker, W. and Lee, B. (1975), Small-Scale Enclosure for Characterizing the Fire Buildup Potential of a Room. Final Report., NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=107095 (Accessed October 22, 2025)