Mathematical modelling of fire sprinkler systems

N. Hoffmann and E. R. Galea

Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis, Street, London SE18 6PF, UK Thames Polytechnic, Wellington

N. C. Markatos
Department Greece of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University, 106 82 Athens,

The paper considers the mathematical model&g of compartment fires and the interaction with an activated sprinkler system. Various fire and fire sprinkler models are discussed. Two methods of modelling the spray, namely the Lagrange particle-tracking method and the volume fraction method, are highlighted. The mathematical basis of a computer model, currently under development, is described. The first results obtained with this model are discussed and appear encouraging. Keywords: fire modelling,

sprinkler modelling,

two-phase,

CFD, PHOENICS

Introduction
The idea of using water as a method of controlling and quenching fires has existed since the dawn of time. The reasons for this choice can best be seen by some of its more important attributes. As water is an essential part of life, it is universally available and thus inexpensive. It is nontoxic and does not give rise to toxic products. It has a high heat absorption capability due to its very high latent heat of vaporization and a high specific heat for both its liquid and gas phases. Current research is directed toward adding chemicals to water for cases when water alone is not able to extinguish a fire. In those cases the water spray is used to reduce the flaming combustion and cool down the surroundings, while the added chemical completes the extinction. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the general background of fighting fires with water sprinklers; the reasons mathematical models are ever increasing in popularity to study physical phenomena such as fires; some types of models available for both fire and fire and sprinkler simulations; the necessary equations which are needed in the development of the mathematical fire sprinkler simulation package CLYTIE.

Review of fire modelling and sprinkler systems

Fires and their resulting consequences have and will be studied for centuries. Even though sophisticated devices such as automatic sprinklers and heat and smoke detectors are being developed and installed, serious fires still occur, resulting in huge losses every year. The physical problem can be divided up into studying the behaviors of two main phases: the gas phase behaviors, involving the general fluid circulation of the hot combustion products within the compartment, and the liquid phase, representing the evaporating water droplets which have been injected into the fire compartment through the sprinkler orifice. The processes governing the interaction between these two phases has already been studied extensively, especially when it comes to obtaining empirical equations to evaluate heat transfer between water sprays and flames, the study of the effect of a sprinkler on the stability of a smoke layer beneath a ceiling,* and even the heat transfer from a buoyant smoke layer beneath a ceiling to a sprinkler spray.3 However, with the advancement of powerful computers the complex phenomena of fires can now be more clearly understood and analyzed with the help of mathematical computer models, such as JASMINE,4 the Harvard Zone Model,5 or UNDSAFE.6 These models are used to predict the general behavior of smoke movement within a variety of fire compartments, ranging from single room fires to connecting room geometries or even aircraft cabins. The relative success of these numerical models in

Address reprint requests to Dr. Hoffmann at the Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis, Thames Polytechnic, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PF, UK. Received March 1988; revised July 1988

298

Appl. Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

0 1989 Butterworth

Publishers

Mathematical

modeling

of fire sprinkler systems:

Al. Hoffmann

et al.

simulating the complex tire phenomena suggests that it should also be possible to model the extinguishment of the fire itself. Sprinklers and heat and smoke detectors can be seen practically everywhere-department stores, warehouses, offices, and underground stations. However, the locations and installation of these devices are based upon experience and experiments. As is the case for fire investigations and analyses, this approach is very costly and time consuming. The work reported here is the first stage of producing a computer model to simulate the activation and interaction of a sprinkler device within a fire enclosure. The model intends to address such questions as, the optimum locations of sprinklers so that they are activated as soon as possible after the fire eruption, the number of activated sprinklers, the optimum average droplet size to extinguish the tire, and the time taken to extinguish the fire. These are just a few of the questions which should be answered by such a computer model. The advantage in using computer simulations is that only a few parameters need be changed to model different tire scenarios rather than physically move walls or install different sprinkler heads and repeat the experiment. In order to set up a realistic computer model the necessary background information concerning fires and sprinklers need to be obtained. A brief general overview and background into sprinklers follows.
Sprinklers and water spray protection

>yc
INslALLfD CCNOENT

cLoon

Figure 1. Principal distribution pattern of water from old sprinklers (previous to 1953) (from Ref. 9).

There are a number of ways of applying water to a fire source. To some extent the method chosen depends on the situation. In this paper we will focus attention on two different water protection methods, namely automatic sprinkler and remote sprinkler systems with a common technique-spray cooling. There are at present two main types of water spray systems: the automatic sprinkler and the ordinary fixed spray nozzle system.
The automatic sprinkler system. For more than 100 years the automatic sprinkler system has proven to be the most effective means of automatic tire protection. In fact, insurance companies have long recognized the value of sprinkler systems in protecting property from tire, and to encourage the installation of such systems they offer substantial discounts on insurance premiums. Recently8 they slashed the premiums of a major oil company by $10.5 million following the installation of sprinklers and fire doors. The type of sprinkler heads used within an automatic sprinkler installation are thermosensitive, designed to react at predetermined temperatures, as well as independently from one another. Once the preset temperature has been reached a mechanism opens a valve and a stream of water is issued and distributed over a given, predetermined area. The water is fed to the sprinklers via a specially designed pipe system, ordinarily overhead, along which the sprinkler heads are placed at predetermined intervals.

There now exists a wide variety of sprinkler head designs and operating principles, producing different types of spray patterns. Standards covering the manufacture of the sprinklers themselves does not as yet exist. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) does, however, insist that only sprinklers listed by reputable product evaluation organizations be used in sprinkler systems. (For a detailed description of the different types of automatic sprinkler head designs and their operating principles see Ref. 9.) One of the main features of the modem automatic sprinkler, which was developed in the early 1950s is the deflector plate or distributor (see Figure 2). The stream of water is directed towards the plate and is subsequently distributed to form an umbrella-shaped spray below the sprinkler with virtually no water being sprayed upward. This sprinkler characteristic produces a relatively uniform distribution of water below the sprinkler, whether it was produced by an upright or a pendent type sprinkler. The sprinkler head designs, prior to-the 1950s produced a more spherical pattern with approximately 60% of the water being sprayed downward and 40% being sprayed upward against the ceiling or roof (see Figure I). During the design of any sprinkler system there are a variety of factors that need to be taken into consideration. First there is the spray umbrella and the area which will be covered. Another consideration is the amount of water being discharged and subsequently the pressure behind the water and the size of the orifice of the sprinkler. The operating temperature and speed

EVEN WA1111 OISlRIWllON

Figure 2. Principal distribution pattern of water from standard sprinklers (in use since 1953) (from Ref. 9).

Appl.

Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

299

Mathematical

modelling

of fire sprinkler systems: N. Hoffmann

et al.

of operation are other major factors needed in the design.

Fixed spray nozzle sprinklers. A fixed spray nozzle system is designed to provide optimum control, extinguishment, or exposure protection for special fire protection problems. They are not intended to replace automatic spray systems, but they may be independent of, or supplementary to, other forms of protection. The sprays themselves are once again connected to a speciall y fixed pipe system and a reliable supply of water. The nozzles are designed for specific water discharge and area coverage. The activation of these sprays is done electrically via the operation of other automatic detection equipment, such as heat or smoke detectors. These types of systems are most frequently used for the protection of flammable liquids and gas tanks, piping, and equipment, such as transformers and oil switches; and openings in firewalls and floors through which conveyors pass. The type of water spray required for any particular hazard will depend on the nature of the hazard and the purpose for which the protection is provided. Due to the wider range of applications of these types of systems the sprinkler nozzles themselves are of a different design, and the selection of the nozzle to be installed needs to take into account the characteristics of the hazard to be protected. For example, one type of nozzle design produces a spray by rotating the water inside the nozzle body prior to release. Types of models

Figure 3.

Schematic of a zone model (ASET) (from Ref. 11).

Field models. The so-called field models are a far more sophisticated type of model which are currently still under validation and further development. Unlike zone models, the fire domain is subdivided into literally tens of thousands of individual control cells which form part of the mathematical discretization technique, that may be of the finite difference, finite volume, or finite element variety. Then the governing equations of motion and the conservation equations are solved at each individual control cell. As field models solve for the necessary physical variables from first principles rather than use empirically obtained equations, they are more general and thus more versatile than zone models. A number of fire models have already been developed which use this approach: JASMINE4,12 SAFEAIR,13 and TEACH-T.14 Spray models. There exists one liquid atomizatian and spray systems field model, which uses the computer code FLUENT as its main equation solver. This solver uses a technique of the finite volume variety for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. For the modelling of the liquid phase, the Lagrangian method of particle tracking is used. Fire sprinkler models. The field modelling approach may be adapted to include the effect of sprinklers on a fire scenario. However, there are at least two different ways of dealing with the second phase. First, the droplets can be traced individually from the time they are injected into the system up to total evaporation. Alternatively, the two phases may be treated as two interspersed continua occupying the same space, their share of space being measured by their volume fractions.16 The two phases interact with each other via friction, heat and mass transfer, and the calculations are dependent on the amount of each phase within each control volume. The former approach has been applied within the PSI-cell model developed by Crowe et al. and by Alpert.* The latter method was chosen for developing the model described here. The models developed by Crowe et al. and Alpert use an extended version of the computer code TEACH-T14 which is able to take into account a second phase. This modified version can now model gas droplet flows in two dimensions. It takes into account all three modes of gas droplet interaction: mass coupling, i.e., evaporation; momentum coupling, i.e., drag; and thermal coupling, i.e.,

Over the last few years, due to the greater availability of faster computers as well as their decreasing running costs, great interest has been shown in developing efficient mathematical computer models to predict a variety of different aspects of fire behavior. There are two main approaches to simulating fires mathematically: the so-called zone models and field models. These are two fundamentally different types of deterministic models which have already been substantially tested for the gas phase of a complete fire scenario. Zone models. The first and oldest type of model is the zone model which was developed prior to the present day fast computers. Hence, this type of model is relatively simplistic in its treatment of the complexities of a fire scenario. In zone modelling, the fire domain (say a room, tunnel, or aircraft cabin) is subdivided into a number of well-defined regions. In these regions empirically based expressions are used to describe the appropriate physical behavior. For a preflashover fire some of the regions (see Figure 3) that might exist are the fires combustion zone and its thermal plume and the hot upper and cold lower layers which are separated by a sharp interface. In the upper zone are the hot combustion products, while below the interface the gases are cool and uncontaminated. Computer models which use this technique are the Harvard Computer Fire Code,s DACFIR,O and ASET.

300

Appl. Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

Mathematical

modeling

of fire sprinkler systems:

N. Hoffmann

et al.

heat transfer. It treats the droplets as sources of mass, momentum, and energy to the gas phase and thus is known as the particle-source-in-cell (PSI-cell) model. The solution domain is divided into control volumes for the gas phase in which the equations for mass, momentum, and energy conservation are solved for. The droplet trajectories and size and temperature histories are obtained by integrating the equations of motion for the droplets within the gas phase and using expressions for the interface mass and heat transfer rates. The droplet velocities, size, and temperatures along the trajectories are calculated using the Lagrangian approach. Thus, two distinct methods exist to model the droplets within a field model. The first method, the particle tracking method, has already been applied to various gas particle simulations and has proven to be adequate to track particles within the given enclosure. However, the drops are crudely simulated with given empirical equations, and as such a certain amount of information about their interaction with the surrounding atmosphere is being lost. Furthermore, the method is basically applicable to low-turbulence, low-droplet-concentration situations, and its extension to three-dimensional space is not straightforward. For these reasons the second method was chosen for this work. This method, which we shall call the volume-fraction approach, solves for both phases simultaneously. Thus, the interactions between the phases are given a greater prominence, and more information about the two phases can be obtained.

start interacting, equations need to be solved which not only deal with the general conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy of each phase, but also take into account the important interphase processes (friction, heat and mass transfer) between them.
The mathematical problem

The starting point of any analysis is the set of partial differential equations that govern the phenomena under consideration. For the present case, the set consists of the following equations: the continuity equation of each phase; the momentum equations that govern the conservation of momentum per unit mass (e.g., velocity) for each phase, in each of the space directions (the Navier-Stokes equations); the equations for conservation of energy for each phase; species concentration (water vapor); and the equations for a turbulence model (in this case the k-e model) for the gaseous phase only. The precise formulation of the differential equations describing the model will not be given here as they may be found elsewhere;2*22-25 however, the general vector form of the equations will be presented. Discussion is restricted to steady state, although the model under development is transient.
Dependent and independent variables. The independent variables used are the coordinates of a cartesian system: z (length), y (height), and x (width). The dependent variables solved for are the velocities of the gas and liquid phases in the three space directions wl, w2, uI, v2, and ul, u2; the pressure p, which is assumed to be the same for both phases; the gas and liquid volume fractions R, and R2 as well as the shadow volume fraction Rs, i.e., the volume fraction in the absence of evaporation, all other conditions being those evaluated with evaporation; the turbulence kinetic energy and its dissipation rate for the gaseous phase k and E; and the concentration of water vapor cl. The shadow volume fraction technique allows us to evaluate the diminishing droplet size during evaporation.26 Turbulence in the liquid phase is neglected. The differential
l

The mathematical description of the physical problem

CLYTIE is the name given to a mathematical model under development by the authors. It is concerned with the numerical prediction of the environment created during sprinkler activation following a tire within a compartment. The resulting flow characteristics are turbulent and of a two-phase nature: the gas phase in which the chemical reactions occur and the liquid phase involving the evaporating water droplets. The model consists of a set of nonlinear partial differential equations describing the flow, heat and mass transfer, and the volume fractions of the two phases. These equations are solved for using a numerical scheme based on the control volume approach,19 and implemented into the general fluid-flow package PHOENICS.20~21 At present, the tire is seen simply as a heat source, without the added complication of combustion. Future versions of CLYTIE will include combustion and smoke generation simulations, following the lines of previous work.12,22 The heat source creates a strong buoyancy driven flow with large-scale turbulent motion which controls the diffusion of mass and momentum and mixing of the two phases. The nonuniform buoyancy forces not only drive this flow but also increase turbulent mixing in the rising plume and inhibit it in hot stratified layers. The droplets that are injected into the above field are treated as a second continuous phase, interacting with the gaseous field. Once these two phases

equations

The mass-conservation div(piRiVJ = Si

equation: (1)

where i refers to the phase in question (1 for gas, 2 for liquid). The volume fractions RI and R2 need to satisfy the space sharing condition
R,+R2=

(2)

The source/sink term Si is the rate of evaporation. (source for the gaseous phase and sink for the liquid phase).
l

4:

The conservation equation for the general variable The general source-balance equation for $I is div(piRiV& - Rir+ grad 4) = S+ (3) variables

where 4 stands for the general dependent

Appl. Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

301

Mathematical

modeling

of fire sprinkler systems: N. Hoffmann

et al.

(velocities, enthalpy, etc.). Equations for these various quantities differ primarily in the way in which the terms r+ and S+ are connected with other variables. They are derived from equation (2) simply by replacing 4, Ts, and S+ with the appropriate expressions. Further details may be found in Ref. 27.
Auxiliary equations. Due to the very nature of the problem, i.e., the interaction between two phases certain correlations need to be included in the model to close the problem. These relations deal with the interphase heat and mass transfer and the friction between the gas and liquid phases. The assumptions made are that the gas and droplets are dispersed over the solution domain and that the droplets are spherical. The last assumption is not essential but simplifies the nature of the empirical input.

l Interphase heat transfer coefficient: The heat transferred from the gas to the surface of the droplet is defined by2

& = -ti[ C,(T,

- Ts) + L]

(10)

where T, is the temperature of the gas and Ts is the temperature at the surface of the droplet.
Droplet calculations. There are still several equations which need to be specified to complete the mathematical model. All the following equations will deal with the second phase-the droplets. These will evaluate the droplet size as they evaporate, along with the temperature found on the surface of each drop. This last term is required in the previously mentioned heat transfer equation.
l Droplet size calculations: In the field of fire protection, knowledge of the optimal droplet size is essential to maximize the fire fighting efficiency and effectiveness of sprinklers. The basic function of a sprinkler system is to extinguish a fire as quickly as possible or at least to control it in the best possible way. It is also essential to use as few sprinkler heads as possible. A knowledge of the optimum droplet size is therefore critical. However, the optimum size of the discharge water droplet is dependent on certain criteria and requirements which are set out before installation. Some of these criteria are:31 1. They need to be able to penetrate the rising fire plume to extinguish the burning surface. 2. Cool the combustion products and ambient atmosphere, especially under the ceiling to prevent an excessive number of sprinklers from opening. 3. Wet and cool immediately surrounding combustibles and walls that are subject to direct exposure to the fire. Thus, if greater penetrability of the drops through the plume is required, large orifice sprinklers should be used. If cooling is of more importance the sprinkler should have a smaller orifice in order to produce a finer spray of water particles. There are two fundamentally different approaches to track and evaluate the distribution and sizes of the water droplets. The first method which has been used quite successfu11y15.17 is the tracking approach using the Lagrange method of evaluation as set out in the PSI-cell model. Another method, which has been proposed by Spalding 26 to be used for finite difference calculations, is known as the shadow volumefraction method. At present the latter approach is used within CLYTIE. This method was designed to compute an average particle size as follows. The conservation law for the second phase can be written as

Interphase friction coefficient: The two phases, gas and liquid, slip with respect to each other resulting in the interphase-friction force, which is of the form
l

F = CdPAp Slip

(4)

where p is the density of the gas phase, Cd is the drag coefficient, ks,, is the resultant slip velocity, A, is the total projected droplet area in the finite difference cell given by
A, = (1.5 V/d)Re

(5)

where d is the droplet diameter, V is the volume of the cell, and Re is the particle Reynolds number given by Re = dVsliplp/
(6)

where pl is the laminar viscosity of the gas. The drag coefficient Cd is evaluated as follows:28 0.42,%(1. + 0.15Re0.687)

0.42 + 1.0 + (4.25 x 104)Re-.16

(7)

l Interphase mass transfer coefficient: As this problem deals with evaporating water droplets, the loss of mass of the droplets needs to be calculated (S, in equation (1)). Several suggestions for mass transfer models have been made. The model used within CLYTIE is the one suggested in Ref. 29 and applied in Ref. 30:

(8)
where C, is the specific heat, which is assumed to be constant for both phases, d is the initial droplet diameter, A is the thermal conductivity of the water droplets, L is the latent heat of evaporation, and A is the interface surface area per cell, given by
A _

6R2v
d V is the cell

R&2,

= XRz,g,i - ti

(11)

where R2 is the liquid volume fraction, volume, and d is the droplet diameter.

where R2 is the volume fraction of phase 2 within a control cell, RZi is the volume fraction in the neighboring cells from which fluid enters the control cell, g2 is the mass flux of the second phase, rit is the rate

302

Appl. Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

Mathematical modelling of fire sprinkler systems: of mass transfer from phase 2 to phase 1. The subscripts i and o denote inflow and outflow from a control cell. A further calculation is required to obtain the shadow volume fraction. This volume fraction is the fraction of the volume which the second phase would have occupied in the absence of mass transfer. Equation (12) differs from (11) only in that the term ti (the rate of mass transfer) is absent: (12) R.Jg,, = CRsg,i where RS is the shadow volume fraction, i.e., the volume fraction which would be occupied by the second phase if there had been no mass transfer. From those calculations the average diameter of the droplets within each control cell can be evaluated using the relation , JJ \ 0.3333 (13) where Din is the initial average diameter of the droplets injected into the system, assumed uniform.
l Surface temperature: the droplets is evaluated

N. Hoffmann et al.

The surface temperature using the equationz7

of

T, =

a,T, + al T, + niCT, al + a2 + rizC

(14)

where a1 is the gas-to-surface-of-droplet heat coeff& cient and a2 the surface-to-the-interior-of-droplet heat transfer coefficient. These are evaluated using the relations al = alAs 3A a2 = 6 where al is estimated by assuming the Nusselt number around the droplet equal to 2, and a2 is computed assuming a cubic temperature distribution within a droplet whereby 8, the thermal wave penetration depth in a spherical droplet, is assumed to be the radius of the initial drop size. A, is the total surface area of a drop, T, and T2 are the gas and droplet temperatures, respectively, and rn2] is the mass transfer from the droplet to the gas phase. The solution procedure The previous equations are solved for using the computer program PHOENICS2 with the built-in algorithms SIMPLEST and IPSA (Interphase Slip Algorithm). The latter is able to handle the presence of two simultaneously present phases sharing a common pressure. It allows fully for the interactions between those phases. For these calculations PHOENICS uses the conventional staggered grid approach for solving finite volume equations.19 Modelling of a sprinkler system In order to evaluate the validity of CLYTIE, as described previously, a simple three-dimensional steady(15)

state fire scenario was set up. Experimental data of a fire scenario which was suppressed by one sprinkler were obtained in Ref. 32. The fire compartment, shown schematically in Figure 4, represents an office of dimensions 2.44 m by 3.66 m in plan and 2.44 m in height. A doorway of dimension 0.76 m in width and 2.03 m in height was situated on the far end of the room and was open throughout the scenario. Due to the symmetry in the layout of the office, only half the room was being modelled. The section of the flow domain under investigation was fitted with a 10 x 14 x 23 Cartesian grid. The fire represented a wastepaper basket fire with a nonsteady heat release rate which was situated on the opposite wall to the doorway. One sprinkler was located toward the center of the office 0.1 m below the ceiling. In this paper some early results are presented and discussed. A steady total fire intensity of 30 kW was assumed and released over a volume of 0.3 m x 0.3 m x 0.3 m in the width, height, and length, respectively. The sprinkler was located near the center of the room, about 1.8 m away from the fire source and 0.1 m below the ceiling. The water is released at a rate of 7 kg/s at an angle of 70 from the line of symmetry, producing droplets with a uniform average diameter of 1 mm. The droplets were released at an initial temperature of 10C. The ambient room temperature prior to the fire was 24C. Gravity is acting in the negative y-direction. Results Prior to activation of the sprinkler, the flow field, shown schematically in Figure 5(a), created by the fire was generated. These results were then used as the initial values for the activation of the sprinkler. The criteria

Figure 4.

Schematic

representation

of the fire and sprinkler

Appl.

Math.

Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

303

Mathematical

modeling

of fire sprinkler systems: N. Hoffmann

et al.

Vector scale: >

2087

m/s

The new generated circulation pattern can best be seen in Figure 6, where the mirror plane cutting through the fire source, sprinkler head, and open doorway is shown. In Figure 6(a) it can be observed how relatively cool air is entrained into the room through the lower regions of the open doorway, the hot gases rising in the characteristic hot buoyant plume above the heat source, and the ceiling jet of hot gases escaping through the upper regions of the doorway. The cooling of these hot gases due to the sprinkler and the new flow pattern is illustrated in Figure 6(b). The associated temperatures for Figure 6 are shown in Figure 7. Here, the dramatic effect of sprinkler activation can best be seen. The steady-state temperatures of around 250C have been reduced to around 20C. It should be noted that the criteria for sprinkler activation had not been taken into consideration due to this preliminary study, hence the high temperatures near the sprinkler head. From these results it can be seen that sprinklers have a significant effect on a fire compartment not only in terms of the reduction in tem-

(b)

(a) \ , _ _ ___. . - _ _. _ - _ _ _____ _ , , -______-__ - - _ __-_ - - - _ . , # , , ~ \ L \ , \ , \ I , .

\ ,

k'X

Z
Vector scale: > 2,87 m/s

t r K i___ t--+zz
I . _
x=1

__c_cc-cc

cccc

.._.._

+
>

)_w

Vector

scale:

2,87

m/s

Figure 5. Office fire scenario: (b) fire and sprinkler.

velocity vector fields (a) only fire;

for sprinkler activation were not taken into consideration as the main aim was to test the feasibility of the proposed model. Figure 5(b) shows the effect of the sprinkler on the flow field. In both figures the planes shown are Z = 1, the plane through the fire source, and Y = 12, the plane through the sprinkler head location. The velocity vectors shown are for the gaseous phase. Figure .5(a) shows the characteristic fire plume rising, forming the hot buoyant upper layer spreading out underneath the ceiling. The activated sprinkler completely changes this flow pattern. The hot rising gases are being entrained into the spray and forced downward. In that way the hot gases are being washed out, and are being spread out along the walls.

x=1

Vector

>

scale:

2.87

m/s

Figure 6. Side view of office: velocity profiles along the room (a) only fire; (b) fire and sprinkler.

304

Appl.

Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

Mathematical (a)
a00

modelling

of fire sprinkler systems: N, Hoffmann

et al.

Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank CHAM for allowing the use of PHOENICS, as well as the SERC and Ove Arup and Partners for funding this project. References
1 Rasbash, D. J. Heat transfer between water sprays and flames of freely burning fires. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Interaction between Fluids and Particles. London, June 1962 Bullen, M. L. The effect of a sprinkler on the stability of a smoke layer beneath a ceiling. Fire Research Note Nr. 1016, July 1974 Morgan, H. P. Heat transfer from a buoyant smoke layer beneath a ceiling to a sprinkler spray: a tentative theory. Fire Research Note Nr. 1069, July 1977 Cox, G., Kumar, S., and Markatos, N. C. Some field model validation studies. First International Symposium on Fire Safety Science. Gaithersburg, Maryland, Oct. 1985 Mitler, H. E. The physical basis for the Harvard computer code. Home Fire Project Technical Report No. 34, Harvard University, 1978 Yang, Y. T. and Chang, L. C. UNDSAFE-I: A computer code for buoyant flow in an enclosure. NBS-GCR-77-84 Anon. Automatic sprinkler systems-components. FPA Bulletin No. 34 Tye, J. and Genasis, C. Small precautions can prevent big fires. CME, 1986, 7-8, 26-28 Fire Protection Handbook Sixteenth Edition, Section 18, Chapters 3 and 7 Reeves, J. B. and MacArthur, C. D. Dayton Aircraft Cabin FIRe model Vol. l-basic mathematical model. FAA-RD-76120, I Cooper, L. Y. Estimating safe egress time for fires. NBSIRIO2172, National Bureau of Standards, Feb. 1981 Markatos, N. C. and Cox, G. Hydrodynamics and heat transfer in enclosures containing a fire source. Physiochemical Hydrodynamics S(l), 53-66 Galea, E. R. and Markatos, N. C. Prediction of tire development in aircraft. Second International PHOENICS Users Conference, London, Nov. 1987 Gosman, A. D. and Pun, W. M. Calculation of recirculating flows. Lecture notes, Imperial College of Science and Technology, Dec. 1973 Swithenbank, J., Boysan, F., and Ayers, W. H. Two-phase flow calculations. Liquid Atomisation and Spray Systems Course, Kungalv, Sweden, Sep. 1987 Snaldina, D. B. Numerical computation of multi-phase fluid flbw and heat transfer. RecentAdiances in Numerical Methods in Fluids, eds. C. Taylor and K. Morgan, Pineridge Press, 1980, pp. 139-167 Crowe, C. T., Sharma, M. P., and Stock, D. E. The particlesource-in cell (PSI-cell) model for gas droplet flows. J. Fluid Eng. June 1977, 325-332 Alpert, R. L. Calculated spray water-droplet flows in a fire environment. Factory Mutual Research, FMRC J.I. OJOJl.BU, Oct. 1986 Patankar, S. V. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980 Spalding, D. B. A general-purpose computer program for multidimensional one- and two-phase flow. Prepr 81-6; Mathematics and Computers in Simulation; North Holland (IMACS) Vol. 23, 1981, pp. 267-276 Rosten, H. I. and Scalding, D. B. PHOENICS Beginners Guide and User Manual.-CHAM TRIlOO, 1986 Markatos, N. C., Pericleous, K. A., and Cox. G. A novel approach to the field modelling of fires. Physic0 Chemical Hydrodynamics 1986, 7(2/3), 125-143

b)

21

Y
L x=1

22 25

11 12 13 14

+Z

Figure 7. Side view of office: temperature profiles on the vertical central plane (a) only fire; (b) fire and sprinkler.

peratures but also the overall flow circulation patterns, as expected. Conclusions The results presented here show that a fire sprinkler scenario can be modelled with the present method. However, from the results obtained it can clearly be seen that further modifications within the model need to be made. These modifications will range from the conditions for sprinkler activation, the release of the droplets to the treatment of the boundaries. Further aims will be to use the program in transient mode due to the nature of the phenomena under investigation. The number of grid cells needed to obtain gridindependent solutions will also be investigated. From previous studiesI it had been found that finer grids especially in the vertical direction were needed. In order to complete the feasibility study, comparisons will be carried out between the proposed model outlined in this paper and the above-mentioned particle tracking approach.15J7J8

15 16

17 18 19 20

21 22 23

Kumar, S. and Cox, G. Mathematical modelling of fires in road tunnels. Fifth International Conference on the Aerodynamics and Ventilation of Vech. Tunnels. 1985, Lille, p. 61

Appl.

Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May

305

Mathematical
24

modeling

of fire sprinkler systems: N, Hoffman

et al.

Cox, Cl. and Kumar, S. The mathematical modelling of fires in forced ventilated enclosures. Proceedings of the 18th DOE
Nuclear Airborne Waste Management and Air Cleaning Conf. 28

granulated propellants. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 1983, X$7),

1037-1053

25

26

27

U.S. Dept. of Energy Rep., 840806, 1985, p. 629 Kumar, S., Hoffmann, N., and Cox, G. Some validation of JASMINE for fires in hospital wards. Numerical Simulations of Fluid Flow and Heat/Mass Transfer Processes, ed. N. C. Markatos, et al. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1986, pp. 159-169 Spalding, D. B. The shadow method of particle-size calculation in two-phase combustion. Nineteenth Symposium (International) on Combustion. The Combustion Institute, 1982, pp. 941-951 Markatos, N. C. and Kircaldy, D. Analysis and computation of three-dimensional transient flow and combustion through

29 30 31 32

Clift, R. and Gauvin, W. H. Motion of entrained particles in gas streams. Canadian J. of Chem. Eng. 1971, 49, 439-448 Spalding, D. B. Combustion and Mass Transfer. Pergamon Press, London, 1979 Kircaldy, D. and Markatos, N. C. Spray cooling of combustion products. CHAM Technical Report 1371/l, London, Oct. 1982 Mugele, R. A. and Evans, H. D. Droplet size distribution in sprays. Industrial and Eng. Chemistry 1951,43, 1317-1324 Cooper. L. Y. and Stroun. D. W. Test results and medictions for the response of near-ceiling sprinkler links in a full-scale compartment fire. National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 873633, Sept. 1987

306

Appl. Math. Modelling,

1989, Vol. 13, May