Flame propagation on solid fuels is a significant topic in combustion and fire research and has implications for fire safety and risk assessment. The study of flame propagation in discontinuous materials is crucial for understanding the growth and development of fires involving combustible materials that are not continuous. The process of spreading flame and igniting its adjacent fuel can also be regarded as the spread of flame on discontinuous materials. Some simplified numerical simulations of the flame spread of discontinuous materials have been developed and conducted to determine the flame spread rate. However, there is a lack of flame morphology and flow characteristics in the near discontinuous zone, which is important for understanding the fire spreading in the discontinuous zone of material.

CIRP has recently established a numerical model to study the flow, heat, and mass transfer during the downward flame spread of discontinuous material PMMA. They developed an explanation for the relationship between flame spread rate and discontinuity length by analyzing the competition mechanism of flame “jumping” and heat transfer. These findings provide a valuable framework for predicting and controlling fires involving discontinuously distributed combustible materials, which are ubiquitous in real-world scenarios. The study’s uniqueness also lies in its investigation of flame propagation in a system that is representative of real-world conditions. Therefore, this research is able to contribute to the development of a more efficient and accurate model for fire safety, which is socially and economically important. The incorporation of turbulence models in future research will facilitate the investigation of realistic, large-scale fire scenarios.

Schematic diagram of the process of ignition and fire spread in discontinuous materials

Contact: official@cirp.org.cn