The effect of the sideward wind on the temperature inside a compartment and the spill plume from the window

Author：He, M. M., Li, L. J., Duan, J. R., Hu, H. W., Ji, J.

Journal：Journal of Building Engineering

DOI:  10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106993

Keywords: Compartment fire, Buildings, Sideward wind, Fire spill plume, Temperature, heat fluxes, fire, ventilation, buildings, openings, flames, Construction & Building Technology, Engineering

Abstract: 

This study investigated how the sideward wind affected the airflow at the window, the temperature within the compartment and the fire plume spilling from the window through experiments and simulations. Experiments were conducted in a small-sized compartment featuring high-low opposing openings. The airflow status at the high opening (the window) under the sideward wind environment was revealed. An equivalent model was established to simplify the complex airflow at the window, and the effective flow factor was put forward to characterize the net outflow from the window under the sideward wind. The experimental result shows that the temperature in the compartment decreases as the wind speed increases. The correlation estimating the compartment temperature in a windless environment was modified to estimate the dimensionless temperature rise inside a compartment under a sideward wind environment. As the sideward wind speed (0-4 m/s) increases, the tilt angle of the fire plume spilling from the window increases and the high-temperature zone of the plume is also tilted. A function of the Froude number determined by the ratio of horizontal inertia force generated by sideward wind and thermal buoyancy force of plume was proposed, and the tangent of the tilt angle measured is well described by the proposed function.