APPLICATIONS OF A MODEL TO COMPARE AFLAME SPREAD AND BEAT RELEASE PROPERTIES OF INFERIOR FINISH MATERIALS IN A COMPARTMENT

Flame spread and heat release properties and incident heat flux of interior materials subject to an igniter heat flux in a compartment are investigated and compared by using computer model. A comer fire ignition source is maintained for 10 minutes at 100 kw and subsequently increased to 300kw. In executing the model, base-line material properties are selected and one is changed for each run. Also 4 different igniter heat flux conditions and examined. Results are compared for the 12 different materials tested by the ISO Room Comer Test (9705). The time for total energy release rate to reach 1MW is examined. The parameters considered include flame heat flux and thermal inertia, lateral flame spread parameter, heat of combustion and effective heat of gasfication. The model can show the importance of each property in causing fire growth on interior Hnish materials in a compartment. The effect of ignitor heat flux and material property effects were demonstrated by using dimensionless parameters a, b and Tb. Results show that for b greater than about zero, flashover time in the ISO Room-Corner test is principally proportional to ignition time and nothing more.