Extinguishment Of Rack Storage Fires Of Corrugated Cartons Using Water

Abstract

A series of large-scale fire tests were conducted on the extinguishment of corrugated cartons stored on metal racks. Three different storage heights (3.0 m, 4.5 m, and 6.0 m) were investigated. A specially designed water applicator, supported at a close distance from the top of the test array, was used to deliver a uniform water application density directly onto the array. The applicator could be actuated at any stage of the fire development process to simulate sprinkler response under different fire scenarios. Products of combustion from the fire were collected by a large-capacity calorimeter for the determination of heat release rate for the entire test duration. The effects of water application rate, fire size at the time of water application, and storage height were examined. A single empirical correlation of the extinguishment data was established between the fuel consumed during extinguishment normalized by the fire consumable mass left at the time of water application, Mext/Mo,w' and the wat~r~pplication rate normalized by the mass burning rate at water~pp!ication, Mw/M b w' A power law relationship exists between Mext/M o wand Mw/M b w with the pOwer being -1.55. The same kind of correlation was 'also obtained in a laboratory-scale extinguishment study on wood cribs and wood pallets of different heights. Based on the correlation, a critical water application rate (per unit exposed surface area) for rack storage array of corrugated cartons was determined to be 3.0 g/m 2s which is very close to the values reported for wood arranged in other geometries such as crib, slab, and pallet.

The Role Of Active And Passive Fire Protection Techniques In Fire Control, Suppression And Extinguishment

“…In the tests in the 10,000 kW-Scale Flammability Apparatus the commodities consist of 0.53 x 0.53 x 0.53 m corrugated paper cartons, containing various types of products made from inert mater ials, metals and natural and synthetic polymeric materials [14][15][16]. The commodities are tested in eight pallet loads.…”

“…Each pallet load consists of eight cartons, placed on top of a wooden pallet. The eight pallet loads are arranged in a 2 wide by 2 deep by 2 high configuration, (2x2x2 array), where each pallet load is separated by about 0.15 m from each other [14][15][16].…”

“…The commodities are ignited at four inside corners of the bottom cartons in the center. Water is applied by an applicator about 0.3 m above the top [14][15][16].…”

Reduced-scale Experiments On The Water Suppression Of A Rack-storage Commodity Fire For Calibration Of A Cfd Fire Model

“…FDS solves numerically the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy that govern lowspeed, thermally-driven flows with an emphasis on heat transfer associated with fire. This work focuses on application of the model to simulate the burning and suppression of a rack-storage commodity fire, a topic that has been the focus of previous research [1][2][3].…”