Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 December 2013
Among the primary phenomena observed when studying fire suppression are fuel surfacecooling, fire plume cooling and inerting effects. The last two result from waterevaporation generating a significant vapor concentration, thus leading to an importantheat sink as well as displacement and dilution of both oxygen and fuel vapor. FireDynamics Simulator (FDS.v6) is expected to be able to reproduce these effects.Extinguishment criterion focusing on plume cooling and inerting effects is based on adedicated heat balance, whereas suppression model related to fuel surface coolingevaluates the burning rate decrease according to an exponential law taking into accountlocal water mass reaching the fuel surface per unit area and an empirical constant whichpenalizes the prediction ability. Therefore, a new model derived from an Arrheniusequation has been implemented, which links the burning rate to the fuel surfacetemperature. Numerical simulations are conducted and compared with experimental data forall extinguishing mechanisms.