Experimental study on the radiant heat flux of wall-attached fire plume generated by rectangular sources

Radiant heat flux of fire plume is an essential parameter indicating the hazards of a fire. In this work, fire experiments of a wall-attached fire with different aspect ratios were conducted. In addition, the effect of the sidewall on mean flame height and radiant heat flux of the rectangular fire was investigated. The sidewall causes a decrease in air entrainment; therefore, the mean flame height is observed to increase. The radiant heat flux increased owing to the increase in flame height and thermal radiation from the heated sidewall. Experimental results of the mean flame height are consistent with those predicted by an existing model. This validated the reliability of the experimental setup for a rectangular wall-attached fire. Furthermore, a model based on the increase in flame height and thermal radiation from the heated sidewall was developed to estimate the radiant heat flux from a rectangular wall-attached fire. The error in prediction was less than 15% for this model.