An experimental and modeling study of heat radiation characteristics of inclined ceiling jet in an airplane cargo compartment

A series of pool fires were carried out in an airplane cargo compartment to investigate the effect of the pressure on the heat radiation flux (HRF) of the inclined ceiling jet fire. During the tests, different static chamber pressures ranging from 50 to 101 kPa were controlled by the air flow in and out; both free fire and inclined ceiling jet fire were conducted with five different heat release rates (HRRs), which were produced by a 17-cm square porous gas burner using propane as fuel. Vertical flame temperature, thermal plume temperature beneath the inclined ceiling, and HRF to the horizontal floor were measured and analyzed; at the same time, the flame shape was recorded by a video. It was found that the HRF was increased with the HRR, and there was a sudden rise for these fire impinging on the ceiling. The flame radiation fraction had a weak correlation with the environment pressure, while the flame emissivity was increased with the increasing ambient pressure. Besides, on the basis of the assumption that the flame emissivity is equaled in both free flame and the inclined ceiling jet fire, HRF calculated model was established and compared with the experimental results.