Flame shapes and thermal flux of vertical hydrocarbon flames

Hydrocarbon fuels are involved in most fire accidents occurring in industrial facilities, which may lead to catastrophic consequences in terms of life and property losses. The prediction of the related-fire effects can contribute to provide effective protection measures, hence mitigating the consequences of hydrocarbon flames in processing environments. In this regard, there is an essential need for developing state-of-the-art correlations able to accurately estimate the flame shapes and heat fluxes for a wide range of possible hydrocarbon fires. The present paper collects a vast data bank of vertical hydrocarbon fire experiments involving multiple fuels, burner diameters, mass flow rates and wind speeds. Correlations are developed, based on the data collected, to describe the flame-geometry descriptors and the heat fluxes of vertical hydrocarbon flames under different flow regimes.