Numerical simulations of spreading fires in a large-scale calorimeter: the influence of the experimental configuration

Abstract

The validation of physical models of fire spread requires comparing simulated results and experimental observation. Fire tests conducted at laboratory scale are appropriate to measure the finest physical mechanisms that cannot be recorded at field scale. However, particular attention must be paid concerning the influence of the experimental configuration on the fire and the way to take them into account for the simulation. Indeed, one must be sure that the main effects due to the experimental device and design are well reproduced by the models before to investigate the validation of such model by comparison with thermodynamics quantities measured. In this paper a methodology is proposed to be able to test a physical model against experiments conducted in a Large Scale Heat Release calorimeter. The hood effects as well as the ignition are investigated with WFDS, a physical model of wildland fire.