Experimental Study on the Spread Characteristics of Initial Fires According to Corridor Types

Abstract

During an accidental fire in buildings, the corridor becomes the path for flame and smoke to spread, exposing the occupants to danger. Therefore, this study conducted real-scale fire experiments using corridors of size 2.4(L) × 10(W) × 2.4(H) m an “L-type” corridor for one-way evacuation and a “T-type” corridor for two-way evacuation to analyze the characteristics of fire according to the shape of corridors. The real-scale fire experiments were conducted in a fire room (2.4(L) × 3.6(W) × 2.4(H) m) with a single opening (2.0(W) × 1.8(H) m). The combustibles used inside the fire room were wood cribs, with a heat release rate of 651.4 kW, in the L-type corridor and chairs, with a heat release rate of 95.7 kW, in the T-type corridor. The temperature inside the corridor was measured during the real-scale fire experiments, and the average maximum measured temperature was 432.1 °C in the L-type corridor and 103.5 °C in the T-type corridor. The experimental results and the ventilation characteristics according to the corridor types were applied to BFD curves to show the process of designing fire growth models according to corridor types.