Numerical Simulation on Effects of Horizontal Natural Opening Area and Heat Release Rate on Temperature Distribution and Vent Flow in Small Compartment

Abstract

In this study, the numerical simulation to investigate the effects of horizontal natural opening areas and heat release rates on temperature distribution and vent flow in a small compartment was performed using a fire dynamics simulator. The reduced scale model of a stage in a real scale theater with horizontal natural opening was selected for this study. The horizontal opening areas were 0.0196, 0.1024, and 0.2025 m² (1, 5, and 10% of the floor area, respectively), and the heat release rates were 0.46, 1.35, and 2.61 kW. By decreasing the horizontal opening area and increasing the heat release rate, the temperature in the compartment increased. Additionally, by increasing the heat release rate, the average velocity near the center of the opening increased. For the increase in the horizontal opening area from 0.0196 to 0.1024 m², the velocity near the center of the opening increased. However, when the horizontal opening area increased from 0.1024 to 0.2025 m², the variation in velocity was not noticeable. Considering the analyses of temperature and velocity distributions of vent flow, the bidirectional flow pattern was observed, where the outflow and inflow occurred at the center and edge of the horizontal opening, respectively. The mass flow rate through the horizontal opening increased with the increase in the horizontal opening area and heat release rate. The previous correlation for mass flow rate under-predicted the present numerical simulation data.