The Effect of Wind in a Compartment Fire with Single Ventilation - Research Paper Example

THE NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF WIND IN A COMPARTMENT FIRE WITH SINGLE VENTILATION In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering BY Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi Adviser: Dr.weiming liu CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study In a compartment fire, the rate of burning inside the compartment is restricted by the amount of ventilation that the room is receiving. Such a fire is a classical accidental fire configuration whereby a fire is enclosed within a compartment with limited ventilation for the fire. The strong ambient winds also play a critical role in smoke movement and fire spreading behavior. According to Yang, Su, Hsieh, and Chung (2005), strong winds may greatly influence smoke movements and fire-spreading behavior in buildings, for instance, the mechanical ventilation routine may fail to extract smoke effectively due to wind action. Uncontrolled compartment fires usually enter into the growth phase after the ignition stage followed by a transition stage referred to as flashover to a fully developed fire in the burning stage that may linger for some time (Drysdale 1999). The last phase is the decay phase, which takes place as the fire burns itself out. Buoyancy drives the flow of gases in and out of the compartments, but the geometry of ventilation significantly restricts the flow of wind and gases. Ventilations usually play a key role, as the size of the fire is limited by the quantity of fresh air supplied to the fire through openings. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the behavior of compartment fire with single ventilation. Most studies have focused on compartments with cross ventilation systems. 1.2 Need for the Study This study seeks to understand the effect of wind in a compartment fire with single ventilation. Ventilation removes heat, smoke, and toxic gases from a burning building and replaces them with cleaner, cooler, and oxygen-rich air. The ventilation process has two different components; addition of cleaner, cooler, and oxygen-rich air, and removal of hot air, toxic gases, and smoke. The sudden addition of oxygen-rich air to a fuel-rich and smoke-filled atmosphere can lead to a back draft or a sudden flashover. Owing to the modern construction techniques, fires usually have a large supply of fuel in furnishings as well as a limited supply of oxygen due to tightly shut doors and windows. It leads to under ventilated fire. Such fire only needs a supply of oxygen to develop into a back draft, flashover, or a raging fire. Proper coordination of ventilation with fire attacks and application of water helps to save lives and to reduce property damage. Firefighters have to be able to recognize when ventilation is needed and when it should be provided, based on the fire situation and the available ventilation options. This study will help to understand the effects of wind in compartment fires with a single ventilation. It will help to generate clues on effect of a single or cross ventilation under the wind environment. This study is also very important as wind effect on a single ventilation condition is very limited and has not been fully studied and this research can prove to be very helpful in understanding the impact of wind on a compartment fire with a single ventilation. 1.3 Research Aim and Objectives The main objective of this study is to understand the effect of wind to a compartment fire with single ventilation. Specifically, the study will determine the relationship between the heat release rate and different velocities of wind in single ventilation and how the smoke moves within a room under different wind velocities. 1.4 Research Methodology FDS simulations will be used to determine the effect of wind in a compartment fire with single ventilation. Wind effect on compartment fire means that the wind will introduce additional heat convection that will produce an influence on fire behaviors.’ Therefore, the heat convection produced by wind under a compartment fire will be studied. The case study will be carried out in a room with a corridor, and staircase shaft that are link. The opening of the room will be on the outside and will blow into the room through it. A fire will be ignited on the fuel bed in the room. The wind velocities will be chosen at (0, 2m/s, 4m/s, 6m/s and 8m/s – 5 cases) doing FDS simulations. The flow field, temperature flied and heat transfer will then be explored. 1.5 Main Achievements The main achievements of this study are to: To determine to what extent the speed of wind affects the production and dispersion of smoke thus affecting visibility To find out the effect of wind in single ventilation on heat release in compartments and the FDS simulations To carry out simple simulations on the behavior of fire on a single ventilation with wind effect. 1.6 Overall Dissertation Structure This dissertation is organized into different chapters with every chapter explaining the details of a specific part related to this dissertation. Chapter One is the introductory section-it covers the background information, need for undertaking this study, aims, objectives and achievements of the study and a brief summary of the dissertation. Chapter Two provides an in-depth literature review on the study under investigation through various subtopics. The review is thorough and critically analyzes information related to the study topic. Various sources that are extensively reviewed include books, journal articles, dissertation and other literature which is related to the aspects of this study. Chapter Three provides a detailed account on how the project was conducted. It describes different research approaches that were used to undertake the research and the research methodology that was chosen in order to effectively undertake the research. It also justifies why the Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) was chosen as the preferable research methodology to carry out the study. Chapter Four covers validations and comprises of an introduction, layout of thermocouples and compartment configuration, variables investigated, results of the simulation for validation and conclusions. Chapter Five covers details related to the experiment, which lead to the results and discussion. It consists of an introduction, the experiment stages, geometry of the compartment and materials used, thermocouple layout and experiment procedure. In addition, it provides the results of simulations carried out in order to validate the Fire Dynamic simulator (FDS) for compartment fires with a single ventilation. The chapter includes all the details of the simulation carried out; such as numerical configurations in order to explore the effects of wind on the compartment fire with single ventilation conditions. Chapter Six provides an interpretive discussion of the study result. The conclusions are established from the analysis and described in the context of the acquired results. It contains an in-depth discussion of the results and discusses the recommendations for further research. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter reviews the effect of wind effect on compartment fire. Hopefully, the review will present extensive and important results from the literature or sources. It also addresses key arguments with diverse academic interpretations, opinions, and commentators. Research studies and other literature on factors and stages affecting the fire will be covered. Compartment fire burns differently than fire in an open domain. Yung (2008) argued that in order to understand the later phases and any safety measures which are to be carried out in a compartment fire, the measure of understanding fire in an enclosed compartment with limited ventilation is important 2.2 Fire Development in Compartment Fire is a chemical as well as physical phenomenon that is intensively interactive with many factors in nature, such as wind, ambient temperature etc.. Fire development in compartment is usually divided into two separate phases: the pre-flashover and post-flashover stage. It Includes the growth period, then a full-developed fire and then the decay period. In the growth phase, in compartment fires (pre-flashover phase, there is adequate oxygen for ignition as well as the enlargement of the fire wholly hinges on the fuel flammability as well as its geometry. During the growth period, the fire develops up to and beyond the point at which interaction with the compartment boundaries becomes significant (flashover) or it will start to decay. The fire will start to either decay due to lack of fuel or become ventilation-controlled where the fire size is dictated by the inflow of fresh air towards the foot of the fire sources. The parameters that determine whether the fire will spread significantly include the compartment dimensions, fire load and the ventilation openings as well as the thermal aspects of the surrounding walls. Flashover in a compartment has been regarded as a thermal volatility resulting from the energy generation pace rising faster with temperature that the speed of collective energy losses. Walton and Thomas (1995) listed five fire development stages: “ignition, growth, flashover, fully developed fire, and decay”. Ignition is a process, which creates an exothermic effect differentiated by a rise in temperature significantly beyond the ambient. It either can take place by unprompted ignition (through heat build up in the fuel) or piloted ignition (by spark, flaming match or another pilot basis). The associated ignition process can be either smouldering combustion or flaming burning. The growth stage follows the ignition stage. The fire may increase at a fast or slow rate, based on access to oxygen, interaction with the surroundings, ignition, and fuel. The fire is described in terms of production of combustion gases and the rate of energy released. The phase can happen very fast particularly with flaming combustion whereby the fuels are sufficiently combustible to let fast flame extend over its surface. The heat fluctuation from the initial aflame fuel package is enough to light adjoining fuel packages, and where enough fuel and oxygen are present for fast fire escalation. The flashover is the shift from the growth phase to the fully developed phase in fire expansion. According to the International Standards Organization (1996), this stage is “the rapid transition to a state of total surface involvement in a fire of combustible material within an enclosure.” At the fully developed fire phase, the energy release in the enclosed space is at its peak and is continually restricted by oxygen availability. It is referred to as ventilation-controlled burning because the oxygen required for the fire is believed to penetrate via the openings. In ventilation-controlled fires, “unburnt gases can collect at the ceiling level and as these gases leave through the openings they burn, causing flames to stick out through the openings.” (Karlsson & Quintiere 2000, p. 11) The standard gas temperature in the enclosed space during the phase is usually very high and ranges from 700 to 1200c. Figure 1: Stages of Compartment Fire Development 2.3 Compartment Fires The term ‘compartment’ refers to any room, space, or any confined area that has clear boundaries consisting of sides or walls, roof or ceiling, base or floor, and which may have openings that could offer the option of closing or sealing off (windows and doors). It is any confined space, which controls the ultimate thermal environment and the fire air supply. These aspects control the escalation and spread of the fire, its duration, as well as its maximum burning rate. Surface linings and material contents of an individual compartment affect a compartment fire. Such fire usually embraces the full fundamental nature of fire growth. Both oxygen limiting and thermal feedback processes affect compartment fire (Chen, Liu & Zhang et al. 2008). 2.4 Effect of Wind on Compartment Fires According to Chen, Liu and Zang et al. (2008), ambient wind has two conflicting impacts on compartment fire; it promotes the relentlessness of the fire by adding additional oxygen and cools the fire through diluting combustible gases and removing heat. In addition, the pressure of the wind also impacts the thermal behavior of the outer plume or flame which is ejected through the compartment window. The wind speed usually increases from zero on the ground floor to the highest level of the building. The wind impact usually controls the flow behaviours in the enclosure because of the pressure produced by the wind. Strong wind significantly influences the fire spread as well as smoke movement behavior in a building, for instance, the mechanical ventilation routine may fail to get rid of the smoke effectively under the wind action. Yung (2008) noted that this effect plays a critical role in intra-compartment flow dynamics of fire. A good case is when the amount of heated gas and smoke spread is dependent on forces such as restriction of wind flow and buoyancy force. The heat release is conducted through wind convention through openings, compartment wall conduction as well as wind-based radiation through openings. Chen et al. (2008) noted that the wind creates backflow (corner) and main flow (centerline) areas in the compartment) that influence the behavior of the fire. In the downwind and upwind cases, the backflow imples the fire upward. In center fire scenarios, the fire is blown downwards and expelled from the compartment. The spilled-out flames extend further horizontally with the increase in the speed of the wind. Approaching winds make the flames severe according to Chen et al. experiment. In the case where the fire is large with a high wind speed of 3 m/s, the flame occupied the entire opening whilst in the case with lower wind speed of 1.5 m/s, it only occupied the upper part of the window. Chow and Li (2004) examined the effect of the wind on performance of horizontal ceiling vents (static smoke exhaust systems) and altered the main equations on calculation of required vent area and smoke exhaust rates. Porch and Trebukov (2000) investigated the wind effect on the movement of floating smoke movement as well as control in a compartment. The fire compartment in their analysis was an enclosed space with two openings on the opposite walls; the leeward opening at upper height close to the ceiling and the windward opening at lower height close to the floor. The study represented the assisting wind situation, the blowing wind reinforced the entrainment and buoyancy of the fire. Research has shown that the windward side of a building usually has positive pressure while all the remaining surfaces experience a negative pressure as shown in the figure below. The airflow that results from the wind headed in the windward surface of the building is slowed down until it comes to rest at point S, also known as the stagnation point. It will result to an increase in total pressure with the increasing height up to the stagnation point that marks the decrease in pressure towards the roof. Below, the points of air flow towards the ground level and at the point the air hits the ground floor, there will be turning and the flow is reversed towards the building again because of the oncoming wind. The movement will then lead to a vortex formation in front of the building as evident in the diagram. Wind blowing against a building usually split about two thirds of the way up the building. The upper portion flows up and over the roof whereas the lower portion flows downwards creating a vortex next to the building. It increases in velocity as it flows downwards. The impact of this wind on fire pouring out windows seems to be unevaluated in the design of high-rise structures. The pressure will be at its utmost at the stagnation point on the windward side of the building and this point is located at height of approximately four-fifths of the height of the building. According to Kandola (2008), the leeward side will have negative pressure, the pressure is likely to be constant, and this will result to flow separation experienced at the corners of the building. A good insight of the pattern created by the wind in a built-up environment plays a crucial function about developing building codes, design of robust building envelopes, and in determining the impact of wind variables for various building. Cermak et al. (1998) argued that there are numerous efforts being directed towards developing physical modeling methods that can be used in development models to be used in investigating the effect of wind based on boundary layers. Steady wind flows lead to a rapid rise of internal pressure adjoining the window openings in order to neutralize the external pressure coming from the windward side (Holmes 2007). Wind induced ventilation occurs from the increasing pressure as well as from the air pressure impetus when the opening is significantly wide. Wind induced ventilation is predicted using mean pressure data, one of the most popular methods. Nonetheless, Choiniere, Tanaka, and Munroe et al. (1992) noted that this method has various discrepancies when making measurements. In the case of totally air sealed buildings, the outside wind does not have any impact on outside wind flow on fire. In instances where buildings have openings, the inner airflow is greatly affected by the outside air pressure. It can have an adverse impact on the working smoke extraction vents. It can also cause hot gases or smoke to flow to other areas of the structure through the current airflows. Figure 3 below demonstrated the impact of smoke spread in the building and the positive air pressure. The wind plays an imperative function in ventilation. The wind force is always taken into consideration when determining how and where to ventilate a building because even a slight breeze can have a dramatic impact on the efficacy of a ventilation opening. The force of the wind can turn an under ventilated fire in a decay phase into a flashover. For instance, wind blowing against one side of a building can prevent heat, smoke and other combustion products from escaping through the ventilation opening on that side. If a window or door on that side of the building breaks because of the heat or it is opened, a strong current oxygen-rich air will rush into the structure and lead to the rapid acceleration of the fire. The wind can also push heat as well as other combustion products throughout the structure and create serious life-safety risks for the people inside the building. On the other hand, opening a ventilation outlet on the downwind side of the building can create effective ventilation. The action of wind blowing around the building can create a positive-pressure region on the upward side and a negative-pressure zone on the downwind area. The wind effect is a critical factor that greatly influences the behavior of the fire. When wind is present, the behavior of the fire changes drastically, for instance, when the air is relatively still, the best approach to the fire may be through the front side of the building. On the other hand, if the wind is blowing at 20-25 miles per hour (32 to 40 kilometres per hour) from the side of the same building, entering the building from the front side may be a deadly miscalculation as the wind is pushing the fire to the front side of the building. The speed and direction of the wind also affect the conventional currents, which are generated as the fire rises in the room and travels along the ceiling. If the wind is strong and is blowing through an opening in the structure, the convention currents will be stronger and move faster. The movement of fire and heated gases can be significantly be affected by the wind as well as the ventilation openings. Various studies have demonstrated that the wind effect can turn “a routine room and contents fire into a floor-to-ceiling firestorm.” (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 2010, par 1). Historically, it has contributed to a large number of firefighters’ injuries as well as fatalities especially in high-rise structures whereby the fire has to be fought from the structure’s inner part (NIST 2010). The results of NIST “wind” and “no-wind” simulations have demonstrated the way wind conditions can quickly alter the thermal situation from tenable to untenable for firefighters. These results lay emphasis on “the importance of including wind conditions in the scene size-up before beginning and while performing fire fighting operations and adjusting tactics based on the wind conditions” (NIST 2010, par. 5). The wind affects the spread of smoke and superheated gases. A blowing wind causes a negative pressure from the leeward side and positive pressure from the windward side when the wind enters from the leeward part. When the origin of the fire is from the windward side, the wind will increase the impact of fire in the building as well as smoke spread. When the origin is on the leeward side, it will restrict the spread of the fire. At the full-developed phase, fire leads to ejections from windows as well as other openings. The phenomenon leads combustibles on the top floors as well as other neighboring parts of the buildings to ignite, hence causing the fire to spread. A research by Himoto, Tsuchihashi and Tanaka et al. (2009) showed the role of inside pressure rise, window flame trajectory, and wind velocity outside the compartment to be contributing aspects in fire spread to other compartments. Mannan (2005) noted that the wind is a major agent of dispersion and its effect on fire spread or containment is dependent on its direction, speed, turbulence level, and its persistence. Since the speed of wind increases with height, there is a higher probability of a tall building experiencing wind driven fires. The wind effect can create a situation whereby the process of fire (combustion) may be accelerated and cause the fuels to release their energy at a much higher than the normal rate. The rate of smoke spread in a building is dependent on driving forces, for instance the buoyancy effect, as well as flow constraints such as whether the doors to the stairwells as well as corridors are opened or closed (Yuan & Glcksman 2007). The quantity of smoke produced in a compartment fire can be considerable, as is frequently evidence in fire experiments and building fires (Yung 2008). The smoke produced in a compartment fire is related to the heat amount, which goes through its openings, for instance, windows and doors. In a compartment fire, the released heat is dispersed through radiation through openings, conduction through the border walls and convention via the openings. The convective aspect of heat dissipations determines the amount of smoke, which flows via the openings (Yung 2008). 2.5 Fire Behavior and Ventilation Effective coordination of ventilation, the fire attack, and application of water helps to save lives and to reduce property damage in compartment fire. Use of improper ventilation techniques or lack of ventilation leads to violent back drafts and causes delay in fire extinguishing process and unnecessary spread of the fire. During the normal growth and progression, a fire gives off heat, smoke, as well as toxic gases. As long as oxygen and fuel are available to feed the fire, the fire will continue burning and produce the products of combustion. When the inside part of the building catches fire, the structure serves as a box or container that traps the products of combustion. As the fire develops and grows, the heat, smoke and toxic gases spread throughout the structure and they present a direct risk to the lives of the firefighters and the occupants, increases property damage, and reduce visibility. These trapped combustion products create a potential for explosion. Ventilation allows some of the products to move from the interior environment and escape in a controlled manner. Drysdale (1999) noted that after the ignition phase of the fire, the fuel itself only affects the heat release rate and the pyrolysis rate. Nonetheless, with the spread of flames, the underlying behavioral changes occur due to the adjacent compartment boundaries. The key principle, which controls the spread of heat, smoke, and toxic gases within a building or a room is convention (Quintiere 2006). Heated gases normally expand and hence become less dense than cooler gases. Consequently, the hot gases generated by a fire in a closed room rises to the ceiling and spreads outwards, displaces cooler air and pushes it towards the floor. The hot later of gas banks curves down closer to the floor as the fire continues to burn. In cases where the heated combustion products get a chance to escape from the room, the same principle applies because they spread throughout the building (Quintiere 2006). Toxic gases, heat, and smoke spread horizontally along the ceiling until they find a path such as a pipe chase, elevator shaft, stairway, or an outside opening which enables them to get to a higher level. They then flow upwards through the vertical opening until they reach another horizontal obstruction, for instance the underside of a roof or the ceiling of the highest floor. At this point, they again spread out horizontally and bank down as they build up. If the combustion products remain trapped within the building, the present a series of dangers and risk especially since most of the gases produced by a fire, especially cyanide and carbon monoxide are flammable and toxic. Convention-the flow of heated gases from the fire- is one of the main mechanisms through which the fire spreads. The gases can be sufficiently hot to set fire to combustible materials along their path. As a result, the fires may spread along the path that is taken by the heated gases as well as the areas where they accumulate. In case the hot gases spread to other areas, through horizontal or vertical openings, there are higher chances that the fire will engulf those areas. In addition to setting fire to combustible materials, the smoke, hot gases and other combustion products can also explode themselves. In most instances, they include a rich supply of partially burned fuels that are sufficiently hot to ignite but do not have adequate oxygen to support combustion. In cases where these products are mixed with clean air, the flammable environment can explode or ignite in a back draft. 2.6 Benefits of Proper Ventilation Ventilation helps to control the flow of heat, smoke and toxic gases in order for them to be released effectively and safely from a building (IAFC & NFPA 2014). It is closely coordinated with the other activities which are carried out while putting out a fire. It helps to remove heat for fire fighter who are advancing with the hose lines. It helps to relieve the intense heat and pressure of the fire and creates a safer environment. Ventilation also allows the smoke to lift and hence the firefighters are able to aim the hose stream directly at the main area of the fire. It reduces the potential for a flashover or a backdraft and this makes the conditions safe for the rescue team. Proper ventilation also helps in limiting the spread of the fire within the building (IAFC & NFPA 2014). Ventilation near the source of the fire can reduce the involvement area and reduce the spread of toxic gases and heat throughout the structure. Careful ventilation timing allows the firefighters to stay safe while putting out and confining the fire quickly. It also allows effective and prompt ventilation of smoke and accumulated gases and this helps to limit property losses. Effective ventilation creates a clear environment for overhauling the fire and also serves to limit the property losses resulting from smoke damage (IAFC & NFPA 2014). Ventilation is a key consideration in flashover and backdraft conditions. A backdraft can take place when a structure is full of hot gases and most of the oxygen has been used up. There may be few flames, however, the hot gases may still contain a large amount of partially burnt or unburned fuel. In case clean air is introduced to the mixture, the fuel can burst into flames and explode. In order to reduce the possibility of a backdraft, the firefighters usually try to release as much unburnt combustion products and heat as possible. A ventilation opening that is placed very high in the structure, building or area can help to get rid of potential backdraft situations (Quintiere 2006). A roof opening can play a major role in drawing up the hot gases and relieving the interior pressure. Both cooling and ventilation are required to relieve potential flashover situations. Flashover can take place when the air in the room is overheated and exposed combustion products are near their explosion point (IAFC & NFPA 2014).Ventilation offers a way from the fire and air flow pathway to the fire. If the gases are not cooled, the fire can travel along the path of the venting gases. To ventilate a building or structure effectively, fire fighters have to consider the way fire behavior controls the movement of combustion products. It enables them to develop a plan that stipulates when and where to create openings to release the combustion products, and limit the spread of fire and smoke. Huang, Ooka, and Liu et al. (2009) conducted thorough fire boundary testing to evaluate the effect on ventilation on compartment fires. They reported faster burning out rates, and rising temperature during windy conditions and under changing wind velocities and fire location. In addition, they noted that ventilation had two contradicting impacts: it blew away and diluted the superheated combustion gases hence increasing the subsidising rate and decreasing the temperatures. Secondly, ventilation raised temperatures and promoted combustion. The behavior was dependent on the geometrical layout of the compartment and opening, fire location and wind velocity. In addition, they noted that a high wind velocity led the ejected fire plume to be significantly tilted to the downwind direction and this made the flame wider, which increased the risk of fire spreading to adjacent structures. Figure 4 below shows the flow of wind in the compartment in Huang et al. (2009) study. The downwind fire was averted towards the upwind direction whereas the upwind was forced to hug the wall surface. In case of a central fire, it was evident that the fire would have been deflected towards the downwind opening. Huang et al. observed that the wind velocity is directly proportional to the size or strength of the vortex. In the downwind position, a 3.0 m/s caused the flame to deflect more towards the upwind side because of the greater vortices, which had been formed by the wind. 2.7 Conclusion Most of the literature and research works focus on the impact of wind to buildings and compartments fires with cross ventilations, importance of ventilation, wind characteristics, and wind effects. There are no studies examining the effect of the wind to compartment fire with a single ventilation and hence the study of this dissertation will perform this topic. Reference List Cermak, J, Isyumov, N, 1998,, Task Committee on Wind Boundary Testing of Buildings, Wind boundary studies of buildings and structures, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA. Chen, H, Liu, N, Zhang, L, Deng, Z & Huang, H 2008, ‘Experimental study on cross-ventilation compartment fire in wind environment,’ Fire Safety Science–proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium, pp. 907-918 Choiniere, Y, Tanaka, H, Munroe, J & Suchorski-Tremblay, A 1992, ‘Prediction of wind induced ventilation for livestock housing’, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 41, 44, pp.2563-2574. Drysdale, D 1999, An introduction to fire dynamics, 2nd ed Wiley, New Jersey. Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2004, Engineering Guide to Fire Exposures to Structural Elements, Bethesda, Maryland. Himoto, K, Tsuchihashi, T, Tanaka, Y & Tanaka, T 2009, ‘Modeling thermal behaviors of window flame ejected from a fire compartment’, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 44, pp. 230–240. 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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 2010, Wind driven fires, viewed April 11, 2014, http://www.nist.gov/fire/wdf.cfm Porch, M & Trebukov, 2000, ‘Wind effects on smoke motion in buildings’, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 35, no.3, pp. 257-273. Quintiere, J 2006, Fundamentals of fire phenomena, John Wiley & Sons. Walton, W & Thomas, P 1995, Estimating Temperatures’ in Compartment Fires, in the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection engineering, 2ed, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. Yang, Y.C, Su, C.H, Hsieh, T.L & Chung, K.C 2005, ‘Wind effects on performance of smoke exhaust systems for tall buildings in Taiwan’, Journal of Applied Fire Science, vol. 14, pp. 189–203. Yuan, J & Glicksman, L 2007, ‘Transitions between the multiple steady states in a natural ventilation system with combined buoyancy and wind driven flows’, Building and Environment, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 3500–3516. Yung, D 2008, Principles of fire risk assessment in buildings, John Wiley & Sons, United Kingdom. Read More