Author(s)

FABIO ALAIMO PONZIANI, ALBERTO TINABURRI, VALTER RICCI

Abstract

The aim of this study is to illustrate some features of the water curtains generated by edge nozzles in order to offer a fire protection mechanism based on water screens. Water curtains from edge nozzles in an experimental setup are firstly investigated in terms of essential characteristics such as hydraulic patterns and heat absorption and then used as a basis for a CFD model. The setup is made with the water curtains used as a screen between a heptane pool as the fire source and an iron plate as the heat target. Several measures of temperature are taken by means of a set of thermocouples placed on the target, both in presence and in absence of the water curtains, to capture the effect of the heat reduction on the target due to the water discharge. The data collected may serve as a basis for some quantifying analysis and for comparisons with different configurations. Further research will involve thermal and hydraulic measures both necessary for preparing CFD models that may be used as a basis for applications in fire safety engineering and useful for assessment in active fire protection design.

Keywords

water curtain, edge nozzle, FSE