Heat transfer in compartment fires near regions of ceiling jet-wall impingement

As a fire grows in an enclosure, the elevated temperature air and products of combustion which leave the zone of the burning object form a fire plume and are convected upward by buoyancy. When the upward movement of the plume constituents are blocked by the ceiling they spread radially outward forming a relatively thin turbulent ceiling jet. Depending on the proximity of vertical surfaces, this ceiling jet either loses most of its moment far out on its trajectory or can be expected to interact vigorously with these bounding surfaces by forming a downward wall jet flow which is eventually turned back upward by its own buoyancy. Once the ceiling jet gases are blocked by bounding vertical surfaces, they begin to redistribute themselves across the entire ceiling area of the enclosure. Eventually a relatively quiescent, stably stratified, upper gaslayer is formed below the ceiling jet activity. An experimental program to study the wall flow is underway. To use the results of this program on wall flows requires an understanding of the ceiling jet turning region near ceiling jet-wall impingement. It is the objective of the present work to begin to develop such an understanding. As a fire grows in an enclosure, the elevated temperature air and products of combustion which study the wall flows is underway. To use the results of this program and anticipated future results on wall flows requires an understanding, not now available, of the ceiling jet turning region near ceiling jet-wall impingement. It is the objective of the present work to begin to develop such an understanding.