Measurements of Heat Transfer to a Massive Cylindrical Object Engulfed in a Regulatory Pool Fire

A series of large-scale experiments were performed to measure heat transfer to a massive cylindrical calorimeter engulfed in a 30-minute circular-pool fire. The calorimeter inner surface temperature and the flame black body emissive power were measured at several locations as functions of time. An inverse conduction technique was used to determine the net heat flux to the calorimeter. Light winds of around 1 m/s tilted the fire so that the windward side of the calorimeter was only intermittently engulfed. As a result the flame temperatures on the windward side were substantially less than the leeward surface. The variation of calorimeter temperature and heat flux with time was closely correlated with the flame emissive power. The current data set is well suited for benchmarking computer codes that simulate heat transfer from large-scale fires to massive engulfed objects.