Keywords
turbulent diffusion flame
polymer combustion
OpenFOAM
Fire Dynamics Simulator
How to Cite
Abstract
we present a numerical approach to modeling horizontal flame spread over polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) surfaces, accounting for coupled heat and mass transfer between gas and solid phases. We developed a custom solver in OpenFOAM that implements pyrolysis chemical kinetics, solid-phase heat transfer, and gas-phase interactions using the iterative PIMPLE algorithm. To capture turbulent fluctuations in the flame plume, we used Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and created a Python script to interpolate data between FDS and OpenFOAM computational grids.
We conducted simulations of both laminar and turbulent combustion, identifying zones with distinct flow regimes and refining the laminar combustion zone height to 7.5 mm. Coupled simulations transferred temperature, velocity, and species concentration data from FDS to OpenFOAM. Results showed that including turbulent plume data does not affect the flame front propagation speed, confirming the dominance of laminar mechanisms near the PMMA surface. Additionally, we implemented an automated boundary condition update mechanism, enabling sequential simulations with high adaptability.
These findings improve the accuracy of combustion modeling and provide a foundation for fire safety analysis in complex geometries.
References
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