Finite Size Scaling of Flame Spread along Randomly Distributed Combustible Cubes

Yukinobu Yoshida, Akihiko Ito, Hiroyuki Torikai

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Hirosakicity, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojsst.2014.43015                

Abstract

Flame spread in urban fire depends on quantity of combustible materials and their placement. The purpose of this study is to predict the flame-spread route by the rate of combustible area. In this experiment, we used combustible cube made from filter paper as a test sample, and combustible cubes and pores were randomly distributed in experimental area. Additionally, we examined non-uniform flame spread along combustible cubes in various porosities and experimental areas. Experimental results show that the flame-spread probability falls with increasing porosity, and despite uniform porosity, the flame-spread probability differs with the experimental area. When expanding the experimental area, less porosity is required to obtain zero flame-spread probability. To investigate based on finite size scaling of percolation theory for the change in porosity, we con-cluded that different thresholds exist for areas of all sizes. Because of the flame-spread progress stops in the thresholds, these porosities may be useful to predict fire hazard.

Keywords

Percolation Theory, Finite Size Scaling, Flame-Spread Probability, Experimental Area, Porosity

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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