LARGE EDDY SIMULATIONS OF FIRE-DRIVEN FLOWS

An approach to the study of gas phase combustion and convec-tion processes in fires using a combination of mathematical analysis and computer simulation is presented. It seeks to solve the gov-erning equations dkectly (if approximately) by decomposing the fire into a large scale convective and radiative transport problem coupled to a small scale model of combustion and radiative emis-sion. The combustion model assumes that all of the thermodynamic properties of the fluid are tied to the local mixture fraction, which is convected by the large scale motion, which in turn is driven by the heat released by the combustion processes. The large scale flow is studied using finite difference techniques to solve large eddy sim-ulations of the Navier-Stokes equations. The basic theory behind the methodology is outlined and sample results are presented