Qualitative Analysis of Ventilation Position and Dimension Effects on Compartment Fire Dynamics: An Experimental and Numerical Approach

Informal settlements, where over 1 billion people live globally, are extremely vulnerable to fire events. Thermally thin steel-clad timber-framed homes found in South African informal settlements are a prime example of this. In this paper, we explore, through six full-scale laboratory experiments and modelling, the influence of opening locations, areas, and aspect ratios, on the fire dynamics of thermally thin and leaky compartments. It was found that having the window on the same wall as the door produced the highest heat fluxes opposite the door (13 kW/m2). Having the window opposite the door on the back wall, created a crossflow scenario which produced slightly higher fluxes opposite the door (10–11 kW/m2) compared to when the windows were on a side wall (7–9 kW/m2). Increasing the opening area by including another equally sized window, or by doubling the window width or height, slightly reduced the heat fluxes opposite the door and window, in general slightly increased the time to flashover, and significantly increased the heat release rate required for flashover. The work presented within this paper adds to the growing body of knowledge around informal settlement dwelling fire dynamics which can be used by engineers and urban planners in understanding and mitigating urban conflagrations within these communities.