Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
10:29
Experimental Methodology for Estimation of Local Heat Fluxes and Burning Rates in Steady Laminar Boundary Layer Diffusion Flames
Published on: June 1, 2016
Axial temperature distribution in vertical jet fires
Mercedes Gómez-Mares1, Miguel Muñoz, Joaquim Casal
1Centre for Technological Risk Studies (CERTEC), Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. m.gomez.mares@upc.edu
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|July 28, 2009
Summary
This study investigated vertical propane jet fires up to 8m long. Temperatures along the flame centerline peaked in the middle, with a polynomial model fitting the data well.
Area of Science:
- Fire Science
- Combustion Engineering
- Thermodynamics
Background:
- Understanding the behavior of commercial propane jet fires is crucial for safety and design.
- Previous research has explored jet fire dynamics, but detailed temperature profiles require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the thermal behavior of vertical commercial propane jet fires.
- To determine the temperature distribution along the centerline of propane jet fires.
- To develop a model for predicting centerline temperature variations.
Main Methods:
- Experimental study of vertical commercial propane jet fires with flame lengths up to 8 meters.
- Temperature measurements along the jet fire centerline using a thermocouple array.
- Flame contour determination using infrared (IR) imaging.
Main Results:
- Jet fire temperatures increase from the base, reach a maximum, and then decrease towards the top.
- A second-degree polynomial effectively models the temperature variation along the flame centerline.
- Centerline temperature initially increases with heat release rate (Q) up to 7MW, then decreases at higher Q values.
Conclusions:
- The temperature profile of propane jet fires exhibits a distinct peak.
- Polynomial modeling provides a useful tool for characterizing jet fire thermal behavior.
- Heat release rate significantly influences the centerline temperature distribution.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Mechanism of heat transfer
Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...
01:20Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...
01:14Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I
Just as interesting as the effects of heat transfer on a system are the methods by which the heat transfer occur. Whenever there is a temperature difference, heat transfer occurs. It may occur rapidly, such as through a cooking pan, or slowly, such as through the walls of a picnic ice box. So many processes involve heat transfer that it is hard to imagine a situation where no heat transfer occurs. Yet, every heat transfer takes place by only three methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.
01:14Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
Heat transfer between the human body and its environment occurs through four main mechanisms: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.
01:07Laminar and Turbulent Flow
Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids in motion. Velocity vectors are often used to illustrate fluid motion in applications like meteorology. For example, wind—the fluid motion of air in the atmosphere—can be represented by vectors indicating the speed and direction of the wind at any given point on a map. Another method for representing fluid motion is a streamline. A streamline represents the path of a small volume of fluid as it flows. When the flow pattern changes with time, the streamlines...
01:23Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Hagen-Poiseuille flow describes a viscous fluid's steady, incompressible flow through a cylindrical tube with a constant radius R. This flow profile is often applied to understand fluid transport in narrow channels, such as capillaries. It serves as a foundational example of laminar flow. In this model, cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,z) are used to describe the radial (r), angular (θ), and axial (z) dimensions within the tube. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow, the velocity profile is purely axial,...