Experimental study on the effect of canyon cross wind yaw angle on airflow and flame characteristics in a tunnel

Abstract The effect of canyon cross wind yaw angle on airflow and flame characteristics of ethanol pool fires in a tunnel was investigated. The fire source location and canyon cross wind speed were studied as factors. The wind yaw angle was ranged in 45°–135° with an interval of 15°. The results showed that the flow field in the tunnel presented three different conditions with the boundaries of wind yaw angles 60° and 90°. The mass burning rate and flame tilt characteristics were affected by the flow field near the fire source. The mass burning rate decreased with the increasing wind yaw angle when the wind yaw angle was in 45°–90°, but remained steady when the angle was in 90°–135°. Additionally, a normalized mass burning rate model considering normalized distance to the upstream portal and the wind yaw angle was developed. The flame close to the upstream portal wiggled, rotated and oscillated irregularly due to the influence of turbulence induced by the external canyon cross wind. This made mean flame length and flame tilt angle in turbulence zone different from those in other zones. A prediction correlation between the flame tilt angle and the canyon cross wind speed and yaw angle was established.