Spectral radiation emitted by kerosene pool fires

Abstract We present an equivalent medium model that considers emission from the flame volume to compute spectral radiation intensities. This is considered a more detailed description than common radiation models used in fire safety applications, which often treat the flame as a grey emitting surface. Given its importance in fire radiation, the present study focuses on emission by soot. The required parameters for the model are an equivalent absorption coefficient, and an equivalent temperature. They were determined using two independent measurements, namely multispectral opacimetry, and infrared spectrometry. Results are presented for kerosene pool fires (widths from 30 cm to 250 cm). It is shown that the equivalent temperature can be considered independent of flame size, and thus an intrinsic parameter of the fuel. These results also make clear that radiation emitted from the flame is not grey, and can only be considered black for very large flames (i.e. wider than 1.75 m for present tests).