Fire plumes, flame height, and air entrainment

Abstract

Practically all fires go through an important, initial stage in which a coherent, buoyant gas stream rises above a localized volume undergoing combustion into surrounding space of essentially uncontaminated air. This stage begins at ignition, continues through a possible smoldering interval, into a flaming interval, and may be said to end prior to flashover. The buoyant gas stream is generally turbulent, except when thefire source is very small. The buoyant flow, including any flames, is referred to as a fire plume