Investigation into the use of a water curtain over openings to prevent fire spread

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
² CIVELEC Consultants Inc. Montreal, Quebec

Abstract

This paper presents the results of several full-scale experiments to study heat radiation attenuation and shielding using sprinklers to create a water curtain between a compartment fire and a target wall. This work builds on the concept that water absorbs and scatters heat radiation and applies it as a shielding mechanism, which can be used to protect personnel and property exposed to an opening during a compartment fire. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a water curtain created using sprinkler heads in attenuating the heat flux from flames exiting a compartment fire, shielding the target wall and preventing fire spread. The results show that the water curtain reduces heat flux to the target wall which may allow for decreasing the building distance from the property line. Heat fluxes along the target wall are compared to heat fluxes required for the piloted ignition of wood products. The effects of fire size, sprinkler system flow rate, and separation distance to the target wall are discussed.