EFFECT OF PACKING DENSITY ON BURNING CHARACTERISTICS OF CARD-BOARD AND NEWSPAPER

Abstract

Newspaper and Cardboard are used in fire experiment as repeatable fuel package for assessing the performance of fire suppressors and to produce the actual fire condition in a compartment. Newspaper and cardboard can also replicate the real occupants of room which present in the form of furniture. Large scale Newspaper and Cardboard fire test are done because the use of its high abundant nature .The newspaper and cardboard fire tests would yield significant information about the combustion products of wood components that are typically implied in mild fire. An experimental setup is designed and fabricated in fire research laboratory to investigate and analysis of large scale newspaper and cardboard fire in a compartment. In fire research laboratory we have a compartment with dimensions 4ni x4mx 4m and having a door opening of 2mx I in at the centre of one of the wall to provide natural ventilation effect during the experiments. i'here is an Exhaust System which is attached to the compartment. Number of experiments are carried out with different newspaper and cardboard bundles having different packing dens itv. Burning characteristics like mass loss rate (MLR). heat release rate (1 IRR) are measured by cone calorimeter. The other characteristics like heat flux reaching at various locations such as floor, walls and roof, flame temperature, flame velocity, door temperature. door velocity, temperature at ceilings, are measured by various instruments like heat flux sensor, thermocouples and bidirectional probe. Results obtained in this report are expected to useful to assured fire safety of compartment and to design fire environment.