A Curved Plume Method for Air

Entrainment into Balcony Spill Plumes

S. Kumar, G. Cox and P. H. Thomas

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Contents

Background Why study spill plumes

Simplified spill plume approaches &
their limitations
Curved plume method

Benefits
Mathematical details
Validation and application

Comparison with CFD model and

experimental data
Comparison with simple formulae
(standards guidance)

Conclusions

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Background Balcony spill plumes

Free (double-sided)

Adhered (single-sided)
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Simplified spill plume formulae

divide spill plume in three distinct regions

(3) Vertically rising plume

region - vertically moving flow
2D line plume (near field)
3D axisymmetric plume (far field)

(1) Approach flow

region - buoyant layer of
smoky gases flowing
horizontally towards the
spill edge

(2) Rotation or turning

region - layer changes from a
horizontally moving flow to a
vertically moving flow
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Virtual source location in simplified approaches

Spill plume requires location of a virtual source

Virtual source depends on the characteristics of the
hot gas layer at spill edge

convective mass & heat flow rate (m0, Q)

Layer depth (D0)
Horizontal flow velocity (u0)

Smoke layer

Spill edge

z0

Virtual line source

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Curved plume method for balcony spill plume

Overcomes limitations of simplified spill plume formulae

offers unified treatment for the entire balcony spill plume

uses proper momentum balance (conserved)

Accounts for horizontal momentum of the spill plume

Note spill plume beyond the turning region never becomes perfectly vertical

Does not require virtual source

Offers strong plume treatment

Avoids using Boussinesq approximation

Offers proper method for

end entrainment into the two-dimensional line plume

deducing virtual source location

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Curved plume method for balcony spill plume(2)

z

Assumes same entrainment

coefficient (E) on upper and
lower plume surfaces, taken
from latest measurements for
2-D plume,

Top hat
profile
w
Approach
flow spill
edge

Plume axis

For Gaussian profile, value is

nearer to 0.11 than to 0.16 used by
Lee and Emmons,
For top-hat profile, value is 2
times bigger than for Gaussian
profile

s
D0

Assume equal growth for plume length and width with

increasing s or z

L D L0 D0
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Curved plume method - Mathematical details

Mass & momentum transfer equations along the stream line:

2
2 1/ 2

m D L U R ; U R (u w )

M D L U

2
R

Entrainment rate into the plume (using top-hat

approximation)

d m
a E P U R ; P 2 (L D)
ds
2

d m
UR
dz
w
aE P
;
sin
dz
w
ds
UR

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Curved plume method - Mathematical details

L D L0 D 0

m 2
A LD
M

4 m
2
P 2 ( L D ) ( L 0 D 0 )

d m
M
2 aE
dz
m

M 2

2 M 2
M
0

1/ 2

1/ 2

4 m
2
( L 0 D 0 )
M

1/ 2

Newtons 2nd law relates buoyancy flux to vertical momentum

d M
g Q m
g A
dz
C p T a M
The above equations solved using 4th order Runge-Kutta methodwww.scottwilson.com

Curved plume method Illustration of transition from

2-D to 3-D behaviour for 15kW fire
1.00E+01

+5/3

m (kg/s)

1.00E+00
L0=1.0m

1.00E-01

L0=0.2m

+1

1.00E-02
1.00E-01

1.00E+00

z+3D 0 (m)

1.00E+01

1.00E+02

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Curved plume method Asymptotic behaviour

2 1/ 2

dm
M
4
m

2 a E ( L0 D 0 ) 2

ds
m
M

First term describes two-dimensional behaviour

m ( z z 0 )

Deviation from two-dimensional behaviour when 2nd term dominates

Far field

: as z , s

dm
dm

4 1a/ 2 E M 1/ 2
ds
dz

Near, field

: as z , s0
M
u0
m

dm
2 a E u0 ( L0 D 0 ) 2 4 A0
ds

1/ 2

dm
1/ 2
4 a E u0 A0
ds

L0 D0
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Validation of the Method

Comparison with the CFD model JASMINE

Comparison with the test data
2D plume (No end effect)

Marshall & Harrison (1994), and Marshall,

Harrison and Morgan (1994)
New data of Harrison & Spearpoint (2007,
2008)

3D plume (With end effect)

New data of Harrison & Spearpoint (2007,

2008)

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Details of Experimental Rig - Elevation

Earlier 1994 data Some 50 experiments

New 2007 data - Over 200 experiments
Smoke exhaust
fan damper

Three fire sizes

5kW, 10kW, 15kW

Butterfly damper

Channelling screens

Adjustable height smoke

exhaust hood

With & Without

2.5
m
The fire
compartment

1.0
m

0.3
m

Balcony

Steel
frame

Five channelling widths

1m, 0.8m, 0.6m, 0.4m, 0.2m
Nominal height of plume rise

0.5
m

Section

Fire tray

0.3m, 0.5m, 0.7m, 0.9m, 1.2m

3.0
m
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CFD model JASMINE Modelled Geometry & Grid

Geometry includes approach flow

Channelling screens
Extract duct in the hood
Fire characterised by measured
gas temperature & velocity profiles
at the spill edge

Half domain modelled

Coarse Grid
200,000 cells
Fine grid 315,000 cells
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CFD model JASMINE

Plume trajectory & smoke filling in hood

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CFD model JASMINE

Plume trajectory with channelling screens under the
balcony (with end effects)

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Predicted plume trajectory without channelling screens

under and above the balcony
(pronounced end effects)

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CFD model JASMINE

Plug-holing with shallow smoke layer inside the hood

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Curved plume method (no end effects)

- Comparison with CFD and experimental data
0.1

0.08

(m ' - m0 ') / Q '

JASMINE Pred: 3.6, 8.0, 12.2 kW, L=1m

0.06

JASMINE Pred: 3.45, 6.6, 9.9 kW, L=0.2m

Exp: 8.0 kW, L=1m

0.04

Exp: 6.6 kW, L=0.2m

0.02

curved plume: 3.6, 8.0, 12.2 kW, L=1m

curved plume: 3.45, 6.6, 9.9 kW, L=0.2m

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

(ze+D0) / Q '

0.4

0.5

0.6

2/3

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2D Curved plume method (no end effects)

- Comparison with CFD and recent experimental data

0.1

JASMINE Pred: 3.6, 8.0,

12.2 kW, L=1m

0.08

m'/Q'

JASMINE Pred: 3.45, 6.6,

9.9 kW, L=0.2m
0.06

Exp: 8.0 kW, L=1m

0.04

Exp: 6.6 kW, L=0.2m

0.02

curved plume: 3.6, 8.0,

12.2 kW, L=1m
curved plume: 3.45, 6.6,
9.9 kW, L=0.2m

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

(ze + z e0) / Q '

0.4

0.5

0.6

2/3

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3D Curved plume method (includes end effects)

- Comparison with CFD and recent experimental data for
15kW fire

0.7
0.6

L0 = 1.0 m

E=.15

0.5
E=.13

0.4

E=.11

L0 = 0.2 m

(kg/s) 0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

z (m)

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3D Curved plume method (includes end effects)

- Comparison with CFD and recent experimental data for
15kW fire (E=0.13)
0.14

L0 = 1.0 m
0.12

L0 = 0.2 m
0.10

m'/Q'

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.00
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3
(z+3D0)/Q'

0.4
(2/3

0.5

0.6

0.7

2/3

[1+2Ez/L 0]

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Virtual source location deduced from the 2D curved

plume method

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Example 1 Reduced 1/10th scale geometry

Comparing CPM with other methods and reduced scale
data for 5kW fire

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Rectangular plume method

m
z 2 / 3 E = 2 E =0.16
2 / 3 z z0b
(2 E )
(1 2 E )
g
2/3

Q
Q
L0

L0
b0

z0L

z0b
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Example 1 Reduced 1/10th scale geometry

Comparing CPM with other methods and reduced scale
data for 10kW fire

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Example 2 Full scale geometry

Comparing CPM with other methods
(Qc = 1MW, fire compartment opening width of 10m)

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Example 2 Full scale geometry

Comparing CPM with other methods
(Qc = 1MW, fire compartment opening width of 20m)

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Conclusions

Curved plume method

Offers scientifically robust method for calculating air

entrainment into a balcony spill plume
(behaves like line plume with end effects in near field
axisymmetric plume in the far field )

Incorporates effect of horizontal momentum at spill

edge, and density variation in the spill plume

Provides a means of deducing virtual source location

below the emerging stream of horizontal flow

Shows good agreement with CFD model JASMINE

and experimental data

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Conclusions (2)

The method is of limited use in cases involving

complex geometry, e.g., when multiple free plumes
or a combination of free and adhered plumes are
present.

CFD becomes more powerful to deal with such

cases in complex geometries where CFD is able to
quantify

extent of plugholing
degree of lateral spread when channelling screens
under the balcony are absent
These effects have been independently confirmed by
experiments

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Thank You
Questions?
Scott Wilson, 6-8 Greencoat
Place, London SW1P 1PL
Tel: 020 7798 5097
Fax: 020 7798 5001
E-mail:
Suresh.kumar@scottwilson.com

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Background & practical relevance

Smoke control design for atria and

shopping complexes require
methods of calculating air
entrainment in plumes spilling from
under a balcony into an atrium void
In the past, lack of agreement over
the estimation of mass entrainment
rate in spill plumes resulting from
smoke spilling under a balcony into
a void
New experimental data offer the
opportunity for a re-appraisal

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