FEF

Module 1

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

fire
• Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic
chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various
reaction products.
• Managing fire for energy release was a turning point in human history

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Fire can create serious trouble!
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Combustion : chemical phenomenon

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Review of basic terms
• Temperature
• Heat
• Heat capacity or specific heat capacity
• Latent heat and Sensible heat
• Heating value or calorific value

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Temperature
• temperature, measure of hotness or coldness
• indicating the direction in which heat energy will spontaneously flow—i.e., from a
hotter body (one at a higher temperature) to a colder body (one at a lower
temperature).
• Internal energy and temperature
• Units : Kelvin (absolute scale), oC and Fahrenheit scale
• 100 divisions in Kelvin scale represent 18 divisions in Fahrenheit scale

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HEAT
• Energy in transit on account of temperature gradient
• Heat v/s work in thermodynamics
• Modes of heat transfer:
• Conduction
• Convection
• Radiation

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Specific heat
• The specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to
raise the temperature by one degree Celsius

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Latent heat: Associated with phase change

Sensible heat: Associated with change in

internal energy

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Heating Value (Calorific value )
• Calorific value is defined as the amount of calories generated when a
unit amount of substance is completely oxidized
• HHV [higher heating value] :
• We can determine the higher heating value by bringing all the
products of combustion back to the original pre-combustion
temperature. In this process, we need to allow any produced
vapour to condense. [The standard temperature usually for this
determination is 25°C.]
• if water vapour is produced during the combustion reaction, it
undergoes condensation to form liquid water.
• we have to take the latent heat of vaporization of water into
account when measuring the higher heating value

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

• LHV [Lower Heating Value]
• We can determine the lower heating value via subtracting the heat
of vaporization of water from the higher heating value. This
includes any water molecules that are formed as vapour.
• Therefore, the energy required to vaporize water is not considered
as considerable heat energy.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

When can fire take place?

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Flash point of a fuel
• The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature
needed to evaporate enough fluid to form a combustible
concentration of gas.
• Gasoline has a flash point of -45°F
• Flash point: the lowest temperature at which a liquid (usually
a petroleum product) will form a vapour in the air near its surface
that will “flash,” or briefly ignite, on exposure to an open flame.
• The flash point is a general indication of the flammability or
combustibility of a liquid. Below the flash point, insufficient vapour is
available to support combustion

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Fire point of a fuel
• At some temperature above the flash point, the liquid will produce enough
vapour to support combustion. This temperature is known as the fire point.
• “The fire point of a substance differs from the flash point in that it is a
lower temperature and ignites briefly, but cannot sustain the fire. At the
flash point, the combustion sieges immediately when the flame or external
ignition source is removed. At the fire point, the combustion sustains at
least for 5 seconds after the flame is removed. The flash point is
significantly lower than the fire point by usually 8 to 10 percent. The flash
point and fire point should not be confused with the auto-ignition
temperature of a liquid, which is the temperature at which the liquid
ignites spontaneously without any external ignition source such as a flame
or a spark.”

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
ignition
• Ignition refers to the marked transition of a system from a non-reactive
equilibrium state to a self-sustaining reactive state.
• This change is often induced by an external stimulus (such as heat or a spark) that
produces a thermochemical runaway or chain of chemical reactions in the system
• Ignition temperature is defined as the minimum temperature at which the
substance ignites and burns without further addition of heat from outside. Fire
cannot continue if the heat produced is carried away faster than its production.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

• Piloted ignition – Ignition of a combustible or flammable material in
the presence of a pre-existing flame (the “pilot” flame)
• Non –piloted ignition (auto ignition/spontaneous ignition) : Ignition of
a combustible or flammable material without an ignition source,
which is generally caused by raising material temperature above its
auto-ignition temperature

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Types of combustion
• Slow, incipient combustion
• Rapid combustion
• Very rapid combustion- explosion: detonation, deflagration
• Spontaneous combustion

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• In slow combustion the amount of heat and light emitted is feeble.
Burning of saw dust is an example
• Combustion can be considered as rapid, if considerable heat and light
are emitted within a short time. Burning of gases can be considered
as rapid combustion. Very rapid combustion, when occurs in a closed
vessel will lead to the generation of high pressure, in addition to heat
and light. If the pressure is sufficiently high, then the vessel will
rupture. Now, the flame is called an explosion or a deflagration and
what happens to the vessel is a pressure burst. Combustion in fire
works and crackers are examples of explosion.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Explosion
• explosion as a process where combustion of a premixed gas cloud, i.e.
fuel-air or fuel/oxidiser is causing rapid increase of pressure
• Violent outburst
• Explosion :: chemical, mechanical and nuclear

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deflagration
• A deflagration occurs when a flame front propagates by transferring
heat and mass to the unburned air–vapor mixture ahead of the front.
• . A deflagration propagates at subsonic speed relative to the
unburned gas, typical flame speeds
• Flame speeds range from 1 to 350 m/s; at low speeds there is little
effect from the blast overpressure, at high speeds peak overpressures
can be as high as 20 times the initial pressure.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Detonation
• A detonation occurs when the flame velocity reaches supersonic
speeds above 600 m/s and generally in the 2000–2500 m/s range.
• Peak overpressures can be 20–100 times the initial pressure, with
typical values of 20 bar.
• Detonation can be initiated either by use of a high explosive charge or
from a deflagration wave that accelerates due to congestion and
confinement.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

 Products of combustion

• FLAME
• A flame is a zone in which chemical reaction takes place between
gases with evolution of heat and light accompanied by vigorous
combustion.
• The characteristics of flame, viz. size, changing shape and colour give
an idea of the nature of the combustibles and the temperature
produced.
• Gases must be present if flame is to be produced. Substances which
do not evolve gaseous
• flammable products when heated do not exhibit flame while burning.
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
• HEAT: what all factors determined the heat released? How heat is
dissipated?

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 SMOKE
• Most of the flames, in practice, in a fire are open at the top and emit smoke.
• Smoke is a mixture of hot gases, small droplets of liquids ( < 0.001 mm diameter – 1micron ) and solid
carbon particles.
• The gases contain a vide range of pyrolysis products and other elements such as Nitrogen, Oxides of
Carbons, Hydrogen, Sulphur, etc.. The liquids present are also complex pyrolysis products but of high
molecular weight. In case of improperly burned
• carbonaceous materials and hydrocarbons, the un-reacted carbon molecules agglomerate
• on leaving the combustion zone form long chain of carbon particles –known as soot.
• The constituents of smoke are combustible.
• The volume of smoke produced, its density and toxicity depends on the material which isburning and
on the way it is burning.
• The structure of the molecule of fuel affects the amount of smoke which is produced. If molecules of a
fuel contain oxygen, then the fully
• aerated flame will give less smoke than the same flame from a chemically similar fuel which has no
oxygen.
• The chemical composition of smoke is regarded as less important than its density.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
 Stages of fire
• Ignition: Fuel, oxygen and heat join together in a sustained chemical
reaction. At this stage, a fire extinguisher can control the fire.
• Growth: With the initial flame as a heat source, additional fuel ignites.
Convection and radiation ignite more surfaces. The size of the fire
increases and the plume reaches the ceiling. Hot gases collecting at
the ceiling transfer heat, allowing all fuels in a room to come closer to
their ignition temperature at the same time.
• Fully developed: Fire has spread over much if not all the available
fuel; temperatures reach their peak, resulting in heat damage. Oxygen
is consumed rapidly.
• Decay (Burnout): The fire consumes available fuel, temperatures
decrease, fire gets less intense.
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Ref: https://www.nfpa.org/
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
1. The incipient stage is when it’s crucial to fight a fire because it is
easiest to suppress it at this point, and it will cause the least
damage.
2. Growth: Once a fire reaches this stage, it becomes harder to
control. If a fire detector recognizes a fire at this point, you have
little time to put it out before it reaches flashover.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Flashover
• NFPA 921 defines flashover as “a transitional phase in the
development of a compartment fire in which surfaces exposed to
thermal radiation reach its ignition temperature more or less
simultaneously and fire spreads rapidly throughout the space
resulting in full room involvement or total involvement of the
compartment or enclosed area.”
• Flashover is a thermally-driven event during which every combustible
surface exposed to thermal radiation in a compartment or enclosed
space rapidly and simultaneously ignites. Flashover normally occurs
when the upper portion of the compartment reaches a temperature
of approximately 1,100 °F for ordinary combustibles.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
3. After the flashover, the fire reaches the fully developed stage. Out of all the
stages of fire growth, this phase is where energy release is at its greatest. The
temperature will be at its highest point (generally somewhere between 700°-
1200°C).

• Fully developed fires can be identified by the following factors:

• darkened or black smoke

• dense smoke
• substantial heat
• blackened window glazing
• visible exterior flames
• flames obscured by smoke

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

4. During the final stages of fire, a flame will enter the decay phase.
This stage occurs after the fully developed flame starts to run out of
fuel or oxygen.
Fires can be forced into the decay stage by reducing oxygen supply with
firefighting equipment. Limiting the flame to one compartment (or
area) will help to contain the available fuel and growth of the fire.
It is critical during this phase to limit the fire’s access to combustible
material and oxygen. Even if a fire appears to be out, there is a chance
of reignition when the right materials are available.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Combustion stoichiometry

To determine the excess air or excess fuel for a combustion system we

starts with the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. The stoichiometric ratio is the
perfect ideal fuel ratio where the chemical mixing proportion is correct.
When burned all fuel and air is consumed without any excess left over.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Flammable range The lower flammability limit (LFL) is found to be
1.81% and upper flammability limit (UFL) is
8.86% of LPG for upward propagation of flame.

Fig: example of
fuel
concentrations
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• The flammability range describes the minimum and maximum
concentrations at which a given vaporous substance will ignite or
combust when mixed with air.
• The minimum concentration is referred to as either the lower
flammable limit or lower explosive limit (LFL/LEL), while the maximum
concentration is referred to as an upper limit (UFL/UEL).
• When the concentration of a vapor in the air is below the LFL, the
amount of vapor in the air is too “lean” to burn, while concentrations
of vapor above the UFL are too "rich” to burn.
• The UFL and LFL are dependent on the temperature, pressure, and
amount of oxygen in the air. Increases in any of these factors lower the
LFL and raise the UFL, while the opposite is true if any of these factors
decrease. The flammability range of a substance is typically defined in
terms of environments at room temperature (20oC–25oC) and
atmospheric pressure.
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
 Classification of fire based on material
• Class A: Ordinary combustible materials, such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber and many plastics.
They burn with an ember and leave an ash. Extinguish by cooling the fuel to a temperature that is
below the ignition temp. Water and other extinguishing agents are effective.
• Class B: Flammable liquids (burn at room temperature) and combustible liquids (require heat to
ignite). Petroleum greases, tars, oils, oil-based paints, solvents, lacquers, alcohols, and flammable
gases. High fire hazard; water may not extinguish. Extinguish by creating a barrier between the
fuel and the oxygen, such as layer of foam.
• Class C: Fuels that would be A or B except that they involve energized electrical equipment.
Special techniques and agents required to extinguish, most commonly carbon dioxide or dry
chemical agents. Use of water is very dangerous because water conducts electricity.
• Class D: Combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, zirconium, sodium, lithium and
potassium. Most cars contain numerous such metals. Because of extremely high flame
temperatures, water can break down into hydrogen and oxygen, enhancing burning or exploding.
Extinguish with special powders based on sodium chloride or other salts; also clean dry sand.
• Class K: Fires in cooking appliances that involve combustible cooking media (vegetable or animal
oils and fats).

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Ref: NFPA website
 Fire tetrahedron
• In more recent years, a fourth component – the
uninhibited chain reaction – has been added to
explain fire. This chain reaction is the feedback of
heat to the fuel to produce the gaseous fuel used in
the flame.
• In other words, the chain reaction provides the heat
necessary to maintain the fire. The addition of this
fourth component (which forms what is called the
"fire tetrahedron ") more accurately describes the
mechanism for fire suppression by clean agent halon
replacements which break up the uninhibited chain
reaction of combustion.
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Special kinds of combustion
• Flash fire
• Pool fire
• Deep seated fire
• Spill over
• Boil over
• Dust explosion
• BLEVE
• Vapor Cloud Explosion

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

FLASH FIRE
• A flash fire is a fire that ignites and spreads quickly at a high
temperature but that only lasts for a short duration.

• These fires are sudden and are caused by the ignition of a

combustible material (such as a solid dust, liquid aerosol, or gas) that
has been dispersed into the air.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

• The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines a flash fire as: “A fire
that spreads by means of a flame front rapidly through a diffuse fuel, such as
dust, gas, or the vapors of an ignitable liquid, without the production of
damaging pressure” (source: NFPA 2112 and NFPA 2113).

• So, a flash fire is characterized by:

• A diffuse fuel suspended in air

• An ignition source, and
• A flame front that moves rapidly through the diffuse fuel cloud, eating up the fuel as it
goes
• Because the rapidly-moving flame front quickly consumes the diffuse fuel,
flash fires are also very brief in duration—typically three seconds or less in
any single location.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

• In the open, a large pool of a highly flammable liquid (e.g., petrol or
gasoline) will produce a significant volume of flammable vapour/air
mixture which – given time – can extend beyond the limits of the pool
boundary. Introduction of an ignition source to this volume will cause
flame to propagate back to the pool, burning any vapour near the
surface which was initially above the upper flammability limit,
producing a large, transient diffusion flame before steady burning is
established. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘flash fire’.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan Ref: Dougal Drysdale

Special Kinds of Combustion

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Pool fire
• A pool or a pile of a flammable substance catching fire—which is
termed a ‘pool fire’—is among the most common of fire-related
accidents.
• In chemical process industries (CPI) in particular, pool fires are the
most frequent of all possible types of accidents. Pool fires are also,
more often than not, the triggers of larger fires, explosions and/or
toxic releases in CPI.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Eg: pool fire
• The most important physical parameter describing a pool fire is the
heat release rate, which determines the minimum safe distance
needed to avoid burns from thermal radiation.
• The heat release rate is limited by the rate of evaporation of the fuel,
as the combustion reaction takes place in the gas phase.
• The evaporation rate, in turn, is determined by other physical
parameters, such as the depth, surface area and shape of the pool, as
well as the fuel boiling point, heat of vaporization, heat of
combustion, thermal conductivity and others.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

deep-seated fire
• A deep-seated fire refers to the smoldering status
where contact with air is limited.
• The incomplete combustion rate of a heat source is
much higher in a deep seated fire as compare to a
surface fire, which causes a high percentage of fuel
to be converted into toxic compounds.
• In addition, a deep-seated fire cannot be easily
detected . Because liquid extinguishing agents cannot
penetrate far below the surface, deep-seated fires
have a risk of re-ignition if they contact air later

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prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Boil over
• A boilover (or boil-over) type of fire refers to an extremely
hazardous situation where an attempt is made to extinguish
semi-enclosed oil or petrochemical fueled fire with water. The
hazard results due to the difference in density between oil and
water.
• NFPA defines boil-over as: An event in the burning of certain
oils in an open-top tank when, after a long period of quiescent
burning, there is a sudden increase in fire intensity associated
with expulsion of burning oil from the tank

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Watch:https://youtu.be/5P-50Bl8gtQ

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Dust Explosion
• The hazard of a dust explosion or fire exists wherever flammable dusts are
handled.
• Generally, a dust explosion occurs only if the dust is dispersed in air, but transition
from a fire to an explosion can occur, and vice versa. If a burning dust is disturbed,
a dust suspension may be formed and ignited.
• A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in
the air within an enclosed location.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

The sequence of events in a serious industrial dust explosion is often as follows:
• A primary explosion occurs in an item of plant. The explosion protection is not adequate to prevent the flame
issuing from the plant, due either to rupture of the plant or to poor explosion venting.
• The air disturbance disperses the dust in the work room and causes a secondary explosion. The quantity of dust in
the secondary explosion often exceeds that in the primary one.
• Moreover, the building in which the secondary explosion occurs may be weaker than the plant itself. The
secondary explosion is thus often more destructive than the primary one.
• In some cases the primary explosion also occurs in the open and disturbs dust deposits, and this causes a
secondary explosion. In other cases the primary explosion occurs in one unit of the plant and the explosion
propagates within the plant to other units.
The possibility of a highly destructive secondary explosion makes dust explosions rather unpredictable

Image source:
Gexcon website
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
• There are five necessary conditions for a dust explosion:

i. A combustible dust
ii. The dust is dispersed in the air at a sufficiently high concentration
iii. There is an oxidant (typically atmospheric oxygen)
iv. There is an ignition source
v. The area is confined—a building can be an enclosure

https://youtu.be/70fZqHsEdMo

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

vapour cloud explosion (VCE)

• A vapour cloud fire, or flash fire, occurs when a vapour cloud forms from a leak and is ignited, but
without creation of significant overpressure. If such overpressure occurs, the event is a vapour
cloud explosion (VCE) rather than a vapour cloud fire (VCF).
• VCE: The explosion resulting from the ignition of a cloud of flammable vapor, gas, or mist in which
flame speeds accelerate to sufficiently high velocities to produce significant overpressure.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UCVE)
• When a flammable vapor is released, its mixture with air will form a
flammable vapor cloud. If ignited, the flame speed may accelerate to
high velocities and produce significant blast overpressure.
• A UVCE is similar to a flash fire, except that in addition to the flame
front, a pressure front, generated by the fire, moves through the
cloud, at speeds of 100 m /s or greater

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

High Over pressures- VCE
• Confinement
• Cloud composition: unsaturated molecules with low ignition point,
high flame speeds
• Good weather: steady environment with no wind
• Large vapor clouds:
• Source: source of fuels like leakage of fuels

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Confinement or obstacles

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Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion – A
BLEVE
• BLEVE occurs when a liquefied, or occasionally a liquid, hydrocarbon is contained
in a vessel exposed to an external fire.
• The fire weakens the shell of the vessel, while also causing the hydrocarbon to
boil, thereby pressurizing the vessel.
• Once the vessel’s pressure exceeds the threshold limit of the metal, the shell
would fail spilling out the rest of the hydrocarbon, which would then undergo an
explosion or a fireball.
• A type of rapid phase transition in which a liquid contained above its atmospheric
boiling point is rapidly depressurized, causing a nearly instantaneous transition
from liquid to vapor with a corresponding energy release. A BLEVE of flammable
material is often accompanied by a large aerosol fireball, since an external fire
impinging on the vapor space of a pressure vessel is a common cause. However, it
is not necessary for the liquid to be flammable to have a BLEVE occur.(CCPS
website)

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prep by: Praveen Vijayan
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
FLAMES: PRE MIXED AND DIFFUSION
A flame is the region in which chemical reactions take place and turn
unburnt fuel vapours into burnt gases. The combustion products, for
example methane and oxygen, react to give carbon dioxide and water
vapour.
A certain amount of heat energy is required to start this reaction but
more heat is produced by the reaction than it takes to initially start it,
so the burning process is self-sustaining.
Two main classification based on Oxygen availability to flame: Pre
mixed and diffusion

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 Premixed flames
• Premixed flames occur when a fuel is well-mixed with an oxidant,
(e.g. 10% methane mixed with air). For ignition to occur, energy must
be supplied in the form of a spark or small flame. A self-sustaining
flame will then be established around the ignition source and will
propagate outwards in all directions.

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 Detonation / Deflagration
occurs when Sl:

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prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Diffusion flames
• Diffusion flames are those flames wherein flammable vapour and air
(oxygen) enter the reaction zone in suitable concentration and mix by
diffusion.
• The characteristics of a diffusion flame can be best explained by the
candle flame.
• Candle wax is usually a mixture of different waxes – primarily paraffin wax. When the paraffin wax molecules
are heated as they approach the reaction zone, they begin to break up into smaller molecules in the final
stage of the disintegration of the wax (- pyrolysis ), there will be only hydrogen atoms and carbon particles.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
• Laminar diffusion flame – in slow-burning diffusion flames, such as
candle flames, the fuel vapour rises slowly from the wick in a laminar
flow and molecular diffusion dominates
• Turbulent diffusion flame – in industrial burners, fuel is injected into
the air at high velocity, as a spray or jet. Turbulence is induced at the
interface where mixing takes place. This gives the flame an extremely
large surface area in comparison to the relatively small surface area of
the smooth fuel/air interface of the candle flame. In this turbulent
case, it is the large interface area, rather than the rate of molecular
diffusion, that determines the rate of mixing.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Flame spread
• Flame spread can be considered as an advancing ignition front in which the
leading edge of the flame acts both as the source of heat (to raise the fuel ahead
of the flame front to the fire point) and as the source of pilot ignition.
• The rate at which a fire will develop depends on how rapidly flame can spread
from the point of ignition to involve an increasingly large area of combustible
material.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

Flame Spread Over Liquids

• The rate at which flame will spread over a pool of liquid fuel depends strongly on
its temperature and in particular whether or not this lies above or below its
flashpoint or fire point.
• The concentration of vapour above the surface of a highly flammable liquid will
be above the lower flammability limit at ambient temperature. Ignition will be
followed by the propagation of a premixed flame through that part of the
vapour/air mixture that is within the flammability limits.
• If the liquid is above the firepoint, this will develop into a diffusion flame and
steady burning of the liquid will follow.
• On the other hand, if the temperature of a liquid is below its flashpoint, quite
different behaviour is observed. The surface ahead of the flame front must be
heated to allow the flame to advance and relatively low rates of spread are
found. prep by: Praveen Vijayan
prep by: Praveen Vijayan
Flame Spread Over Solids
• Unlike liquid pools, the surface of a solid can be at any orientation,
which can have a dominating effect on fire behaviour.

prep by: Praveen Vijayan

prep by: Praveen Vijayan
• What all factors can influence flame spread other than the orientation
of the fuel?

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prep by: Praveen Vijayan