Experimental Study on the Effect of Sub-Flash Point Fuel Temperature on the Spread Characteristics of Spill Fire

The spill fires caused by liquid fuel leaks greatly threaten the safety of fuel transportation and storage. In this work, the effect of fuel temperature on the spread characteristics of flowing flames was investigated through n-butanol spilling fire experiments. The spill fire spread can be divided into three stages at different temperatures and leakage rates (I) full spread, (II) gradually extinguished spread, and (III) unable to spread. The oscillation of the flame is related to the fuel thickness and the discharge rate. As the discharge rate or temperature increases, the spread mode changes from pulsation to uniform. With an increase in temperature, the surface flow of the flame is reduced, leading to a decrease in both the preheating time and pulsation amplitude. However, the rate of liquid surface detachment from the flame increases with increasing temperature. The view factor of flame spread can be calculated by the solid flame model, and the flame influences the heat radiation spread state with stable phases or peaks. The research findings presented in this paper hold significant implications for the development of fire safety regulations pertaining to fuel leakage fires.