Upward Flame Spread Over an Array of Discrete Thermally-Thin PMMA Plates

Experiments and theoretical analysis were conducted to investigate the upward flame spread over a homogenous PMMA plate and an array of discrete thermally thin PMMA elements. In the experiment, a digital video camera was used to record the flame spread process. An electronic balance and thermocouples were adopted to monitor the mass loss and pyrolysis front position, respectively, as a function of time. In the theoretical analysis, the mass loss rate of PMMA was correlated to the heat transfer during flame spread. The experimental results show that the flame spread rate peaks in the case of discrete PMMA elements with a fuel coverage around 80% rather than 100% (the homogenous case) because the gap with an appropriate spacing between neighboring elements accelerates the flame spread. However, the flame cannot spread over an array of discrete fuels at a coverage of 50% or smaller where the gap is too large to allow effective heat transfer required for flame spread. A smaller coverage of PMMA results in a larger mass loss rate per area since the gaps between elements can entrain more air to promote the burning. A logarithmic relation, that can well describe the mass loss rate as a function of PMMA coverage, was proposed based on the theoretical analysis and the fitting of experimental measurements.