Experimental and theoretical study on horizontal flame spread through arrays of wooden dowels

Flame spread along discrete fuel element is of great interest for both fundamental science and fire prevention, whose combustion properties may be different from those of homogenous materials. It has been a long time for researchers in fire science to find a simple and effective method to construct a discrete flame spread model. This work was motivated by the research of 2‐D horizontal discrete flame spread behaviors with different spacings and rows, establishing the prediction model of ignition time and global mass loss rate (MLR). In this work, burning characteristics of the 2‐D discrete flame spread were experimentally studied with six different row numbers (1–11 with an interval of 2) of cylindrical dowels (birch wood, 3 mm diameter × 50 mm height) under three selected spacings (6, 7, and 8 mm). Based on the heat transfer model developed, the theoretical models of ignition time and MLR were obtained and validated. Moreover, combined with previous studies, the numerical correlation between dimensionless flame height and dimensionless heat release rate for the 2‐D horizontal discrete flame spread scenario was established. This study provided an insight into the horizontal discrete flame spread mechanism in the aspect of heat and mass transfer, which may be applied in the prediction and assessment of discrete fuel fires in reality.