Boilover Fire: A Study in Laboratory Scale

By using a predictive calculation, the author attempt to investigate the effects of fuel layer thickness on the time to start of boilover. Petrol and diesel are chosen in the experiment. Three experimental trials are conducted during the first semester in order to reveal the characteristics of boilover. The results show that boilover occurred at about 1 hour after the ignition. For the second semester, few changes were made based on the results obtained from the first semester. The results from the experiments show that the time to start of boilover increased as the fuel layer thickness increased. The results also reveal that initial stage of fire, stable burning stage and boilover stage are involved in 30% petrol and 70% diesel mixture fire, but only initial stage of fire and steady burning appear in 100% petrol fire. The start of boilover phenomenon could be determined from the loud crackling sound and the enlargement of the fire.