CALIBRATION OF THE CAFE-3D FIRE CODE WITH CONTROLLED INDOOR FIRE DATA

The Container Analysis Fire Environment (CAFE) code contains a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based fire model that has been successfully coupled to standard finite element computer codes. This coupling of CFD and finite element codes allows for a more realistic modeling of the thermal performance of objects engulfed in fire, which aids in the design and risk analysis of radioactive material packages. The CAFE fire model is based on a three-dimensional finite volume formulation of basic fire chemistry and fluid dynamics. This fire model includes a variable-density primitive-variable formulation of mass, momentum, energy and species equations. Multiple chemical species and soot formation are included in the combustion model. Thermal radiation is modeled as diffusive radiation transport inside the flame zone and as view-factor radiation outside the flame zone. Turbulence is modeled with an eddy diffusivity model. The soot model is coupled to the diffusive radiation formulation using the Rosseland approximation and the optical properties of soot. In order to verify and improve the accuracy of computers codes, they should be benchmarked against test data. This paper describes a set of experiments that were performed at the Fire Laboratory for Accreditation of Modeling by Experiment (FLAME) fire facility of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The paper also describes how the data collected from the experiments was used to calibrate and benchmark the CAFE-3D fire code. Detailed description of the tests performed and comparisons between the calculated results and the collected data from the experiments are provided.