Heat release rate of oriented strand board through cone calorimetry test: a numerical analysis

Abstract

Understanding oriented strand board combustion enhances safety guidelines and widens its uses with effective fire protection. This study developed a comprehensive mathematical model for the combustion of oriented strand board through cone calorimetry tests to accurately predict the heat release rate using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The model incorporates a kinetic mechanism for multi-step consecutive reactions, the formation of growing char, as well as mass and heat transport phenomena occurring during the oriented strand board combustion. Upon subjecting oriented strand board to heat, it undergoes combustion, resulting in the production of gas and char as the primary decomposition products. This char layer serves as a protective barrier, shielding the underlying material from further combustion. Additionally, increasing heat flux resulted in a higher heat release peak and a reduced time to ignition, indicating a significant influence of heat flow during fire initiation and promotion stages. Moreover, higher heat flux led to a shorter flame burning duration and accelerated the sample's burning rate. Increasing gas diffusivity through the char raises the peak heat release rate and shifts the plateau region upwards. Similarly, reducing char thickness boosts the peak heat release rate. The validation process showed a satisfactory agreement between the three datasets, supporting the accuracy of the numerical methodology.