Analysis of Fire Propagation in Electrical Cable Trays Using the FLASH-CAT Model

Abstract

In this study, a novel fire modeling procedure was proposed for the computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) simulation of electrical cable tray fires for improving fire safety in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The simulation conditions were selected from cable fire experiments that were conducted in an open atmosphere and enclosed compartment conditions, as part of the PRISME-3 (French acronym for “Fire Propagation in Elementary Multi-Room Scenarios”) project, an international cooperative project that was carried out under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). To solve the CFD problem of heat and smoke flow caused by electrical cable fire, we used a fire dynamics simulator (FDS) model based on the Naver-Stoke’s equation, which is suitable for low-speed heat flow. In the FDS model, the heat release rate per unit area (HRRPUA), fire duration, and physical properties of the cable were considered as main input parameters and boundary conditions to perform the cable fire simulation analysis. The HRRPUA time curve for cable fires was assumed to be the FLASH-CAT model presented in NUREG-7010. To validate the FDS model with the experimental results of cable tray fire scenarios, we compared simulation results by different cable fire models to find a cable fire model that is consistent with the experimental results.