A place to ask questions and add to probative and informative discussions associated with the various aspects of the field of fire investigation. -- FORUM RULES---BE CIVIL AND NO NAME CALLING, NO BELITTLING, NO BERATING, NO DENIGRATING others. Postings in violation of these rules can be removed or editted to remove the offending remarks at the discretion of the moderators and/or site administrator.
Re: Spontaneous combustion
Posted by:
dcarpenter (IP Logged)
Date: July 26, 2019 04:20PM
Rolled paper in a horizontal storage configuration stays on the roll and is difficult to burn with any significant heat release rate.
Rolled paper stored in a vertical configuration is an entirely different situation with respect to fire growth rate. The paper can come off the roll while it is burning and increase the surface area of the material that can burn. I believe that Factory Mutual Research did fire testing on such and found a growth rate on the order of t^3, as opposed to t^2 or more common fuel configurations.
Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
8940 Old Annapolis Road, Suite L
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 884-3266
(410) 884-3267 (fax)
www.csefire.com