Model scale railcar fire tests

A series of tests has been performed in a model of a typical passenger train compartment (railcar). The tests were carried out on a scale of 1–10. The main purpose of the tests was to investigate if it is possible to calculate the heat release rate for a flashed over train compartment with simple mathematical expressions derived for ordinary compartment fires. The combustion that takes place outside the windows was considered in the study. The parameters that were varied include: the ventilation, the fuel load and the type of interior surface material. In all tests, one door was open and the number of windows varied from all windows closed, to all windows opened. The ignition took place in the corner of the model compartment opposite the door opening.The tests show that the fire development inside the model railcar was mainly controlled by the ventilation (number of windows open). The peak heat release rate (HRR) was about the same when all the windows were open at the time of ignition, independent of interior surface materials used. The number of windows open was found to be crucial for the fire development although the fuel load and the type of interior surface material did effect the fire development. Different types of surface interior material resulted in different initial fire growth rates.