Title: Fire Dynamics - An Introduction toAuthor: Dougal Drysdale
Published: 1985
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK
ISBN: 0-471-90613-1
Format: 16,6 x 25,1 cm
Pages: 424
For the first time, the basic principles of science and engineering used in the understanding of fire behaviour have been brought together in one volume. This book is based on the course in Fire Dynamics taught by the author at Worchester Polytechnic Institute. He has gathered information from a wide range of sources in the scientific and technical literature, and gives detailed references to these sources to enable readers to pursue individual topics as they wish.
Although the material presented here is largely concerned with fires in buildings, other aspects of fire dynamics are covered. After preliminary chapters introducing the basic organic and physical chemistry and aspects of heat and mass transfer which form the parameters of the discussion which follow, the central portion of the book explains ignition, flame spread, and steady burning of both liquid and solid fuels. There is a detailed coverage of burning in enclosures; the concepts of fire severity and resistance are discussed; and the book ends with a review of smoke production and movement.
The information given here is presented in such a way that aspects of fire behaviour can be quantified, making the book invaluable for fire protection engineers, fire brigade and fire prevention officers and fire investigators both in the assessment of fire risk and fire investigation. Research scientists and engineers will also find this book of considerable interest.