Fire and Fluid Dynamics
The theme was established at Kingston University in 1998. It aims to deliver high quality research, postgraduate training and consultancy services in fire and explosion modelling as well as environmental flows.
Our research is internationally renowned for its modelling capabilities based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques with a primary focus on large eddy and direct numerical simulations (LES and DNS) and RANS-based CFD for problems involving very large domain.
With a clear focus on models development to address the underlying physical and chemical processes, we have established a niche that strikes a fine balance between fundamental research, high quality publications and industrial applications related to fire and explosion safety in the built environment, transport systems, process plants and offshore platforms.
Research themes
Fire dynamics research
- Compartment fires, pool and jet fires
- Large scale Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fires
- Flame spread
- Hydrogen jet fires
- Glass behaviour in fires
- Fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) strengthening of structural elements in fires
- Fire resistance of structural elements
- Vapour cloud and hydrogen explosions
- Transition to detonation in vapour cloud explosions
- Modelling large scale vapour cloud detonation
- Flame acceleration and deflagration to detonation transition (DDT)
- Impact and blast loading on structural elements
Prevention, protection and mitigation
- Water spray, water mist and micromist for fire suppression and explosion control
- Sprinkler spray in fire suppression
- Water spray curtains for fire protection
- Structure response to fire and blast loading
- The response of glazing systems in fires
Hazardous release and dispersion
- High pressure gas leaks modelling
- Modelling accidental releases of dangerous gases from mobile sources and petrochemical plants
- Hydrogen jet releases from high pressure systems or small leaks in relation to vehicle applications
- Multi-phase carbon dioxide during pipeline transmission for carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications
- Heavy gas dispersion incorporating the effect of atmospheric boundary layer, obstacles and terrain
Fundamental research and complex flow systems modelling and simulation
- Sub-grid scale models for turbulence, combustion and soot
- High-pressure / flameless combustion
- Advanced radiative heat transfer and gas radiation models for fires and combustion systems
- Spray and sprinkler models
- Multiphase flows modelling
- Verification and development of simplified chemistry for turbulent combustion modelling
- Direct and large-eddy simulation of transitional and turbulent flows
- Aerodynamics
- Thermo-fluids
- Internal combustion engines
- Energy systems.
Academic staff
Contact us
For more information, please contact Dr Siaka Dembele (Theme Leader).
