The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models can contribute to prevent jet fire accidents in facilities. Despite their great potential, validation analysis must be performed before their use in real applications to examine the accuracy of the results obtained. The paper examines the predictive capabilities of the FDS, FireFOAM and FLACS-Fire codes when modelling the expanded regions of vertical sonic jet fires of propane in an open environment. To comply with the low Mach number limitation of the CFD codes used, the pseudo-diameter approach has been applied to simulate the equivalent exit conditions of the jet after the expansion. Predictions of the flame temperatures, the emitted radiative heat fluxes, and the flame-geometry descriptors are compared with experimental data. The promising results indicate the suitability of the technique used to predict the hazardous effects of sonic flows, especially in FDS and FLACS-Fire.

International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards (9; 2019; Saint Petersburg, Russia). Proceedings of the Ninth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards [Электронный ресурс]: 21-26 April 2019, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Vol. 2 / Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Fire and Explosion Safety", Gefest Holding Ltd ; [edited by A. Snegirev [et al.]. — Электрон. текстовые дан. (1 файл : 98,7 Мб). — Saint Petersburg, 2019. — Загл. с титул. экрана. — Свободный доступ из сети Интернет (чтение, печать, копирование). — Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0. — <URL:http://elib.spbstu.ru/dl/2/k19-97.pdf>. — <URL:http://doi.org/10.18720/SPBPU/2/k19-97>.