The construction industry promotes the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a more sustainable and architectural material. This introduces unknown fire hazards in the built environment. The current study investigates the differences in the external plume between compartments with CLT surfaces and noncombustible surfaces. An exposed timber structure increases the fuel load, which in turn increases the produced flammable gases. As oxygen supply is limited by the opening, part of the flaming combustion will take place outside. This results in an external plume that could affect an adjacent building and the building of origin. The global equivalence ratio (GER) indicates how much unburnt fuel exits from the compartment opening. The GER is calculated from the air inflow rate, the stoichiometric fuel-air ratio, and the burning rate. Medium-scale experiments, with a 0.7 m cubic compartment, have been implemented to investigate the effect of exposed timber on the external plume. It was found that GER was higher when timber lining were exposed, and that this resulted in higher heat fluxes on the façade above the compartment opening.

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. 1 / 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 : 118 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/k19-45.pdf>. — <URL:http://doi.org/10.18720/SPBPU/2/k19-45>.