Thermal Measurements in Large Pool Fires

During the summer of 1983, a series of pool fire tests was conducted in which the test item was a 1.4-m-dia, 6.4-m-long, mild steel calorimeter with a mass of approximately 10,000 kg. The purpose of these tests was to study the thermal response of a large test item in a specified fire configuration, to define thermal boundary conditions, and to assess the repeatability of the fire environment. While the calorimeter used in the tests simulated a nuclear waste transportation cask, the results of the study have broader application to the truck and rail transport of hydrocarbon fuels and hazardous chemicals.