This study experimentally investigates the combustion behavior of RP-3 aviation kerosene pool fires (300~800 mm) within a confined space, specifically focusing on the complex interaction between buoyancy-driven plumes and mechanical negative pressure ventilation. By integrating high-precision mass loss measurements with multiple characteristic parameters, this research uniquely characterizes the transition of energy feedback mechanisms under confined suction flow. Results show that ventilation enhances combustion intensity and compresses the fire cycle. For an 800 mm pool, the peak mass loss rate rose by 57.1%, from 16.71 g/s to 26.25 g/s. This enhancement stems from boundary layer thinning, which transitions the combustion from diffusion-controlled to kinetics-controlled. Ventilation also induces severe flame tilt with a non-monotonic trend. The tilt angle peaks at 84° for 600 mm pools but drops to 64° at 800 mm as buoyancy momentum increases. Additionally, an energy contrast of vertical cooling and horizontal heating was observed. Axial peak temperatures decreased by 20%, while downwind thermal radiation flux increased by up to 125%. The ventilation system essentially acts as a directional energy projector, shifting heat loads toward the downwind region. These findings support the optimization of fire safety and detection designs for industrial ventilation systems. This study experimentally investigates the combustion behavior of RP-3 aviation kerosene pool fires (300–800 mm) within a confined space, specifically focusing on the complex interaction between buoyancy-driven plumes and mechanical negative pressure ventilation. By integrating high-precision mass loss measurements with multi-point thermal and imaging diagnostics, this research uniquely characterizes the transition of energy feedback mechanisms under confined suction flow.
Sun et al. (Sun,) studied this question.