Analysis of Post-Fire Characteristics of Portable Oil Filled Room Heaters to Determine Pre-Fire Orientation<\/p>\n
K. Scott Barnhill, PE
\nInvestigative Forensic Specialists, PLLC<\/p>\n
Presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigation Science and Technology, 2014<\/p>\n
ABSTRACT
\nA portable oil filled room heater is a steel vessel typically with 5 to 8 fins containing approximately 3 to 4 liters of\u00a0mineral oil. The mineral oil acts as the heat transfer fluid that is heated by an immersed electric heating element.\u00a0The outward appearance of an oil filled heater is that of an old steam radiator.<\/p>\n
An oil filled heater (OFH) exposed to full room involvement conditions will commonly display fire effects to\u00a0include: rupture of the vessel\u2019s spot welds, localized wavy deformations to the fins in the unwetted regions of the\u00a0vessel, and differential deformation of the vessel\u2019s fins. This study addresses the post-fire characteristics of oil filled\u00a0heaters exposed to full room involvement conditions in two burn cells. A primary focus of the study is to determine\u00a0if the pre-fire orientation of the oil filled heater can be determined by analysis of the post-fire appearance. A\u00a0description of the dynamics that occur between the wetted and unwetted surfaces when the vessel is exposed to full\u00a0room involvement conditions is discussed.<\/p>\n
Analysis of an OFHs\u2019 post-fire characteristics, to include vessel dimensions and wavy deformations, compared to\u00a0the burn cell experiment results, allows an investigator to accurately interpret the normal reaction of an OFH to full\u00a0room involvement as well as to determine its pre-fire orientation (upright or otherwise).<\/p>\n
Download the complete paper<\/a> here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Analysis of Post-Fire Characteristics of Portable Oil Filled Room Heaters to Determine Pre-Fire Orientation K. Scott Barnhill, PE Investigative Forensic Specialists, PLLC Presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigation Science and Technology, 2014 ABSTRACT A portable oil filled room heater is a steel vessel typically with 5 to 8 fins containing approximately 3 to … Continue reading Analysis of Post-Fire Characteristics of Portable Oil Filled Room Heaters<\/span>