This thesis is devoted to heat transfer and fire dynamics in enclosures. It consists of a main part which summarizes and discusses the theory of heat transfer, conservation of energy, fire dynamics and specific fire scenarios that have been studied. In the second part of this thesis, the reader will find an Appendix containing seven scientific publications in this field. In particular, one- and two-zone compartment fire models have been studied. A new way of calculating fire temperatures of pre- and post-flashover compartment fires is presented. Three levels of solution techniques are presented including closed form analytical expressions, spread-sheet calculations and solutions involving general finite element temperature calculations. Validations with experiments have shown good accuracy of the calculation models and that the thermal properties of the surrounding structures have a great impact on the fire temperature development. In addition, the importance of the choice of measurement techniques in fire engineering has been studied. Based on the conclusions from these studies, the best techniques have been used in further experimental studies of different fire scenarios. / Denna avhandling behandlar problem kopplade till värmeöverföring och branddynamik i slutna utrymmen med tonvikt på värmeöverföring mellan gaser och utsatta konstruktioner. Avhandlingen består av en huvuddel och ett appendix innehållande sju vetenskapliga artiklar. I huvuddelen sammanfattas och diskuteras grundläggande teorier och principer inom värmeöverföring och branddynamik samt studier av ett antal specialfall av brandscenarion som baseras på dessa teorier. I de avslutande bilagorna (Artiklar A1-A3 och Artiklar B1-B2) finns sju vetenskapliga artiklar som grundligare beskriver de ovan nämnda specialfallen. Huvudfokus i avhandlingen ligger på temperaturutveckling vid brand i slutna utrymmen. I avhandlingen studeras i synnerhet en- och två-zonsmodeller för brand i slutna utrymmen, och en ny metod för att beräkna brandgastemperaturer före och efter övertändning i rumsbränder är framtagen. Validering av dessa modeller med experiment visar att deras noggrannhet är bra. Modellerna visar också att de termiska egenskaperna hos de omgivande ytorna har stor inverkan på brandtemperatursutvecklingen. I tillägg studeras i denna avhandling betydelsen av val av mätmetoder i brandtekniska tillämpningar. På grundval av slutsatserna från dessa studier har de främsta mätteknikerna använts i ytterligare experimentella studier av olika brandscenarier.

Volcanic eruptions are powerful natural events which impact strongly on society. As human populations grow and expand into volcanically active areas, their exposure and vulnerability to volcanic hazards is also increasing. Of all volcanic hazards, ashfall is the most likely to impact lifelines because of the large areas affected. The widespread dispersal of ash can cause large-scale disruption of vital infrastructure services, aviation, and primary production. Electric power supply is arguably the most crucial of modern infrastructure systems, especially considering the dependence of other sectors on electricity to maintain functionality. During and immediately after ashfalls, electric power systems are vulnerable to a number of impacts, but disruption from volcanic ash-induced insulator flashover (unintended, disruptive electrical discharge) is most common. This thesis investigates the vulnerability of electric power systems to volcanic ashfall by examining impacts to the different sectors of the modern power system and exploring appropriate mitigation strategies. Analogue laboratory trials using a pseudo (synthetic) ash are undertaken to verify the environmental, volcanological and electrical parameters that most affect electrical conductivity and therefore the flashover mechanism in these experiments. While dry ash is highly resistant to the flow of electric current, increasing moisture content, soluble salt load, and compaction (bulk density) will reduce this resistance and, in turn, increase the potential for flashover. Volcanic ash is an acute form of airborne pollution for areas downwind of active volcanoes. Results from laboratory experiments in this thesis suggest that insulator pollution (volcanic ash) performance (dielectric strength) is primarily dictated by (1) the conductivity of the ash, and (2) insulator material, profile (shape) and dimensioning. Composite polymer insulators tested herein effectively minimise sinusoidal leakage current and partial discharge activity and also exhibit higher pollution performance when compared to ceramic equivalents. Irrespective of insulator material, however, the likelihood of flashover increases significantly once the bottom surface of suspension insulator watersheds become contaminated in wet ash. The thesis investigates the vulnerability (hazard intensity/damage ratio) of electric power systems to volcanic ashfall hazards. Identification, analysis, and reduction of the risk of ashfall impacts to power networks is explored as a part of holistic volcanic risk assessment. The findings of the thesis contribute to the readiness, response and recovery protocols for large electric power systems in volcanic disasters; which directly affects the functional operation and economics of industrial and commercial society.

abstract: This thesis concerns the flashover issue of the substation insulators operating in a polluted environment. The outdoor insulation equipment used in the power delivery infrastructure encounter different types of pollutants due to varied environmental conditions. Various methods have been developed by manufacturers and researchers to mitigate the flashover problem. The application of Room Temperature Vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber is one such favorable method as it can be applied over the already installed units. Field experience has already showed that the RTV silicone rubber coated insulators have a lower flashover probability than the uncoated insulators. The scope of this research is to quantify the improvement in the flashover performance. Artificial contamination tests were carried on station post insulators for assessing their performance. A factorial experiment design was used to model the flashover performance. The formulation included the severity of contamination and leakage distance of the insulator samples. Regression analysis was used to develop a mathematical model from the data obtained from the experiments. The main conclusion drawn from the study is that the RTV coated insulators withstood much higher levels of contamination even when the coating had lost its hydrophobicity. This improvement in flashover performance was found to be in the range of 20-40%. A much better flashover performance was observed when the coating recovered its hydrophobicity. It was also seen that the adhesion of coating was excellent even after many tests which involved substantial discharge activity. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2013

Los incendios en recintos confinados son un tipo de emergencia que involucra a bomberos cuyas vidas a veces se ponen en peligro. En cualquier incendio confinado, el equipo de emergencia puede encontrar dos tipos de ambientes de combustión, ventilados o infra-ventilados. El comportamiento cambiante de este escenario depende de múltiples factores como el tamaño del recinto, la ventilación o el combustible involucrado, entre otros. Sin embargo, la dificultad de manejar este tipo de situaciones junto con el potencial error humano sigue siendo un desafío sin resolver para los bomberos en la actualidad. En ocasiones si se dan las condiciones adecuadas, pueden aparecer los fenómenos, extremadamente peligrosos, que son estudio de este trabajo (flashover y backdraft). Por lo tanto, existe una gran demanda de nuevas técnicas y tecnologías para abordar este tipo de emergencias que amenazan la vida y puede causar graves daños estructurales. A lo anterior hay que añadir que la incorporación de cámaras térmicas en los servicios de extinción de incendios y salvamentos, supone un gran avance que puede ayudar a prevenir estos tipos de fenómenos en tiempo real utilizando técnicas de inteligencia artificial.

<p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p>An approach to modify surface flashover of insulators in vacuum by limiting duration of its high-current stage responsible for the damaging effects of a classic flashover was developed. The flashover assembly was made by TorrSeal-gluing copper electrodes (10 x 10 x 0.5 mm) to both side of an alumina ceramic sheet (0.635 mm thick). The modified flashover, referred to as low energy surface flashover (LESF), was achieved by utilization of a high voltage (HV) nanosecond pulser or addition of a resistor in series with the LESF assembly when HV DC was utilized. The duration of LESF was visualized by ICCD fast photography to be 100 – 200 ns accompanying electrical characteristics measurements, which gave insight of a way to control the flashover duration by inserting additional capacitor in parallel with the LESF assembly to increase the stored energy prior to breakdown. The LESF assembly was tested for > 1.5 million consecutive pulses and remained operational, while operation in high energy regime with parallel capacitor (4nF) lead to significant damage after 200 pulses.</p> <p>The igniting capabilities of LESF assembly was demonstrated via successful triggering of vacuum arc and a prototype pulsed plasma accelerator. The plasma plume propagation speed and angular distribution was measured via Langmuir probes. Efforts were made for temporally resolved spectroscopy measurements. </p> <p>The LESF assembly was improved by replacing TorrSeal-gluing with direct bonding of copper to alumina ceramic and changing the configuration from parallel plate to coaxial. The improved assembly was demonstrated to be operational throughout and after an extended test of 10 million pulses. A higher resolution ICCD photography revealed finer LESF discharge features including initial bright line across the insulator developing into a double-jet plasma plume propagating at around 10⁵m/s and later-on point-like attachment of the discharge column to the electrodes. The composition of the plasma and erosion pattern on the LESF assembly was studied via SEM/EDX analysis, which supported the predominant ceramic erosion over copper electrodes erosion.</p>

Ce travail porte sur la caractérisation optique et électrique ainsi que la modélisation mathématique du contournement d’isolateurs pollués en tenant compte de la forme de tension appliquée, de la répartition ainsi que de la constitution chimique du dépôt polluant. Sous tension de choc de foudre (1,2/50μs), la morphologie des décharges ainsi que les courants associés dépendent de la tension (forme, amplitude, polarité),de la répartition de la pollution et de sa conductivité. Les vitesses moyennes de la décharge mesurées dépendent de la polarité appliquée à la pointe et de la conductivité de la pollution. Le temps critique correspondant aux conditions critiques est de l’ordre de 9/10 du temps total de contournement quelles que soient la polarité de la tension et la conductivité de la pollution. La constitution chimique de la couche de pollution a peu d’effet sur la tension critique contrairement aux courants critiques. Les valeurs des constantes caractéristiques n et N sont fonction de la nature chimique des dépôts et de la polarité de la tension. Le modèle élaboré montre que les constantes caractéristiques de la décharge n et N sont des paramètres dynamiques et dépendent des éléments du circuit électrique équivalent du système et des paramètres thermiques de la décharge. Les relations des conditions critiques du contournement développé relient les paramètres électriques et thermiques du circuit équivalent et la condition de propagation de la décharge. L’application de ce modèle, pour différentes formes de tension et pour plusieurs types de pollution, donne des résultats satisfaisants. L’hypothèse selon laquelle la colonne de la décharge ne contient que de la vapeur d’eau et de l’air constitue une bonne approximation des grandeurs critiques. Sous tension de choc de foudre, les courants et les tensions critiques dépendent de la configuration de la pollution et de la polarité de la tension. Le courant circule à travers une section effective de la pollution. L’introduction de la notion d’épaisseur critique effective et son application au calcul des grandeurs critiques donne de bons résultats pour les cas de figures étudiés. L’épaisseur effective du dépôt est proportionnelle la résistivité de la pollution et dépend dela configuration de la pollution et de la polarité de la pointe. Dans le cas de dépôt de pollution discontinue et/ou non uniforme, les conditions de propagation des décharges sont locales et leurs paramètres caractéristiques varient selon la configuration et la conductivité du dépôt ainsi que la polarité de la tension appliquée. Le modèle développé pour ce cas de figure donne de bons résultats. / This work aimed on optical and electrical characterization and mathematical modeling of flashover of polluted insulators, taking into account the applied voltage waveform, the distribution and chemical composition of pollutant deposit. Under lightning impulse voltage (1.2 /50μs), the morphology of the discharge and the associated currents depend on voltage (shape, amplitude, polarity), the distribution ofpollution and its conductivity. The measured average velocity of the discharge depends on the polarity applied to the tip and the pollution conductivity. The critical time corresponding to the critical conditions is about 9/10 of total flashover duration regardless of the polarity of the voltage and the pollution conductivity. The chemical composition of the pollution layer has little effect on the critical voltage unlike the critical currents. The values of the characteristic constants n and N depend on the chemical nature of the deposits and the voltage polarity.The developed model shows that the discharge constant characteristics n and N are dynamic parameters and depend on the elements of the equivalent electrical circuit system and thermal parameters of the discharge. The developed relationships of critical conditions of flashoverlink the electrical parameters and thermal equivalent circuit and the propagation condition of the discharge. This approach allows us tounderstand the effect of the chemical constitution of pollution on the values of n and N. The application of this model for various voltage waveforms and for several types of pollution, gives satisfactory results. The assumption that the column of the discharge contains only watervapor and air is a good approximation of the critical conditions. Under lightning impulse voltage, the current circulate into a effective section of the pollution surface. The introduction of the concept of critical effective thickness of pollution and its application to the calculation ofcritical parameters gives good results compared with the experimental values. We have also shown that the effective thickness of the depositis proportional to the resistivity of the pollution and depends on voltage polarity and pollution configuration. In the case of discontinuous deposit of pollution and / or non-uniform propagation conditions of discharges are local and their characteristic parameters vary dependingon the configuration and the conductivity of the deposit and the polarity of the applied voltage. The developed model gives good results

Dans le présent travail, nous abordons une problématique essentielle liée aux accessoires des lignes électriques et plus particulièrement au connecteur à perforation d’isolant (TTDC 45501 FA), commercialisé par la société Sicame située à Arnac-Pompadour (Corrèze). Ce produit permet d’effectuer des dérivations de courant en moyenne tension gainé HTA entre 15 et 25kV. Cependant, il devient nécessaire de concevoir une nouvelle génération de connecteurs capable de fonctionner à une tension de 52 kV en raison de la constante augmentation des besoins en électricité. En réalité, le principal souci concernant ces produits réside dans l’apparition de décharges partielles dans le volume constitué par la matière isolante (polyamide 6 chargée à 50% en poids de fibres de verre). Ces décharges engendrent un vieillissement prématuré du produit sous l’action conjuguée d’une atmosphère corrosive (brouillard salin) et d’un champ électrique. Ainsi, l’objectif de la présente thèse est de faire, dans un premier temps, un choix approprié de matériaux isolants parmi des polymères thermoplastiques, thermodurcissables époxydes ou élastomères en EPDM, capables de résister à plusieurs contraintes : thermique, électrique, mécanique, chimique et climatique. La partie expérimentale concerne, tout d’abord, la mesure de la tension de contournement, de l’activité des décharges partielles se propageant à la surface des matériaux isolants et de la tension de claquage, en tension alternative (A.C.). Pour cela, des échantillons polymères qui comportent des surfaces planes ou des surfaces pourvues de protubérances ont été moulés en vue de comparer leur comportement diélectrique en présence d’atmosphères polluées de type brouillard salin; ces mesures sont nécessaires pour effectuer un choix approprié du matériau à intégrer dans le connecteur. Par la suite, l’étude et la caractérisation optique et électrique de décharges glissantes, se propageant en surface de divers matériaux polymères, en tension impulsionnelle (L.I.) pour les deux polarités (positive et négative) et pour deux types de champ électrique (normal et tangentiel) sont présentées pour le cas d’une interface solide/air. La mesure de la longueur finale des décharges glissantes et la visualisation de l’onde de courant sont les deux paramètres principaux pour différencier les caractéristiques des matériaux utilisés. L’ensemble des résultats de mesures a permis de sélectionner les résines époxydes cyclo-aliphatiques (CEP) comme candidates potentielles pour la conception d’une nouvelle génération de connecteurs. De plus, la simulation du champ électrique, à l’aide du logiciel Flux 2D/3D, sur le connecteur électrique (TTDC 45501FA) a permis d’aboutir à la proposition d’un prototype de connecteur présentant une nouvelle géométrie et pouvant fonctionner à 52kV. / In the present study, we deal with an essential problem related to electrical lines accessories and more particularly to piercing connectors (TTDC 45501FA) commercialized by a private company named Sicame and which is located in Arnac-Pompadour (Corrèze, France). This product/accessory is designed to provide power diversions on medium voltage live lines HVA operating between 15 and 25kV. However, it becomes required to design a new generation of piercing connectors able to operate on 52kV live lines because of the electrical power demands that are steadily increasing. Actually, the main concerns about these products are the occurrence of partial discharges within the insulating material volume (polyamide 6 containing 50%wt of glass fibers). Most of the time, these discharges induce an early ageing process of the accessory under the combined effects of a corrosive environment (as salt fog) and an electric field threshold. Thus, the main objective of the present Ph.D. thesis is to carry out an appropriate choice of insulating materials among several tested polymers such as thermoplastics and thermosetting epoxy resins and EPDM elastomers that are capable of withstanding several constraints: thermal and electrical and mechanical and chemical conditions. The experimental section is focusing on the measurements of flashover voltage and partial discharges activity propagating on polymeric surfaces and breakdown voltage within material bulks under A.C voltage. That is why polymeric samples with plane surfaces and textured surfaces are molded to compare their resistance to partial discharges when being subjected to polluted environments such as salt fog; these measurements are necessary to choose the suitable materials for the required application to be integrated in the new generation of connectors. Then, the optical and electrical characterization results of creeping discharges propagating on several polymeric surfaces under lightning impulse (L.I.) voltage with its both polarities (positive and negative) and for two kinds of applied electric field (normal and tangential) are presented in the case of solid/air interfaces. Final length measurements of creepage discharges are the main parameter for distinguishing material properties. The whole obtained results (under AC and LI voltages) allow us to point out the cycloaliphatic epoxy resins as potential candidates to the conception of a new generation of piercing connectors. In addition, the electric field simulation and modelling of the TTDC 45501FA connector by using the Flux 2D/3D software seems to be helpful to design a connector prototype which exhibits a new geometry and is able to reach a voltage level that equals 52kV.

An understanding of compartment fire behaviour is important for fire protection engineers. For design purposes, whether to use a prescriptive code or performance based design, life safety and property protection issues are required to be assessed. The use of design fires in computer modelling is the general method to determine fire safety. However these computer models are generally limited to the input of one design fire, with consideration of the complex interaction between fuel packages and the compartment environment being simplified. Of particular interest is the Heat Release Rate, HRR, as this is the commonly prescribed design parameter for fire modelling. If the HRR is not accurate then it can be subsequently argued that the design scenario may be flawed. Therefore the selection of the most appropriate fire design scenario is critical, and an increased level of understanding of compartment behaviour is an invaluable aid to fire engineering assumptions. This thesis details an experimental study to enhance the understanding of the impact and interaction that the size and location of pool fires within an enclosure have upon the compartment fire behaviour. Thirty four experiments were conducted in a reduced scale compartment (½ height) with dimensions of 3.6m long by 2.4m wide by 1.2m high using five typical ventilation geometries (fully open, soffit, door, window and small window). Heptane pool fires were used, located in permutations of three evenly distributed locations within the compartment (rear, centre and front) as well as larger equivalent area pans located only in the centre. This thesis describes the experimental development, setup and results of the experimental study. To assist in the classification of compartment fire behaviour during the experiments, a ‘phi’ meter was developed to measure the time dependent equivalence ratio. The phi meter was developed and configured to measure O₂, CO₂ and CO. The background development, calibration, and experimental results are reported. A review of compartment fire modelling using Fire Dynamics Simulator, has also been completed and the results discussed. The results of this experimental study were found to have significant implications for Fire Safety Engineering in that the size of the fire is not as significant as the location of the fire. The effect of a fire near the vent opening was found to have a significant impact on compartment fire behaviour with the vent located fuel source increasing the total compartment heat release rate by a factor of 1.7 to that of a centrally placed pool fire of the same total fuel area. The assumption that a fire located in the centre of the room provides for the highest heat release rate is not valid for post-flashover compartment fires. The phi meter was found to provide good agreement with the equivalence ratio calculated from total compartment mass loss rates, and the results of FDS modelling indicate that the use of the model in its current form can not be applied to complex pool fire geometries.