Fang J, Yu CY, Qiao LF, Zhang YM, Wang JJ (2008) 'Preliminary Study of Low Air Pressure Influence upon Standard Fires in Tibet.' (Science Press Beijing: Beijing) 731-734

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Keywords:

Tibet, low air pressure, carbon monoxide, standard test fire,

Abstract: Tibet is named as "roof of the world" or the "third pole", with the rise in elevation, the oxygen content per-cubic meter of air declines to be about only 64% of that in plain areas, thus its fire behaviour is different from other places and should be investigated. In Lhasa (altitude: 3650 in) and Hefei (altitude: 24 in), four standard fires were carried out in a standard compartment room respectively. The experimental results show that, in Lhasa, for all test fires, the mass loss rate decreases, the combustion time increases almost at an average value of 50% of that in Hefei, the average mass loss rates of all test fires are approximately proportional to the air pressure. While for CO emissions, except for TF1 wood fire, in Lhasa and Hefei, the maximum values and development tendencies of CO emissions are approximate, indicating that the air pressure has no significant influence upon the CO concentration. Therefore low air pressure has individual influence upon different fire parameters in Tibet.