Surface temperature measurements on burning wood specimens in the Cone Calorimeter and the effect of grain orientation

Surface temperatures were measured on dry Douglas fir sapwood specimens during Cone Calorimeter tests using thermocouples and an infra-red pyrometer. Good agreement between the thermocouples and the pyrometer was obtained when (1) the emissivity was assumed to be 1.0 and (2) the thermocouples were in good contact with the surface and were not located in the proximity of a fissure. The major fissures were normal to the grain of the wood and the volatiles vented through the fissures. Char oxidation in the region between the vertical fissures resulted in higher surface temperatures.