Fire Safety Evaluation Research Articles

A simple method for combining fire and structural models and its application to fire safety evaluation

Abstract To consider the actual fire characteristics in the fire response analysis of building structures and to simplify the complex relationship between the fire analysis model and the structural finite element analysis model, a spatio-temporal model of the fire temperature and heat flux boundary for heat conduction analysis is developed. The proposed model adopts a two-way orthogonal polynomial approach for fitting the discrete data from the fire simulation and obtains continuous spatial polynomial equations. It is shown to be accurate for capturing the distributions of temperature and heat flux that are required for a heat conduction analysis and a thermal mechanical coupling analysis. Finally, the model is implemented through user-subroutines UTEMP and DFLUX in ABAQUS, and it is applied to a new archive in Beijing. The results show that this method may be used to combine fire simulation and structural analysis for the safety evaluation of structures under fire.

An evaluation of fire safety measures in high-rise buildings in Nigeria

Fire disaster happens to be one of the world’s most common and destructive disasters. It has over the years been a disturbing issue to handle most especially in developing countries. This study aimed at evaluating fire safety measures in the design and construction of high-rise buildings in Nigeria. The importance of this study is the evaluation of fire safety measures towards enhancing the safety of occupants and properties. The study consisted of a case study survey and questionnaire administration among the building occupants. The occupant survey is to determine their perceptions of fire safety measures in high-rise buildings and the practicability of measures that could be adopted to improve safety. From the occupant survey, 88% of the respondents have awareness on fire safety measures in buildings. The results also indicated that the most common causes of fire incidences in high-rise buildings are an electrical fault. This could be avoided where electrical conduits and fittings are properly installed and monitored. The results further revealed the need to improve on fire safety measures undertaken by both designers and property owners. A careful observance of fire safety measures as specified in building codes must be considered in the design of high-rise buildings.

Application of fire and evacuation models in evaluation of fire safety in railway tunnels

The paper describes an application of numerical simulation of fire dynamics and evacuation of people in a tunnel. The software tool Fire Dynamics Simulator is used to simulate temperature resolution and development of smoke in a railway tunnel. Comparing to temperature curves which are usually used in the design stage results of the model show that the numerical model gives lower temperature of hot smoke layer. Outputs of the numerical simulation of fire also enable to improve models of evacuation of people during fires in tunnels. In the presented study the calculated high of smoke layer in the tunnel is in 10 min after the fire ignition lower than the level of 2.2 m which is considered as the maximal limit for safe evacuation. Simulation of the evacuation process in bigger scale together with fire dynamics can provide very valuable information about important security conditions like Available Safe Evacuation Time (ASET) vs Required Safe Evacuation Time (RSET). On given example in software EXODUS the paper summarizes selected results of evacuation model which should be in mind of a designer when preparing an evacuation plan.

Fire Safety Evaluation for HPSI Pump Room Using CDF Code

Although fire accidents in nuclear power plants rarely occurs, it may cause a stoppage of a nuclear reactor and damage of safety devices and cause massive damage such as radiation leakage. Therefore, nuclear power plants require specialized fire safety design conditions. In this study, CFD code is used to predict fire behavior and verify safety for HPSI (High Pressure Safety Injection) Pump Room passing through cables of important pump among various pump rooms of nuclear power plant. Fire simulation was performed based on NUREG-1934, NUREG / CR-6850, etc. using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) as a fire model for fire safety evaluation of HPSI Pump Room. As a result, the fire damper closing time of each exhaust was checked and the damage time of the cable was evaluated. This will provide information for safety assessment and assurance of nuclear power plants. Keywords: HPSI Pump Room, Fire Dynamics Simulator, Fire Damper, Cable Damage

Post-fire mechanical response of ultra-high strength (Grade 1200) steel under high temperatures: Linking thermal stability and microstructure

Recently, ultra-high strength steel (UHSS) tubes with nominal yield strengths of up to 1200MPa have attracted attention for applications in engineering fields. While many studies have focused on the mechanical behaviour of mild carbon steel at elevated temperatures, there is a scarcity of data for the in-fire and post-fire mechanical response of the UHSS material. In this study, the tensile mechanical properties of the UHSS tube under fire and after cooling from fire temperatures of up to 800°C to room temperature are studied. The stress-strain curves, strength and ductility of the UHSS material are discussed. It is shown that the in-fire strength of the UHSS tube starts to deteriorate when the specimens are exposed to fire temperatures above 300°C and is almost disappeared when tested at 800°C. There is also a major reduction in the strength of the UHSS tube specimens cooled from fire temperatures above 470°C to room temperature. To investigate the effect of steel grade on the in-fire and post fire mechanical behaviour of steel materials, the stress-strain curves of Grade 800 high strength steel (HSS) tube specimens are presented and compared with those obtained for Grade 1200 UHSS tube. In order to interpret the experimental results, microstructural examination on the UHSS is conducted using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The plots of the thermodynamic stability of the ferrite and cementite phases in the UHSS and HSS are calculated and the phase changes occurring during each fire temperature exposure are discussed. Based on the results obtained from experimental tests, an empirical constitutive model which takes into account the post-fire behaviour of UHSS material is developed. The constitutive model can be implemented into commercial finite element packages to carry out a rational thermal analysis and perform fire safety design and evaluation.

국내 유용 해외 목재 수종의 연소특성 평가

본 연구는 국내에서 주로 사용되는 수입 목재 수종의 화재 안전성 평가에 대한 기초 자료를 구축하기 위하여 연소 및 열적 특성을 분석하였다. 연소 특성은 KS F ISO 5660-1 규정에 의거한 콘 칼로리미터 시험 방법으로 열방출률, 총 방출열량, 연소 가스 발생, 그리고 중량 감소를 분석하였다. 열적 안정성은 열중량 분석(Thermogravimetric analysis)을 통해 시료의 열분해 온도 및 시점을 확인하였다. 분석된 수종은 국내 유용 수입 수종으로 멀바우(Merbau), 멤페닝(Mempening), 가로가로(Garo Garo), 말라스(Malas), 그리고 딜레니아(Dillenia)로 총 5수종을 선정하여 실험을 실시하였다. 열방출률 값은 말라스 > 멤페닝 > 가로가로 > 멀바우 > 딜레니아 순으로 확인되었다. 총 방출열량을 분석한 결과, 멤페닝 > 말라스 > 가로가로 > 멀바우 > 딜레니아 순으로 측정되었다. 가스분석 결과에서는 딜레니아가 <TEX>$CO/CO_2$</TEX> 비율이 최대치로 0.034로 확인되었고, 멤페닝과 말라스가 0.020으로 최소치를 나타내었다. 중량감소율의 최솟값은 딜레니아가 74.79%로 나타났으며, 말라스가 83.52%로 CO와 <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX>의 발생과 목재 연소의 거동과의 상관관계를 나타내었다. 수종별 열분해 온도는 멀바우 <TEX>$348.07^{\circ}C$</TEX>, 멤페닝 <TEX>$367.57^{</TEX><TEX>\circ}C$</TEX>, 가로가로 <TEX>$350.59^{\circ}C$</TEX>, 말라스 <TEX>$352.41^{\circ}C$</TEX>, 딜레니아 <TEX>$364.33^{\circ}C$</TEX>로 확인되었다. The purpose of this study is to analyze the combustion and thermal properties in order to establish baseline data for the fire safety evaluation of imported wood. The combustion properties such as heat release rate, total heat release, gas yield, and mass loss were analyzed by the method of cone calorimeter test according to KS F ISO 5660-1 and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Analyzed species are five kinds of species as Merbau, Mempening, Garo Garo, Malas, and Dillenia. The heat released rate values showed the highest value of Malas as <TEX>$375.52kW/m^2$</TEX>, and Dillenia showed the lowest value as <TEX>$133.30kW/m^2$</TEX>. The data values were confirmed in the following order: Malas > Mempening > Garo Garo > Merbau > Dillenia. In case of the total heat release, it was measured in the following order: Mempening > Malas > Garo Garo > Merbau > Dillenia. The gas analysis results were that Dillenia showed the highest value of 0.034. Also, Mempening and Malas showed the lowest at 0.020 in the <TEX>$CO/CO_2$</TEX>. Min of mass reduction was shown as 74.79% Sargent cherry, on the other hand, Malas had a 83.52%. It showed a correlation between and of the CO and <TEX>$CO_2$</TEX> generation and combustion characteristics of wood. The thermal decomposition temperature of the wood in the TGA were as follow that Merbau <TEX>$348.07^{\circ}C$</TEX>, Mempening <TEX>$367.57^{\circ}C$</TEX>, Garo Garo <TEX>$350.59^{\circ}C$</TEX>, Malas <TEX>$352.41^{\circ}C$</TEX>, Dillenia <TEX>$364.33^{\circ}C$</TEX>. The aim of this study is to determine the combustion properties of imported wood according to ISO 5660-1. And, based on the results of this study, we would proceed with further research for improving the fire safety of wood for construction.

Study on Law of Personnel Evacuation in Deep Buried Metro Station Based on the Characteristics of Fire Smoke Spreading

With the improvement of people's life and the rapid development of urban traffic, the subway has the advantages of convenience and celerity, to a large extent, which greatly eases the traffic congestion phenomenon. With the attendant, the safety of the subway environment becomes vital. Many engineers focus on the study of the fire prevention and safety to escape. In this paper, a comprehensive study on the fire smoke spreading and the evacuation of the people in the deep buried metro model is carried out. First, the deep buried metro model is modeled on the STEPS software, and the personnel evacuation rule is obtained. According to the evacuation situation, the corresponding fire smoke monitoring points are built in the fire scenario which is set up on FDS+Evac software. Then, FDS+Evac program is used to simulate the evacuation in a fire scenario. It has not only analyzed the real time effect that the characteristics of fire smoke spread have on the personnel evacuation, but also improved the accuracy of the subway fire safety evaluation.

X-선 분석법을 이용한 난연 EPS 샌드위치 패널의 화재성능평가 방법에 관한 연구

EPS sandwich panel contains flame retardants that slow down ignition during fires,reduce the amount of heat generated, and block the spread of combustion. However, if a sandwich panel does not satisfy standards for fire-retardant performance, it may increase damage to property and human life. It is difficult to test the fire-retardant performance of a finishing material with the naked eye, so it is necessary to develop convenient and fast evaluation methods that are convenient and fast. In this study, a fire safety evaluation method for EPS sandwich panel was analyzed using X-ray to detect specific components related to the fire-retardant performance X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) indicated that suitable panel products contained more aluminum in comparison to unsuitable products. Gibbsite was identified as the main crystalline material of flame retardant EPS through X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and was included in both suitable products and unsuitable products, but there was a difference in crystalline structure. This study was verifies the possibility of evaluating fire-retardant performance using ultimate analysis and crystal analysis through these X-ray methods.

실내 사용 목재의 연소 특성 분석 (II)

The aim of this study is to analyze the combustion and thermal properties in order to establish baseline data for the fire safety evaluation of domestic timbers. The combustion properties such as heat release rate, total heat release, gas yield, and mass loss were analyzed by the method of cone calorimeter test and thermogravimetry (TGA). Thermal de- composition temperatures of the specimens by TGA were recorded as 359.83℃ for White pine, 359.80℃ for Red-Leaved Hornbeam, 363.14℃ for Carolina poplar, 358.59℃ for Konara oak, and 362.11℃ Sargent cherry. Red-Leaved Hornbeam showed the highest value of heat release rate, but, Carolina poplar wood showed the lowest value. In case of the total heat release, Red-Leaved Hornbeam wood showed the highest value and Carolina poplar wood showed the lowest one. The gas analysis results showed that Sargent cherry wood had the lowest value of 0.021, and Konara oak had the highest at 0.031 in the CO/CO2. The minimum value of mass reduction was recorded as 87.57% for Sargent cherry, but, on the other hand, it was 95.03% for Konara oak. There was a correlation between the gas generation of CO and CO2, and combustion behavior of woods. These results are expected to be usful for providing a fundamental guideline with the fire safety of wood use in interior applications.

Road tunnel fire safety and risk: a review

A review concerning road tunnel fire safety and risk is presented. In particular different perspectives and methods on safety and risk are discussed. Road tunnel fire safety usually involves high uncertainty and high-stakes decisions. Thus, a wider group of stakeholders and different types of knowledge should be included in the fire safety analysis and evaluation, than what is required by technical risk analyses. It is argued that the decision process should not be separated from the design and safety evaluation as they are strongly dependent and iterative processes. Decision theory can guide the design and decision process in negotiation with stakeholders. Key parameters for the decision can be analysed through a combination of functional requirements, societal and political values, safety engineering, safety factors and systems theory. By taking an organisational viewpoint, potential latent and active errors can be analysed and a good safety culture can be engineered. In order to improve the safety culture of truck companies, regulation ensuring proper maintenance, training and quality management may be necessary in a competitive global economy.

실내사용 목재의 연소 특성 분석(I)

The aim of this study is to analyze the combustion and thermal properties in order to establish baseline data for the fire safety evaluation of domestic timbers. The combustion properties such as heat release rate, total heat release, gas yield, and mass loss were analyzed by the method of cone calorimeter test and thermogravimetry (TGA). Thermal de- composition temperatures of the specimens by TGA were recorded as 359.83℃ for White pine, 359.80℃ for Red-Leaved Hornbeam, 363.14℃ for Carolina poplar, 358.59℃ for Konara oak, and 362.11℃ Sargent cherry. Red-Leaved Hornbeam showed the highest value of heat release rate, but, Carolina poplar wood showed the lowest value. In case of the total heat release, Red-Leaved Hornbeam wood showed the highest value and Carolina poplar wood showed the lowest one. The gas analysis results showed that Sargent cherry wood had the lowest value of 0.021, and Konara oak had the highest at 0.031 in the CO/CO2. The minimum value of mass reduction was recorded as 87.57% for Sargent cherry, but, on the other hand, it was 95.03% for Konara oak. There was a correlation between the gas generation of CO and CO2, and combustion behavior of woods. These results are expected to be usful for providing a fundamental guideline with the fire safety of wood use in interior applications.

원전 화재안정성 확보를 위한 결정론적 평가

Because nuclear power plant is special facilities might cause massive damage by inducing shut-down of nuclear reactor and impairing equipment for safe shut-down in case of fire incident in it, it should be required special design condition for fire safety different from general industrial facilities. In this study, we'd like to forecast fire behavior in main control room of nuclear power plant through fire modeling. CFAST, well-known for zone model is applied As fire analysis model method for fire safety evaluation in main control room and fire simulation is executed on basis of NUREG/CR-6850. Through analyzing height of hot gas layer, temperature, radiation heat, optical density, as a result, we evaluated egress time in case of fire incident. Also, we hope to offer information for evaluation and insurance of fire safety in nuclear power plant.

Fire Safety Evaluation Frame Work for Existing Plastic Factory Buildings in Nigeria

&lt;p class="p0"&gt;There are many studies conducted in evaluating fire safety of different building occupancies. The evaluation techniques contributed immensely in providing better understanding of fire risk in buildings, thereby recommending measures to be taken in preventing loss of lives and properties. However, the development of some of these assessment methods was based on regulations of fire safety criteria and attributes in codes and standards for a specific type of occupancies. Thus representing and suiting the features of a particular country for which the assessment methods were made. This paper proposes an assessment framework for fire safety in Plastic factory buildings in Nigeria. The criteria and attributes of fire safety were extracted from the literature and their corresponding requirements base on codes and standards. A questionnaire was also administered during the pilot survey to (n=9) fire safety experts to rank the fire safety criteria and attributes, according to the level of their importance, using analytical hierarchy process(AHP) judgment scale. Expert choice 11 software was used in the analysis. The assessment framework for fire safety in plastic factory was proposed based on the experts’ judgment, for the fire safety criteria and attributes and their requirements in codes and standards.&lt;/p&gt;

Integration of fire safety and building design

A new framework is presented to facilitate better incorporation of building fire safety performance options into the building design process. Based on the building design process and key design decisions undertaken at each phase, a knowledge set is developed to aid building designers to understand better the effects of design decisions on building fire performance. This also minimizes potential competing objectives in later design phases by sharing necessary concerns in advance. Drawing on the knowledge set, a conceptual building fire safety evaluation tool illustrates how primary building designers and fire safety engineers can quantitatively assess fire safety performance for different solutions. It is shown how building fire safety performance attributes can be arranged by building design phase, how various scenarios can be explored, and how appropriately balanced building design and fire safety design solutions can be identified at different phases of the building design process.

Study and Prediction for the Fire Resistance of Acid Corroded Intumescent Coating

Acid corrosion may cause the deterioration of the fire resistance of the intumescent fire retardant coatings, especially for the coatings used in the acid polluted environment. This paper reported the results of an experimental study of degradation in fire protection performance of intumescent coating for steel elements after different times of immersion in the hydrochloric acid solution. After acid erosion, the thickness of the coating thinned, the surface became rough and had cracks and broken holes. The size of the pores in the char layer was larger and uneven, and some ‘cement’ parts were formed in the char layer. The TG/DTG results showed in the low temperature stage the curve was relatively flat. In the medium temperature stage, the number of the weight loss troughs decreased; the shape of the troughs simplified; and the top weight loss rate increased. In the high temperature stage, the troughs near 593°C flattened gradually, and the top weight loss rate became smaller, while the top weight loss rate became larger around 674°C. And there were significant changes in the thermal dynamic parameters. A prediction method of remained fire resistance property for the acid erosion coatings was proposed, by comprehensively considering the physical and chemical characteristics change trends of the corroded coating. And this method can be a reference for the fire safety evaluation of the built protected steel structure.

Modelling Fire Severity and Evacuation in Tunnels

Adequate design methods and tools are vital to any construction project, especially when its complexity and value are high. Tunnels, road or railway, are a good example of such structures. This paper deals with the topic of computer modelling utilization in the design and evaluation of fire safety in tunnels. The capabilities of selected software - Fire dynamics simulator + Evac - are demonstrated on a practical example - Tunnel Lucivna in the Slovak Republic. In this example case, both fire and evacuation modelling is used in conjunction to assess the overall fire safety of the tunnel. The results show the effects of fire on the tunnel structure as well as the persons inside the tunnel trying to evacuate.

Application of Underground Engineering Fire Safety Evaluation Based on the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method

In this paper, built fire control safety evaluation index system according to the underground engineering characteristics of fire and introduce a method to determine the weighing values for assessment index. Put fuzzy comprehensive assessment method on underground engineering of fire safety assessment, then use fuzzy mathematics theory build a model of engineering of fire safety assessment fuzzy evaluation, and through the underground engineering design of fire safety assessment, to prove its scientific and effective.

Large Ship Cabins Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Evaluation Method

Aiming at the fire type and evolution of large ship cabins, a fire risk analysis method of large ship cabins based on fire scene analysis was established, which is basing on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) SOLAS Convention and International fire procedures (FTP ) by combining Chinas ship cabins fire protection technology and fire safety management features. The purpose is to improve technical level of the fire risk management and fireproof disposal basing on fire prevention with warning disposal by dynamic risk management of ship cabins fire hazard and fire control technology.

Advanced numerical analyses for the assessment of steel structures under fire

The aim of this paper is the analysis of the response to fire of single storey steel structures. The performance-based design allows a more realistic evaluation of fire safety than the usual prescriptive design. Several factors can affect the fire safety assessment. The paper seeks to evaluate some of them. The study of substructure may not be sufficient in some cases for highlighting the actual behaviour of the whole structure. The progression of the collapse has to be traced up to the global collapse of the structure and numerical problems due to the triggering of local mechanisms should be overcome to this purpose. The interaction of the heated elements with the rest of the structure can raise different collapse mechanisms depending on the mutual position of the elements. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model represents an advanced solution to study the development of fire.

The adoption of fire safety management for upgrading the fire safety level of existing hotel buildings

The fire safety of existing buildings decreases over time. Based on factors such as space limitation and high construction costs, upgrading hardware construction is difficult, especially in existing hotel buildings due to their 24-h operation. This paper proposes a simple fire safety evaluation system for existing multi-purpose hotel buildings. Fire safety management is the most important section in the evaluation system, which includes fire prevention, and evacuation and mitigation strategies, accounting for a 54.95% weighting. In this study, an empirical evaluation was conducted on 16 multi-purpose hotel buildings. Of these test cases, five were determined to be unsafe. After reviewing the scores for each fire safety management plan factor, necessary improvement plans were proposed. This system will assist owners in undertaking improved fire safety management measures with less hardware renewal.