Performance-based Fire Protection Design Research Articles

Experimental and numerical study on the validity of the energy-based time equivalent method for evaluating the fire resistance of timber components exposed to travelling fires

An energy-based time equivalent method that is capable of converting the fire resistance design of timber components exposed to the realistic fire to that of the standard fire was proposed. To verify the effectiveness of the method applied to the improved Travelling Fires Methodology (iTFM) fires, a series of iTFM fires and their corresponding equivalent standard fire tests were implemented on six glued laminated timber columns. The effectiveness of the method was fully confirmed by comparing the fire effects, the temperature distribution of the pyrolysis layer, and the remaining load-bearing capacity after fire for the timber columns under the iTFM fires and their equivalent standard fires. Meanwhile, it was well illustrated that the adhesive layer was almost no effect on the fire resistance of the timber columns by comparing the cross-sectional temperature distribution, charring depth and charring rate in two directions of the timber columns. To simplify the application of the energy equivalence method, the thermal properties relationships applied to the finite element heat transfer analysis of timber were modified. The accuracy of the modified thermal property relationships was demonstrated by comparing the surface temperature, charring depth, and charring rate obtained from finite element simulations with those measured by the experiment. The simplified energy equivalence method based on the finite element was not only easy for designers to apply, but also helped to promote the development of performance-based fire protection design for timber structures.

Performance-Based Fire-Protection Design of Public Amenities with Restrained Personnel Activities

In this paper, performance-based fire-protection design is used for the fire-safety design of public amenities with restrained personnel activities. In these places, tourists’ activities are constrained in a limited space such as cockpit moving along the track. Since it is another typical scenario of fire-protection problem that cannot fully comply with the current mandatory codes and regulations, simulation analysis is used in order to ensure that such fire scenario could achieve performance objectives as expected. Firstly, corresponding fire-protection performance objectives, strategies and simplified evaluation criteria are brought forward in this paper. Then, through simulating the smoke flow in the fire using the computational fluid dynamics software FDS, the effectiveness of the smoke control strategy is verified. Meanwhile, the escaping environments of these fire scenes are analyzed. Further, the personnel evacuation simulation software (Pathfinder) is resorted to simulate the personnel emergency evacuation. The efficiency and the total time that consumed are obtained. Finally, by analyzing the similarities and differences of evacuation under different fire scenes, the fire and smoke spread in the riding area can be effectively controlled, and a safe evacuation environment can be provided for the evacuation of tourists.

An integrated method for assessing passenger evacuation performance in ship fires

In order to assess effectively the passenger evacuation performance in ship fires, a quantitative method combining the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-derived fire data and AnyLogic evacuation simulation is proposed in this paper. In this developed method, the speed reduction factor, instantaneous untenable conditions and fractional effective dose (FED) model are utilized to consider the effects of smoke visibility, heat and toxic gases in ship fires on the passenger walking speed, activity space and human health conditions. In order to demonstrate this proposed method, passenger evacuation analysis is performed in a hypothetical zone of the ship with obstacles for fast t-squared fires. The results indicate that the relationship between the required safe egress time (RSET) and fire heat release rate (HRR) is non-monotonic. However, the total FED increases with the increase of the fire HRR and the sequence of survivors. Compared with two existing methods, this proposed method is able to assess more rigorously the passenger evacuation performance in ship fires. The existing ASET/RSET method is more conservative, and the existing FED method with the Pathfinder underestimates the FED in ship fires. This work will provide a more accurate method for ship fire safety assessment and performance-based fire protection design.

Numerical Study on Evacuation Evaluation and Strategy of Theater with Rotating Auditorium

In recent years, more and more theaters with rotating mechanisms have been built and used, such as theaters with rotating auditoriums. The rotation mechanism in this type of building may lead to the uncertainty of evacuation distances and routes, which undoubtedly poses a higher challenge to performance-based fire protection design. Taking the revolving auditorium theater as an example, this paper proposes a systematic method to solve the problem of randomness in evacuation scenarios. The numerical simulations based on FDS and Pathfinder were carried out, and two improved evacuation strategies for theaters with rotating auditorium were proposed. The results show that the blockage of evacuation exits is an important factor affecting the success of evacuation and the evacuation time. In addition, the establishment of emergency evacuation stairs and rotating auditoriums can effectively reduce the evacuation time.

Temperature field characteristics of cylindrical aluminum alloy reticulated roof system under localized fire

Aluminum alloy shells are increasingly used in public buildings as a supporting structure for roofing enclosure construction in large spaces. In performance-based fire protection design, an empirical design criterion of 150 °C and relevant empirical formulas are used; however, the safety margin and prediction effect are not verified through full-scale experiments, and therefore, the effect of the roof system on the near-roof temperature field in practical engineering is yet to be investigated. In this study, a simulated fire experiment was conducted using a cylindrical aluminum alloy reticulated roof system model. The heat release rate of this restricted fuel fire source during the stable burning stage reached 8.1 MW. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) was used to reproduce experimental results, and the numerical model of the shell member was simplified; further, existing empirical formulas of scholars such as Li were compared. The results indicated that although 150 °C is a large safety margin, it may limit architectural function. The simplified shell model provides an effect-equivalent approach for building thin-walled members in FDS. The shell is the main factor that delays the time required for the near-roof space to reach thermal equilibrium. The existing empirical formulas cannot be used for the studied roof system directly, and they may be improved through coefficient adjustment and other such methods.

An Analysis of Flammability and Explosion Parameters of Coke Dust and Use of Preliminary Hazard Analysis for Qualitative Risk Assessment

Appropriate investments are required to achieve sustainable industrial development and safety conditions at the same time. A sufficient safety level is achieved when research outcomes are deployed in practice. This paper comprises a review of ignitability and explosive parameters and thermogravimetric tests of coke dust selected for the needs of the testing The KSt value of the tested dust was 64.2 bar·m/s, which means that it belongs to explosion hazard class 1 and that it has relatively low explosive abilities. The maximum explosion pressure for the tested dust was found to be 6.84 bar, and the minimum ignition temperature of a coke dust layer with a thickness of 50 mm was 400 °C. The use of the Preliminary Hazard Analysis in plants in which coke dust is present allows for limiting the scope of the risk analysis by eliminating elements that are either insignificant or of low significance from the viewpoint of explosion hazard. The adopted method allows qualitative assessment of the risk associated with threats, dangerous situations, and hazardous events that may take place during the use of devices, machines and their systems, and subsystems, including a qualitative evaluation of potential consequences of an accident or possible health loss. Risk assessment for life safety under building fires and explosions plays an important role in performance-based fire and explosion protection design and fire insurance ratemaking. The motivation for this work was the integrated protection of people, process equipment, building resilient infrastructure, promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization, business operation, and the natural environment.

Performance-based fire Protection Design of Ruins Protection Pavilion Based on Air-supported Membrane Structure

At present, air-supported membrane structure is widely applied in the large span space buildings. The stability of air-supported membrane structure and main function of building lead to fire protection design of buildings becomes special and difficult. In this paper, an air-supported membrane structure ruins protection pavilion in Chinese is taken for representative example to analyse the feasibility of fire protection design and propose corresponding solutions of performance-based fire protection. By means of combustion experiment and numerical simulation, carry out fire risk analysis of air-supported membrane structure, smoke spread process and safe evacuation analysis in fire scenes. The results show that, personnel safe evacuation can achieve before the dangerous coming time. It verifies that on the premise of enhancing effective protection of fire protection systems and equipment, the ruins protection pavilion can reach the same safe level that required by the code. That is to say, existing fire protection design is feasible. Both performance-based fire protection design and membrane architecture are more widely applied to the special building, as a result, lots of problems needed to be solved. For this purpose, we hope to provide some reference for related engineering and technical personnel.

Feasibility Analysis on Natural Smoke Extraction for Large Space Warehouse Buildings

In order to explore the feasibility of the natural smoke extraction of the undivided large space warehouse buildings, the paper analyzes the characteristics, factors and feasibility of natural smoke extraction of the undivided large space warehouse buildings which have been fire damaged, based on the idea of performance-based fire protection design. FDS software is used for fire hazard analysis of the building by simulating the fire scene temperature, smoke layer height and visibility during the natural smoke extraction. It draws the conclusion that: during natural smoke extraction, increased area of the smoke vent and heightened warehouse both, under certain conditions, can lower the fire scene temperature, slow the sinking of smoke and weaken the ground radiation so that the fire scene safety can be guaranteed even in the most unfavorable condition. However, to ensure stable smoke extraction and eliminate the influence from the external environments, some proven fire safety measures can be provided in certain positions.

Sensitivity analysis for the reliability of occupant safety evacuation under fire emergency

The life safety assessment of evacuation under fire emergency is a popular issue in performance-based fire protection assessment and design. To address uncertainty involved in safety assessment and design, the reliability and sensitivity analysis models of occupant safety evacuation are proposed in this paper. By comparing ASET with RSET, the state of occupant safety evacuation can be determined. With the consideration of the uncertainty of variables in the limit state function, the interference characteristics of ASET and RSET can be achieved, and the reliability model of occupant evacuation is developed. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis model is presented to evaluate the effects of stochastic variables and distribution parameters on the reliability of occupant safety evacuation. In order to illustrate the proposed method, a case study is given with a single-room building.

The Application and Research of Performance-Based Fire Protection Design on Reconstruction Project

When large building being renovation, the new fire control design problem has being came out. A comprehensive transformation of architectural analysis and performance-based fire safety design is very important. In this paper, performance-based fire safety design in the transformation of engineering for the issue, analyze and explain the design of specific operating plans and evacuation design should be pay attention to.

Research on Field Simulation Application in Warship Cabin Performance-Based Fire Protection Design

As the rapid development of warship equipment automation, warship cabin fire protection design in many developed countries has transformed from the prescription approach to Performance-based Fire Protection Design (PFPD). Since the warship is moving offshore structures, its PFPD can fully learn from building PFPD on land. This paper firstly outlined the concepts and methods of building PFPD. Through comparing the similarities and differences of structure and fire-fighting capacity both on warships and in building, the warship cabin PFPD roadmap was proposed. From the perspectives of warship structure and personnel protection, warship PFPD parameters were proposed. Applied field simulation model into quantitative and numerical analysis of the fire compartments and adjacent ones to determine the cabins not meeting the demands of PFPD parameters. According to the analysis, take active or passive optimization fire protection measures making these compartments optimized design to meet structure fireproof parameters, ultimately achieve the fire protection purpose.

A Study on Theoretical Calculation Method of Subway Safety Evacuation

Taking Hang Zhou Subway as research background, this article puts forward a new theoretical calculation suitable for subway safety evacuation, which is based on theoretical calculation of Japanese safety evacuation. The theoretical calculation can not only calculate total time necessary for safety evacuation, but also work out people's retention time on the way of different evacuation width clearly to specify the direction of improvement for subway fire-safety design. In addition, the evacuation simulation software named Pathfinder is used to simulate two evacuation situations when the train is stuck in tunnel when there is a fire. In comparison with the evacuation time and simulation result of two evacuation situations by theoretical calculation we can conclude a more accurate time necessary for safety evacuation to provide more reliable data for subway performance-based fire-protection design.

A Framework for Risk-Informed Performance-Based Fire Protection Design for the Built Environment

Performance-based fire protection design (PBFPD) approaches have now been in use for more than 20 years. One might be tempted to conclude that the current 'state of the art' is working well. However, application of PBFPD remains limited, several shortcomings exist, and an increasing number of countries are moving toward 'prescribed performance' to address the gaps. There are many factors contributing to these problems with PBFPD. Research has been carried out in two principal problem areas: the relationship between occupants and fire safety measures in the context of holistic building performance expectations during everyday use of the building, and also the lack of specifics within current PBFPD approaches. To address these concerns, a new framework for risk-informed PBFPD has been developed, centered on the study of systems formed by specific building types and their associated occupants. This framework replaces generic guidance with a more in-depth and targeted "building-occupant" system approach. This article focuses on how a successful implementation of the new risk-informed PBFPD approach will require acceptance of the need for a paradigm shift from one in which fire is the center of the problem to one in which building performance metrics are evaluated in case of fire events. This article also details the different steps of the new PBFPD process and how this process differs from the current ones, notably in separating technical steps from political steps related to decision making and policy. Finally, this article presents how the new approach is practically applied to a project, focusing on a proof of concept of the new PBFPD process. Language: en

Design and Research of Electronics Factory Evacuation Based on Computer Simulation Technology

Along with the development of economy, a growing of large electronics workshop projects and the increasing of workshop area, the difficulties of evacuation design in engineering design is increasingly protruding. Due to large cubic construction and the complexity of building function, the evacuation problems in fire protection design is difficult to solve when using existing national specifications. By using the method of performance-based fire protection design in electronic workshop personnel evacuation design, and using computer simulation technology to demonstrate its security, we can find the solution to similar engineering problems.

Design and Research of Electronics Factory Evacuation Based on Computer Simulation Technology

Along with the development of economy, a growing of large electronics workshop projects and the increasing of workshop area, the difficulties of evacuation design in engineering design is increasingly protruding. Due to large cubic construction and the complexity of building function, the evacuation problems in fire protection design is difficult to solve when using existing national specifications. By using the method of performance-based fire protection design in electronic workshop personnel evacuation design, and using computer simulation technology to demonstrate its security, we can find the solution to similar engineering problems.

Subway Station Fire Prevention System Safety Analysis

Fire prevention system of subway station plays an important role in ensuring passenger safety. The Shenyang Youth Street subway station fire prevention system safety was studied, applying performance-based fire protection design analysis method, using of FDS simulation software on the station fire prevention safety system for the calculation and analysis. Three working conditions were set when subway fire happens. Fire smoke flow characteristics and the distribution of temperature, CO concentration and visibility were analyzed and compared. The results show that the automatic sprinkler system and smoke control system have great effect on the preventing spread of fire. In the automatic sprinkler system and smoke control system conditions, fire hazards have not reached the standards of passengers tolerance.

Twenty years of performance-based fire protection design: challenges faced and a look ahead

A review of two decades of worldwide experience using standards, codes and guidelines related to performance-based fire protection design for buildings has identified shortcomings in the interpretation, application and implementation of the performance-based design process, apparent inconsistency in the resulting levels of performance achieved and several opportunities to enhance the process. In a constantly evolving building environment, technical challenges have to be overcome because fire safety engineering still depends greatly on knowledge gained from scientific and engineering research across a broad range of disciplines (e.g., better understanding of the fire phenomena, the behavior and response of the building occupants/contents/structure to the fire, tools for engineering analysis and all the necessary data needed to support tool application). Political challenges also need to be considered as performance-based fire protection design requires the approval of the authority having jurisdiction and ...

사양위주 스프링클러설비 설계의 압력과 유량의 문제점에 대한 고찰

스프링클러설비의 화재안전기준인 NFSC103은 설계면적 내의 모든 헤드로부터 방출압 1 bar이상과 방출량 80 lpm 이상을 최소기준으로 규정하고 있다. NFSC103은 또한 설치장소의 용도에 따라 설계면적에서 작동하는 헤드의 수를 10개, 20개, 30개로 규정하고 각 헤드별 유량을 80 lpm으로 하여 총유량을 800 lpm, 1,600 lpm, 2,400 lpm으로 규정하고 있다. 이 규정대로 스프링클러 설비를 설계하면 약 50 %의 스프링클러헤드에서 유량과 압력이 최소기준보다 부족하게 된다. 이는 스프링클러의 목적인 초기화재 대응에 실패를 가져오는 심각한 결과를 초래할 수 있다. 이와 같은 문제점을 해결하기 위해서는 성능위주 설계인 수리계산방법에 의해 모든 스프링클러설계가 이루어지는 것이 바람직하다. National Fire Safety Code 103 regulates that all operating sprinkler in design area must be discharged 1 bar or more pressure and release 80 lpm or more flow rate as minimum criteria. NFSC103 also provides that the number of operating sprinkler in design area is 10, 20, 30 according to the building classification and the total flow rate is 800, 1,600, 2,400 lpm depending on 80 lpm per sprinkler. If sprinkler system is designed as above provisions, the pressure and the flow rate accordingly become smaller than the minimum criteria about 50 % sprinklers. It results in serious consequence that the purpose of sprinkler system as initial fire reaction equipment is failure. In order to solve these problems, It is desirable that Performance-based fire protection design, hydraulic calculation, is carried out to all sprinkler system.

Performance-based Fire Protection Design based on FDS Fire Analysis

This article introduces the technical specification and implementation process of performancebased fire safety rules. Fire situations of large, high, odd building, especially toxic smoke condition can be simulated by adopting FDS software and the key reasons of fire personnel loss are analyzed which are fire spread, smoke accumulation of the fire scene, and personnel evacuation problem. Based on the performance-based fire safety rules, performance-based fire safety design scheme on three main fire control directions to prevent fire spread, control toxic gas gathered and fire personnel safe evacuation is designed with the consideration of the analysis results.

Simulation of the Atrium Fire Smoke Flow and Research about Control Studies

Abstract The article describes the importance of performance-based fire protection design and makes use of flair module of PHOENICS simulating the flow of fire smoke in atrium. The related distribution temperature pressure and concentration of smoke are worked out. With the development of computer simulation technology, PHOENICS will be used widely and performance-based fire protection technology will be constantly mature.