Article
Engineering, Civil
Davood Zeinali, Emma Vandemoortele, Steven Verstockt, Tarek Beji, Georgios Maragkos, Bart Merci
Summary: The study compared the characteristics of corner fires with different wall materials through SBI tests, finding that simultaneous burning of two panels significantly increases the Heat Release Rate.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
G. V. Kuznetsov, R. S. Volkov, A. S. Sviridenko, P. A. Strizhak
Summary: This paper presents experimental findings on the activation characteristics of equipment for detecting pyrolysis and flame combustion under different heating conditions. The experiments involved typical indoor combustible materials and reproduced the most common causes of fires. The researchers used an automated system to identify the characteristics of pyrolysis and ignition and determine the most efficient combinations of equipment for different fire causes.
PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Andrea Lucherini, Jose L. Torero
Summary: This research study discusses and characterizes the fire decay and cooling phases of post-flashover compartment fires, highlighting their important heat transfer differences. The two phases are defined based on the time-history of fire heat release rate. The study also emphasizes the lack of explicit definitions for decay and cooling phases and the corresponding thermal boundary conditions in existing performance-based methodologies for the design of fire-safe structural elements under realistic fire conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Engel, Norman Werther
Summary: This study investigates the impact of timber surfaces that are initially exposed to fire or partially protected on the facade fire. The research findings show that additional structural fire load leads to an increase in temperatures on the facade, but flame height remains relatively unchanged. Moreover, an exposed mass timber ceiling results in higher heat fluxes on the facade compared to an exposed mass timber wall.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Jian Jiang, Yaoliang Lu, Xu Dai, Guo-Qiang Li, Wei Chen, Jihong Ye
Summary: This study investigates the disproportionate collapse behavior of three-dimensional steel-framed gravity buildings subjected to traveling fires. The research finds that the duration of the heating phase, fire curves, and fire spreading speeds have significant effects on the collapse behavior. It is recommended to consider possible fire scenarios and increase the fire-resistance rating of components to prevent collapse under a traveling fire with a long-cool fire curve.
ENGINEERING STRUCTURES
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Xu Dai, Antonio Gamba, Chang Liu, Johan Anderson, Marion Charlier, David Rush, Stephen Welch
Summary: This study investigates the temperature heterogeneity in large open-plan office compartments caused by fire, as well as the ability of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to reproduce fire spread behavior over timber cribs. The results show that fire spread is highly sensitive to various parameters and linear relationships exist between different fire modes and thermal exposures.
ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING SOFTWARE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Manh Hung Nguyen, Salah-Eddine Ouldboukhitine, Sebastien Durif, Veronique Saulnier, Abdelhamid Bouchair
Summary: This paper aims to analyze the thermal behavior of hybrid stee-ltimber elements through experimental tests and numerical modeling. The results demonstrate that wood provides significant protection to the steel cross-section, acting as an insulating material to reduce temperature rise. The experimental results are validated by thermal simulations using Abaqus software, indicating the model's ability to evaluate temperature increase in high-temperature conditions for steel elements protected by timber.
ENGINEERING STRUCTURES
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Vinny Gupta, Jose L. Torero, Juan P. Hidalgo
Summary: Wood cribs are commonly used as fuel loads for fire testing in built environments, with their burning processes strongly dependent on fuel nature and compartment geometry. The dynamics of compartment fires are influenced by internal processes within the crib and external momentum-driven flows, leading to transitions between fuel-bed and momentum-controlled burning regimes. Understanding these dynamics is essential for studying fire behavior in large open-plan compartments.
COMBUSTION AND FLAME
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Zilong Wang, Tianhang Zhang, Xinyan Huang
Summary: In this paper, the validity of Kawagoe's Law in compartment fire is validated through numerical study. The results show that Kawagoe's Law holds true for ordinary openings, but becomes invalid for openings with large aspect ratios and small gaps. The study also reveals the occurrence of jet flame and the breathing process in compartment fires with small gaps.
Article
Polymer Science
Marie Soula, Fabienne Samyn, Sophie Duquesne, Veronic Landry
Summary: Fire protection in wood construction has long been a major challenge due to the high flame spread risk associated with wood flooring. There is a growing demand for economically and environmentally friendly alternatives, with the study of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) for wood substrates still in its early stages.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Junyi Li, Hugues Pretrel, Sylvain Suard, Tarek Beji, Bart Merci
Summary: The paper discusses the energy balance equation for the fire-induced pressure variation in air-tight compartment fires and finds a linear relationship between pressure variation and fire evolution, which is related to the net heat gained in the gas phase. The study also reveals that differences in heat losses through walls affect pressure variation during the fire decay phase, while the mass flow rate difference between admission and extraction ducts depends on the net heat gained in the gas phase. Moreover, a higher ventilation resistance leads to higher compartment pressure variations and longer pressure development time.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Review
Thermodynamics
Xiepeng Sun, Fei Tang, Kaihua Lu, Fei Ren, Congling Shi, Bart Merci, Longhua Hu
Summary: This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent progresses in the study of window-ejected fire plumes and focuses on quantifying the behavior of these plumes under constrained conditions. The paper discusses the evolution of compartment fires, flame interaction and merging behavior, and characteristic parameters of window-ejected fire plumes. The limitations of current research and future challenges are also addressed.
PROGRESS IN ENERGY AND COMBUSTION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Vinny Gupta, Juan P. Hidalgo, Adam Cowlard, Cecilia Abecassis-Empis, Agustin H. Majdalani, Cristian Maluk, Jose L. Torero
Summary: This study investigates the thermal characteristics of fire spread modes and ventilation conditions in large open-plan compartments through experimental analysis. The findings reveal that different fire spread modes lead to distinct spatial heat distributions, and ventilation modes can impose significant thermal loads on structures in certain cases.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Hitoshi Suto, Ken Matsuyama, Yasuo Hattori
Summary: This paper proposes a method for setting the conditions for reduced-scale experiments of mechanically ventilated compartment fires, considering the similarity of energy balance. The evaluation of a small-scale fire experiment indicates that the energy balance variation can be assessed by the scaling factor F and the value of R-T reflects the effects of compartment geometry.
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Okorie Ukairo, Siaka Dembele, Ali Heidari, Hugues Pretrel, Jennifer Wen
Summary: This study focuses on predicting fire behavior in a mechanically ventilated nuclear compartment using the open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fire simulation code FireFOAM. The modified FireFOAM with an added Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) model is validated to accurately predict pressure variations and flow rates in the nuclear compartment. The study demonstrates that the mechanical ventilation model and modified FireFOAM with CHT can effectively predict fire behavior in nuclear facilities.
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Ian Pope, Juan P. Hidalgo, Jose L. Torero
Summary: The study investigates measurement errors associated with thermal disturbance when a thermocouple is inserted perpendicular to a thermal wave in a low conductivity material. Experimental results show significant differences in measurements between thermocouples inserted perpendicular and parallel to the isotherms, with the error decreasing over time in logarithmic trend and increasing linearly with distance from the heated surface. Models are used to correct the experimental temperature measurements, showing good agreement with results from thermocouples inserted parallel to the heat wave for inert conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Felix Wiesner, Susan Deeny, Luke A. Bisby
Summary: Experiments on CLT beams exposed to uniform non-charring temperatures under sustained loading revealed that the adhesive type significantly influences the magnitude of structural stiffness deterioration during heating. Additionally, significant deflections measured during heating were found to be irrecoverable during cooling, possibly driven by timber creep and adhesive properties.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Angela Solarte, Janal Numapo, Tam Do, Aaron Bolanos, Juan P. Hidalgo, Jose L. Torero
Summary: Laminated bamboo exhibits higher critical heat flux for ignition, ignition temperature, and thermal inertia compared to timber species.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Martyn S. McLaggan, Juan P. Hidalgo, Jeronimo Carrascal, Michael T. Heitzmann, Andres F. Osorio, Jose L. Torero
Summary: The research in this study focuses on the flammability of materials in modern cladding fires, and reveals new findings and trends through bench-scale experiments. It is suggested that the organic content is not a good indicator of fire performance, providing engineers with insights when selecting remediation solutions for buildings.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Vinny Gupta, Juan P. Hidalgo, Adam Cowlard, Cecilia Abecassis-Empis, Agustin H. Majdalani, Cristian Maluk, Jose L. Torero
Summary: This study investigates the thermal characteristics of fire spread modes and ventilation conditions in large open-plan compartments through experimental analysis. The findings reveal that different fire spread modes lead to distinct spatial heat distributions, and ventilation modes can impose significant thermal loads on structures in certain cases.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Felix Wiesner, Alastair Bartlett, Luke Bisby, Siyimane Mohaine, Fabienne Robert, Robert McNamee, Jean-Christophe Mindeguia
Summary: This paper presents observations, measurements, and analysis from experiments on CLT slabs exposed to fire, highlighting the importance of ventilation conditions on fire dynamics and burning duration, and the relative accuracy of a mechanics-based structural fire model in predicting structural failure.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Asanka P. Basnayake, Juan P. Hidalgo, Michael T. Heitzmann
Summary: The study showed that sugar-cane bagasse can be successfully used as reinforcement for composite materials, but with a higher ignition hazard and comparable burning behavior hazard to commercial products at a radiant heat flux of 35 kW/m².
FIRE AND MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
David Lange, Jose L. Torero, Graham Spinardi, Angus Law, Peter Johnson, Ashley Brinson, Cristian Maluk, Juan P. Hidalgo, Michael Woodrow
Summary: This paper discusses the motivation for stronger accreditation of fire safety engineers and proposes a competency framework to meet the current needs of the public.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Ian Pope, Juan P. Hidalgo, Rory M. Hadden, Jose L. Torero
Summary: A study on the impact of thermocouples embedded in materials of lower thermal conductivity showed that the presence of thermocouples can distort the surrounding temperature field, leading to measurement errors. By analyzing key factors and using finite element models, it was found that thermal properties, geometry, and heating regime all affect the thermal disturbance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Felix Wiesner, Rory Hadden, Susan Deeny, Luke Bisby
Summary: This paper presents experimental findings on the thermo-mechanical response of cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls to fire. The results suggest that global instability is likely to be the dominant failure mode for CLT walls in fire. The use of a polyurethane adhesive and fewer plies in the walls lead to earlier structural failure, and the walls collapse during artificially induced cooling phases.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Asanka P. Basnayake, Juan P. Hidalgo, Byron Villacorta, Kameron G. Dunn, Michael T. Heitzmann
Summary: The interactions between Calcium carbonate (e.g., eggshell powder) and Lignin with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) as fire retardants were investigated. The thermal decomposition of the retardant mixtures and composites was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The findings showed that while the interactions between APP, eggshell powder, and lignin were observed, they did not affect the decomposition reactions in the composites. The addition of eggshell powder or lignin reduced the burning rates of the composites.
FIRE AND MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Civil
Hangyu Xu, Ian Pope, Vinny Gupta, Jaime Cadena, Jeronimo Carrascal, David Lange, Martyn S. McLaggan, Julian Mendez, Andres Osorio, Angela Solarte, Diana Soriguer, Jose L. Torero, Felix Wiesner, Abdulrahman Zaben, Juan P. Hidalgo
Summary: Fire safety is a major challenge for engineered timber buildings due to their combustible nature. This paper presents a literature review and the design of a large-scale testing methodology to establish the fundamental principles for the self-extinction of engineered timber. Research at material and compartment scales has quantified self-extinction and demonstrated the complex phenomena involved, providing insights for the design framework.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Sam Nothard, David Lange, Juan P. Hidalgo, Vinny Gupta, Martyn S. McLaggan, Felix Wiesner, Jose L. Torero
Summary: This article presents results from an experimental study exploring factors that influence fire dynamics in open plan compartments with an exposed timber ceiling. The study highlights the complex relationship between ceiling material and fire behavior.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2022)
Review
Forestry
Jerrold E. Winandy, Felix Wiesner, Babar Hassan, Jeffrey J. Morrell
Summary: Wood is considered more environmentally sustainable due to its low embodied energy, workability, and renewability, but it is prone to biological degradation and fire. Effective designs and treatments are used to address biodegradation, while fire resistive coatings or impregnation with fire retardants are explored to improve fire performance in timber construction.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Tarek Beji, Bouaza Lafdal, Rabah Mehaddi
Summary: The paper presents experimental measurements of transient profiles of burning rates and liquid temperatures in methanol and heptane pool fires. The results suggest significant enhancement in heat transfer due to convective motion within the liquid. Additionally, a two-zone approach for the thermal structure within the liquid has been proposed and will be implemented in a numerical code.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Walter Klein-Hessling
Summary: Fire simulations and analytical validation approaches are becoming increasingly important in the fire safety assessment of nuclear power plants. The COCOSYS code has been improved to better simulate cable fires and has been validated through experiments. It provides a set of input parameters for different ventilation conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Bing Wu, Yu Meng, Yongzheng Yao, Baiwei Lei, Jingxin Wang, Junjie Zhai
Summary: Underground laneway fires have a throttling effect on ventilation systems and the amount of CO produced by combustion is significantly influenced by ventilation conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Ahmad Hassan, Gilbert Accary, Duncan Sutherland, Khalid Moinuddin
Summary: Numerical simulations were conducted to study laboratory-scale junction fires with a shrub fuel bed under different unidirectional wind conditions on various terrain slopes and junction angles. The results showed that the decrease in junction angle enhanced fire spread, and the impact of wind speed on fire behavior depended on the intermediate values of the junction angle. The driving heat transfer mode in junction fires varied based on the presence of wind and slope conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Samuel Vaux, Emeline Georges, Hugues Pretrel
Summary: This study investigates an elevated pool fire scenario in a confined and forced ventilated compartment through both experimental and numerical methods. The objective is to enhance the understanding of the phenomena and evaluate the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) capabilities in this configuration. The comparison between large-scale fire tests and numerical simulations reveals differences in fuel mass loss rate and thermal stratifications between elevated and ground fires. The study also highlights the limitations of the predictive approach commonly used for ground fires when applied to elevated fires.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Mira von der Linde, Meinald T. Thielsch
Summary: This study investigates the motivation, emotions, and value of laypeople in fire incidents and finds that their active involvement provides support. The findings are helpful for emergency managers.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Hong-Zeng Yu, Xiangyang Zhou
Summary: This study conducted fire tests to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating nitrogen to enhance the fire extinguishing capability of water mist in an obstructed, naturally-ventilated enclosure. The results showed that adding nitrogen did improve the water mist's fire extinguishing capability, although the extent of improvement varied depending on the fire size, obstruction, and ventilation conditions.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Rosaria Ono, Marcos Vargas Valentim, Fulvio Vittorino
Summary: This study presents the analysis of unimpeded walking speed of primary school children in descending movement in stairs, including the differences on walking speeds on the flights and landings and the impact of anthropo-metrical data on their walking speed. The research aimed to provide data for evacuation modelling that is not influenced by factors like crowds or adults controlling the flow. The findings show that anthropometrical characteristics or age do not significantly affect the children's movement in free walking condition, and the reduction factor on flights for children is higher than commonly adopted in simulation models.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Nicolas Correa, Juan Cuevas, Andres Fuentes, Jose Luis Torero, Pedro Reszka
Summary: The use of mass timber framing in high-rise buildings requires accurate structural fire performance calculations. A thermal model incorporating char oxidation is proposed in this study, and its effectiveness is validated by replicating experimental results. However, the model fails to accurately simulate the behavior during the later stages of surface combustion.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Bouaza Lafdal, Rabah Mehaddi, Pascal Boulet, Elmehdi Koutaiba, Tarek Beji
Summary: This paper presents a series of 48 enclosure fire experiments conducted in a 1.40 m cubic compartment. A new oscillatory combustion regime is discovered, characterized by alternations between well-ventilated and under-ventilated conditions. This finding calls for a better understanding and further analysis of the underlying physics.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Shenggang Fan, Xingyang Zheng, Jiacheng Zheng, Meijing Liu, Daoyang Dong
Summary: Based on experimental data and constitutive models, a simplified constitutive model of AISI304 stainless steel at high temperatures was proposed and analyzed in this study. Finite element analysis results showed that the simplified constitutive model produced acceptable results compared to the constitutive model fitted based on experimental data, indicating its feasibility and accuracy in calculating the fire resistance of specimens.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Julian E. Mendez, Martyn S. McLaggan, David Lange
Summary: The study characterised the fire spread dynamics in a simplified ventilated facade by conducting parametric experiments. The results showed a strong relationship between flame height and heat release rate. It was also found that the time for encapsulation failure and subsequent cladding material core ignition decreased as the cavity width was reduced. The study highlights the importance of considering the interaction of the products used in the facade and its geometry for the design of facade assemblies when accounting for the fire performance of the system.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
A. Galgano, C. Di Blasi
Summary: A sensitivity analysis was conducted on a one-dimensional solid-gas model for the ignition of thick poly (methyl methacrylate). The study found that the kinetics of polymer decomposition and monomer combustion play a crucial role in ignition time, and the properties of the polymer and the decomposition atmosphere should be properly considered.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Thomas Gernay
Summary: This paper provides an overview of the application of the Performance-Based Design approach in structural fire design. The value of the approach is demonstrated through case studies, and the process and role of the structural fire engineer are described. Recent research conducted at Johns Hopkins University, including issues such as the coupling between fire and thermal-structural models, characterization of material behavior at elevated temperature, numerical modeling of structures in fire, probabilistic risk assessment, and cost-benefit analyses, is discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and future perspectives for performance-based structural fire design.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Salman Ahmad, Hafiz Usman Ahmed, Asad Ali, Xinyi Yang, Ying Huang, Mingwei Guo, Yihao Ren, Pan Lu
Summary: This study investigates the driving behavior patterns of individuals during historical wildfire events and reveals the influence of driving conditions and wildfires on driving behavior, as well as the differences in driving behavior patterns between rural and urban areas.
FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL
(2024)
