Method to characterize the fire behavior of materials assemblies

The fire behavior of various large samples polymers assemblies is an under‐researched topic. In fire risk assessment, the resultant heat release rate of burning different combustibles has to be known. To highlight interactions between components, 2 types of configurations were tested: juxtaposed and layered materials, using a specific radiant panel setup. For juxtaposed assemblies, results indicated that the more flammable component acted as an accelerator for the global combustion kinetics. For layered assemblies, 2 main phenomena were evidenced: the front material acted as a shield delaying the combustion of the backside material and the presence of a backside material induced a thermal thickening that slowed down the combustion of the front material. The experimental burning behaviors of the assembly were compared with a simulated one calculated from the superposition principle. This method was described by introducing a time offset and/or a slowdown factor in the model, confirmed with the use of different assemblies.     

Thermal analysis of polymer ignition

Gas phase criteria for the onset of flaming combustion of solids in fires are used to locate a critical temperature T_cr in a nonisothermal analysis (TA) experiment that corresponds to the surface temperature of the solid at ignition in a fire test, T_ign. This critical TA temperature occurs at low conversion of solid to gaseous fuel so it is independent of the heating rate in the test or the thermal decomposition reaction model. However, T_cr depends on the thermal properties of the polymer and the conditions of the fire test in which the gas phase criteria were measured. Nonisothermal analysis data in nitrogen and air were obtained for 20 polymers by thermogravimetric analysis and microscale combustion calorimetry. The critical temperatures T_crs obtained from TA experiments compared favorably with analytic results for a simple polymer ignition model and finite element simulations and were in qualitative agreement with ignition temperatures measured in standardized fire tests.     

A methodology for predicting and comparing the full‐scale fire performance of similar materials based on small‐scale testing

Reconstructive fire testing is an important tool used by fire investigators to determine the cause, origin, and progression of a particular fire. Accurate reconstruction of the fire requires the laboratory structure to be outfitted with materials that, in terms of contribution to fire growth, perform similarly to the original materials found at the fire scene. Therefore, a procedure was developed to enable fire investigators to select these replacement materials on the basis of a quantitative assessment of their relative fire performance. This procedure consists of gram‐scale and/or milligram‐scale standard testing accompanied by inverse numerical modeling of these tests, which is used to obtain relevant material properties. A numerical model composed of a detailed pyrolysis submodel and empirical flame heat feedback submodels, which were developed in this study, is subsequently employed to simulate the early stages of the Room Corner Test, which was selected to represent full‐scale material performance. The results of these simulations demonstrate that this procedure can successfully differentiate between fire growth propensities of several commercially available medium density fiberboards.     

Reconstruction of the Grenfell Tower fire – Part 4: Contribution to the understanding of fire propagation and behaviour during horizontal fire spread

The tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017, involving a combustible façade system, have raised concerns regarding the fire risk that these systems pose. In this series of articles, so far published, fire development inside the initial apartment has been investigated using an appropriate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Several scenarios including different fire sources and ventilation conditions were addressed. Fire propagation through the window to the external façade and to higher apartments was modelled. This model was validated by comparing the numerical results with the visual observations reported in the Grenfell Inquiry. A CFD model of the complete east face of the Grenfell Tower was then created. This paper details CFD modelling of the complete Grenfell Tower façade during the late horizontal phase of fire spread. As the physics of lateral flame spread is different from that for upward flame spread, it is important to assess the validity of the model, thus far developed, for this configuration. Fire propagation over the whole façade is modelled and compared with observations from the real disaster. This provides a better understanding of its fire behaviour and of the contribution of architectural details and their impact on fire spread.     

Maximum temperature rise of fire plume ejected out of the compartment window with a horizontal eave

This study focuses on the maximum temperature rise of fire plume ejected out of the compartment window with a horizontal eave. Based on the symmetry of ejected plume and pictures recorded by the cameras in the study, the shape of ejected thermal plume out of the window under the eave is suggest as an isosceles trapezoid, and the ejected thermal plume rising at the edge of the eave is assumed to be a rectangular fire source. The dimensions of the rectangular fire source are theoretically deduced for compartment fire process of different window geometry, width of eave, and heat release rate, according to the conservation of plume mass. The previous predictive model for plume temperature proposed by Quintiere is popularized to the ejected flame above an eave by including the dimensions of the rectangular fire source as well as the width of eave. The results would provide theoretical guidance to the application of fireproof eave in high-rise building for fire protection designs.     

小庄煤矿液态CO2防灭火技术实践

针对小庄煤矿40203综放工作面采空区出现自然发火隐患问题,分析了该工作面自然发火原因、液态CO 2防灭火机理及施工工艺,成功实施了液态CO 2防灭火技术在现场的应用。在向40203综放工作面采空区灌注液态CO 2后,采空区出水温度由灌注前的36℃降至26.5℃,上隅角袋子墙内CO浓度由灌注前的0.0067%降至0.0051%,上隅角采空区19 m处CO浓度由灌注前的0.0072%降至0.0053%,采空区出水温度和CO浓度显著下降并维持稳定。实践表明,该技术成功遏制了采空区遗煤进一步氧化升温,消除了采空区自然发火隐患,保证了工作面的安全回采,也为矿井防灭火工作积累了可借鉴的实践经验。     

Experimental investigation on the effect of ambient pressure on thermal runaway and fire behaviors of lithium‐ion batteries

To investigate the impacts of ambient pressure on thermal runaway and fire behaviors of lithium‐ion battery (LIB), experimental measurement and theoretical analysis with serial conditions are conducted at two altitudes. The well‐designed experimental equipment and operating conditions have enabled the accurate evaluation of ambient pressure effects. Results show that the first abrupt temperature change in Hefei (ambient pressure 100.8 kPa) is higher than that in Lhasa (64.3 kPa). The difference in ambient pressure at two altitudes leads to different relief valve crack temperature and time. The average burning rate in Hefei is larger than that in Lhasa, and the estimated pressure effect factor is quite different for detailed pack conditions and varies within the range of 0.083‐1.39. The ambient pressure has a greater effect on the heat release rate and total heat release than the mass loss, and the effective combustion heat under the low pressure is lower than that in normal condition. This work can provide more comprehensive and useful data for the safety management of LIBs at low pressure environments.     

两个大型住宅项目设计配套消防备供电源供电方案分析及优劣对比

通过对两个大型住宅项目配置消防备供电源供电方案进行对比,分析由此产生的建设安装造价成本高低,以及后期物业管理程序的难易程度,总结出适宜于大型住宅项目的消防备供电源供电方案,既能降低建设投资成本,又可以简化后期物业管理程序,更好地保障消防系统供电安全,值得推广。     

Understanding structure ignition vulnerabilities using mock‐up sections of attached wood fencing assemblies

Firebrand production from structure combustion becomes a key factor in the magnitude of how quickly a large outdoor fire may spread. Post‐fire disaster investigations suggest that attached building components, such as wood fencing assemblies are known to be prone to ignition in these fires, and may provide pathways to structure ignition. Here, a comparison of ignition results from full‐scale fencing assembly experiments conducted using a full‐scale wind tunnel facility, to mock‐ups of full‐scale fencing assemblies using the recently developed experimental capability at the National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster (NRIFD) are discussed. In both experimental facilities, the fencing assemblies were exposed to firebrand showers using custom built continuous feed firebrand generators with size and mass distributions similar to those generated from structure combustion. Similar ignition behaviors were observed between the full‐scale fencing assemblies and the mock‐up of full‐scale fencing assemblies. Additional experiments are required for other fencing assembly types to further verify these important findings.     

Cable tray FIRE tests simulations in open atmosphere and in confined and mechanically ventilated compartments with the CALIF3S/ISIS CFD software

Fire hazard in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is particularly often investigated as potential cause of safety equipment failure and confinement loss. Many fire events recorded in NPPs involve electric cables, widely used throughout facilities. IRSN is developing the CALIF3S/ISIS computational fluid dynamics software devoted to fire simulation in large‐scale confined and mechanically ventilated compartments. This paper presents two aspects of the CALIF3S/ISIS code ability to simulate fires. The first one concerns vertical and horizontal spreading of a cable tray fire in open atmosphere using an approach based on the FLASH‐CAT cable fire spread model. Resorting to the suitable parameters of the FLASH‐CAT model based on video fire analyses of tests enables to properly compute the heat release rate of the fire. The second aspect concerns the ability to simulate the evolution and consequences of fires in confined and mechanically ventilated compartments. For these cases, the heat release rate measured during the corresponding experiment is used as input data for the calculations. The predicted evolutions of pressure or gas temperatures are in relatively good accordance with the experiments. The major discrepancy concerns gas concentrations in the fire room which is attributed to a lack of information about the properties of the fuel material.