Empirical prediction of smoke production in the ISO Room Corner Fire Test by use of ISO Cone Calorimeter Fire Test data

The combustion conditions in the ISO Room Corner Fire Test make it possible to predict full scale smoke production by use of prediction models and bench scale fire test data procured by the ISO Cone Calorimeter Fire Test. The full scale smoke production is governed by the type of material burning only if the rate of heat release is less than 400–600 kW. For higher rates of heat release, the smoke production is more governed by the combustion conditions. The influence of the combustion conditions on the full scale smoke production reduces the possibilities of smoke prediction to materials causing flashover within 10 min in the ISO Room Corner Fire Test. The smoke to heat ratio S_Q (m²MJ) was used to compare smoke production between the scales. In general, the comparison revealed that the smoke yield was significantly less in full scale than in bench scale, especially for the plastics. Plastics do yield more smoke than wood based materials in both scales, but the differences in full scale are not as extreme as indicated by the bench scale smoke data. No simple correlations between the scales seem to exist. Multiple regression studies on empirical smoke prediction models show that bench scale fire parameters can be used to predict full scale fire performance. A quite accurate empirical smoke prediction model is presented for the group of materials which caused flashover within 10 min. The model predicts the full scale rate of smoke production at a rate of heat release of 400 kW. The presented results might be used to assess the fire safety hazard of visible smoke, but benchmarks of smoke hazard do not seem to exist. Thus further studies and agreement on safety levels and principles are needed for general visibility analysis concerning fire safety engineering purposes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.