{"title":"The correlation between carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide in fire effluents of flame retarded polymers","authors":"S. Molyneux, A. Stec, T. Hull","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-389","url":null,"abstract":"This study considers the demonstrated correlation between carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide in the special case of fire retarded materials. It shows that the combination of aluminium phosphinate and melamine polyphosphate causes a much smaller increase in the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) yields than the combination of brominated polystyrene and antimony oxide, although both fire retardants inhibit combustion reactions in the gas phase. The formation and destruction mechanisms of CO and HCN are considered. It is shown that both toxicants form early in the flame, and that the OH radical is critical for the destruction of both CO and HCN. Crucially, in the context of the flame inhibition mechanism, this suggests that the phosphorus system reduces the H and O radical concentrations without a corresponding decrease in the OH radical concentration, thus it is an effective gas phase flame retardant which only causes a small increase in the toxic product yields. Conversely, the bromine system reduces the H, O and OH concentrations, and thus increases the fire toxicity, by inhibiting decomposition of CO and HCN. Moreover, while the phosphorus flame retardant is effective as an ignition suppressant at low temperatures, this effect ―switches off‖ at higher flame temperatures, minimising the potential increase in fire toxicity, once the fire develops.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75739170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Characterization of Fire Suppression of an Idealized Commodity Using Uniform Water Fluxes","authors":"Y. Xin, K. Meredith","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-1208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-1208","url":null,"abstract":"An experimental study was conducted to investigate fire suppression behaviors of an idealized commodity using uniform water fluxes. The objectives of this work are to better understand the physics of sprinkler suppression and to provide validation data for numerical fire modeling. The commodities used in the experiments consisted of corrugated cardboard boxes with a metal liner inside. The cardboard boxes were supported by steel beams to maintain the rack storage geometry similar to the standard commodity where wood pallets supported the cardboard boxes. The uniform water fluxes were generated by a water application apparatus (WAA), and adjusted to achieve uncontrolled and controlled fire scenarios. All fire tests were carried out in rack storage configurations with controlled fuel moisture content to minimize its impact on fire growth. The key measurements included heat release rate (HRR), fuel surface temperature, incident heat flux to the fuel surface and water flow rate transported to the bottom of the fuel array. The test results show that the measured heat release rates under various experimental conditions are very repeatable, and thus are suitable for model validation purposes. The fire test outcomes, i.e., controlled vs. uncontrolled fires, are directly correlated with the amount of water collected during the suppression stage, indicating that the sprinkler suppression mechanism is dominated by water transport in the fuel array. The idealized commodity exhibited fire growth rates similar to the standard commodity, largely due to the impact of the beam support on the fire spread. Furthermore, the critical delivered flux (CDF) that can prevent fire growth is very close between the idealized and the standard commodity. The similarities in fire growth and suppression characteristics suggest that it may be feasible to use the idealized commodity in numerical simulation of fire suppression, as an alternative to the more complex real fuel.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73301623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Klippel, C. Leyder, A. Frangi, M. Fontana, F. Lam, A. Ceccotti
{"title":"Fire Tests on Loaded Cross-laminated Timber Wall and Floor Elements","authors":"Michael Klippel, C. Leyder, A. Frangi, M. Fontana, F. Lam, A. Ceccotti","doi":"10.3801/IAFSS.FSS.11-626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/IAFSS.FSS.11-626","url":null,"abstract":"Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels are relatively new engineered wood products that can be used as load bearing walls, floors and roof elements in innovative and high quality modern timber structures. The fire behavior of cross-laminated timber panels requires careful evaluation to allow the expansion of CLT elements usage in buildings. A University of British Columbia study has been conducted at the Trees and Timber Institute CNR-IVALSA in San Michele all’Adige, Italy to experimentally evaluate the fire performance of Canadian CLT panels. In total, ten loaded fire tests were performed using standard fire curves (ULC/ASTM and ISO) to study the influence of different cross-section layups on the fire resistance of floor and wall elements and to investigate the influence of different anchors on the fire behavior of wall elements. This paper presents the main results of the experimental analyses and discusses in particular the charring rate, one of the main parameters in fire design.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79548330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Residual Constitutive Behavior of Aluminum Alloys after Fire Exposure","authors":"P. Summers, B. Lattimer, S. Case","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-612","url":null,"abstract":"Aluminum alloys are increasingly being used in lightweight transportation applications such as naval vessels and light passenger rail. The aluminum alloys considered include 5xxx-series (Al-Mg) and 6xxxseries (Al-Mg-Si) alloys due to their mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and weldability. A major concern in the use of aluminum alloys in lightweight structural applications is fire exposure. Aluminum mechanical properties are significantly reduced at 300°C. After fire exposure, structural damage will vary due to the local thermal history which is governed by the fire size and proximity and other environmental factors. It is paramount to understand the nature of this structural damage in terms of residual (post-fire) constitutive behavior so as to allow for informed damage assessment. AA5083-H116 and AA6061-T651 residual constitutive behavior was characterized using quasi-static tension tests. The alloys were exposed to elevated temperatures at controlled heating rates using an induction heater to simulate the varying conditions in a fire environment. The thermal history dependence of residual constitutive behavior was elucidated in terms of the microstructural strengthening mechanisms. The primary strengthening mechanisms of AA5083 and AA6061 evolve at elevated temperatures due to recrystallization and precipitate coarsening, respectively. Strengthening mechanism evolution has been shown to be kinetically dependent which explains the thermal history dependence of residual constitutive behavior. Structural damage from a wide range of fire scenarios may be understood using these underlying strengthening mechanisms which govern residual constitutive behavior.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79558173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predictions of Transport Accident Fires Using Coupled Structural Dynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics","authors":"Alexander L. Brown, K. Metzinger, G. Wagner","doi":"10.3801/IAFSS.FSS.11-584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/IAFSS.FSS.11-584","url":null,"abstract":"A continuing concern involves transportation accident fires involving liquid fuel vehicles. These can be highly energetic, with the most significant sources of energy typically being the energy of motion (kinetic energy) and the chemical energy in the fuel (fire combustion energy). Recent work has focused on coupling a transient structural dynamics code to a fire computational fluid dynamics code to be able to predict the outcome of such an event. New methods have been developed to permit conservation of mass and momentum between the codes. Other coupling approaches have been developed and are described. This capability has been used to simulate three scenarios. Results from the various test cases suggest discretization accuracy for problems of this class. Validation efforts suggest the accuracy of the methodology, and provide confidence in the predictive capability. These cases also help provide guidance for future application of these methods.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77505782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Numerical Simulations of a Mechanically-Ventilated Multi- Compartment Fire","authors":"T. Beji, F. Bonte, B. Merci","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-499","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this work was to evaluate the capabilities of a widely used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code in the fire community, namely the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS 5.5.3), in the simulation of a large-scale, well-confined and mechanically ventilated multi-room fire scenario. The CFD analysis focuses on the effect of pressure build-up induced by the fire on the ventilation network. The measured heat release rate (HRR) was therefore prescribed as input in the simulations. Computational results were compared to measurements obtained for one of several experimental scenarios performed at the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN). The overall trend was well reproduced by FDS. Quantitative comparisons for respectively the total relative pressure, ventilation flow rates and gas temperature (in the fire room) at the steady-state combustion regime have shown underestimations of 18 to 22 %.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90361480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Flaming Ignition Behavior of Hot Steel and Aluminum Spheres Landing in Cellulose Fuel Beds","authors":"C. Zak, J. Urban, V. Tran, A. Fernandez-Pello","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-1368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-1368","url":null,"abstract":"The ignition of combustible material by hot metal particles is an important fire ignition pathway that remains relatively unstudied. In this work, the flaming ignition behavior of powdered cellulose fuel beds by hot steel and aluminum spheres of various diameters and initial temperatures was studied. Understanding ignition in this scenario could offer insight into the mechanisms by which metal particles initiate wildland fires and fires in industrial settings. Earlier work on this topic has shown that ignition propensity has a relationship with the temperature and diameter of the sphere. However, little is known about the physical processes governing this relationship. This work provides further information regarding the conditions required for ignition, and useful observations for the development of a theoretical framework for predicting ignition propensity of combustible fuel beds. For the conditions tested, powdered cellulose ignition appears to exhibit limiting behavior in two regimes: for larger spheres, temperatures below 600 C did not ignite the cellulose and spheres with diameters below 2.38 mm for steel or 2.03 mm for aluminum and temperatures up to 1100 C did not ignite the cellulose either. We also observed that in the range of sphere diameters from 4-8 mm, aluminum spheres of a given diameter are more likely to cause ignition than their steel counterparts. This seems to be due to the fact that the aluminum spheres are molten at temperatures greater than 657.2 C; melting contributes to a spheres bulk energy through the latent heat of melting and allows for sphere deformation and splatter during impact. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of high speed schlieren videos shows differences in pyrolysis and ignition behavior and suggests that, different controlling processes may be at work for spheres of different sizes and for molten versus solid spheres.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90784760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Simplified Calculation for Fire Performance of Post-Tensioned Timber Box Beams","authors":"Reuben Costello, A. Abu, P. Moss, A. Buchanan","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-640","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes a simplified calculation method that can be used to predict the fire performance of post-tensioned timber box beams. Despite being a combustible material, timber beams can perform well in fire. However, post-tensioned timber box beams need to be carefully designed if an undesirable shear failure mode is to be avoided. A simplified calculation is proposed which can be used to design these beams while giving the designer the ability to predict when and how the beam is likely to fail. Two beam geometries have been used as examples to demonstrate the ability of this calculation method to predict the likely mode and time of failure. Finally, potential improvements that may be made to the method as well as experimental tests that will be conducted to verify the model are discussed.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80673906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Weizhao Hu, Lei Song, Jian Wang, Y. Hu, Ping Zhang
{"title":"Covalent functionalization of graphene oxide with flame retardant and its effect on thermal stability and flame retardancy of epoxy composites","authors":"Weizhao Hu, Lei Song, Jian Wang, Y. Hu, Ping Zhang","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-895","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-895","url":null,"abstract":"In order to improve the dispersion and fire retardant property in epoxy resin (EP), graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized via surface modification by a flame retardant which was synthesized by the reaction of methyl dichlorophosphate and 10-(2,5-dihydroxyl-phenyl)-9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenan-threne-10-oxide (DOPO-BQ). The property of functionalized GO (FGO) was characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, H- and P- nuclear magnetic resonance, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Series different ratios of GO- and FGO- epoxy nanocomposites were obtained by in situ polymerization. The incorporation of FGO enhanced the thermal stability and flame retardancy of epoxy nanocomposites effectively. The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were investigated by TGA test in nitrogen atmosphere, indicating that FGO can improve the char residues. The flame retardancy of the nanocomposites was characterized by cone calorimeter test. The results showed that the incorporation of 2 wt.% FGO into EP decreased the value of peak heat release rate, total heat release, average effective heat of combustion, peak values of the CO release rate and CO2 release rate by 25%, 28%, 29.5%, 27% and 29%, respectively. This work confirms that the FGO is an effective solution for improving the thermal stability and flame retardancy of epoxy resins.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80668363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fire testing of external combustible ship surfaces","authors":"Franz Evegren, M. Rahm, M. Arvidson, T. Hertzberg","doi":"10.3801/iafss.fss.11-905","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3801/iafss.fss.11-905","url":null,"abstract":"Reduced weight makes use of fiber reinforced polymer composite desirable in maritime construction applications. Exterior ship surfaces in combustible materials are although not covered by fire safety regulations and their fire protection is therefore a key issue. This paper reports how SP FIRE 105, a standardized test method for testing reaction to fire properties of facade systems, was adjusted and used to evaluate the potential for fire growth on external combustible ship surfaces; in particular fiber reinforced polymer composite surfaces protected with active or passive measures. The trials show that the test method is highly suitable but that some adjustments could be made to reduce uncertainties; in particular to use a gas burner instead of a heptane pool fire source and to add a strong criterion for when to activate active measures. Further efforts should also be made to develop suitable performance criteria, which were suggested to be based on the produced heat and the gas temperatures at the top of the panel.","PeriodicalId":12145,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83049601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}