Fire Safety Journal最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of the fall-off of gypsum board in lightweight and mass timber constructions and implications in fire resistance","authors":"Sanaz Ramzi,&nbsp;Hamzeh Hajiloo","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This review study investigates the fall-off behavior of gypsum board (GB) in Lightweight Wood (LW) assemblies by synthesizing a comprehensive dataset compiled from previously conducted full-scale fire resistance tests. To address the inherent variability and scatter in the existing experimental data, this study incorporates detailed analyses and statistical modeling to discover consistent trends. A few quantitative findings are as follows: adding a second layer of 12.7 mm Type X GB increased the fall-off time to over 60 min, improving the fire resistance duration from an average of 50 min with a single layer to 68 min with 2 layers. On the other hand, insulated floors experienced accelerated GB degradation in 1-layer GB floors. Reducing the resilient channel spacing from 610 mm to 406 mm increased the fall-off time by approximately 10 % for 2-layer GB floors. In single-layer GB floors, the onset of wood charring was around 10.7 min before the GB fell off, while in two-layer GB floors, the charring began 6.4 min after the face layer's fall-off. These findings extend beyond LW systems, offering potential solutions for mass timber (MT) structures where practical and economical GB encapsulation can facilitate fire safety in such structures. This study evaluates the GB protection design equations in international codes showing that these equations are conservative for single-layer GB but within the average range of the experimental results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104455"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144338579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of wind and slope on the behavior of moving fire whirls","authors":"Mengyi Wang ,&nbsp;Jiao Lei","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper numerically investigates the effects of ambient wind and sloped terrains on the behavior of moving fire whirls using Fire Dynamics Simulator (6.7.6). Five configurations were designed, including small- and large-scale L-shaped fire sources and linear fire sources on flat terrain, as well as linear fire sources on leeward slope and canyon terrain. The movement trajectories, upper and lower critical wind speeds (<em>U</em>_<em>ec</em>) for the formation, and average movement speed (<em>V)</em> of fire whirls were analyzed under varying wind speeds (<em>U</em>) and slope angles (<em>θ</em> = 0°, 10°, 20°, and 30°). Except for the fire whirls in the small-scale L-shaped case on flat terrain, which exhibit a transition from downwind to upwind movement, fire whirls move unidirectionally along the fire line in other configurations. The interaction between the fire source and ambient wind was revealed through the synchronized evolution of tangential velocity fields. Two scaling correlations for <em>U</em>_<em>ec</em>, incorporating heat release rate, wind direction, and slope angle, were developed and confirmed by both experimental and numerical results from this study and the literature. The dimensionless movement speed was lower than the ambient wind speed in the L-shaped fire source configurations, but exceeded it in Brazil-type and leeward slope configurations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104456"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144321905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detailed characterizations of exhaust flow for a system of large-fire calorimeters","authors":"Rodney A. Bryant,&nbsp;Artur A. Chernovsky","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104453","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104453","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate exhaust flow monitoring is critical to achieving accurate measurements of heat release rate during large-fire experiments. Detailed characterizations of exhaust flow for a large-fire research facility were conducted using procedures from standard test methods for determining average flow in exhaust ducts. The results characterize the distribution of near-axial velocity, flow angle, and gas temperature and provide data to evaluate the impact of the fire and off-axis flow on the flow distribution. Average velocity computed from the flow distributions serves as a reference measurement for verifying the accuracy of flow monitoring devices permanently installed for routine operations. Flow calibration results agree with previous results, completing the goal of verifying the accuracy of the routine flow measurement using independent methods. This effort has established a benchmark for the accuracy of the facility's exhaust flow measurement. It has also provided additional evidence that in-situ calibration of the flow monitoring devices used for large-fire calorimetry is best practice to improve measurement accuracy. In general, the results provide a useful example to large fire laboratories for characterizing and calibrating their exhaust flow measurements to ultimately improve the accuracy of their calorimetry measurements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104453"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144291236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bayesian framework for non-destructive post-fire assessment of reinforced concrete beams using the incremental neutral axis position","authors":"Balša Jovanović ,&nbsp;Jasper Godeau ,&nbsp;Robby Caspeele ,&nbsp;Edwin Reynders ,&nbsp;Geert Lombert ,&nbsp;Ruben Van Coile","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104441","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104441","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Post-fire assessment in concrete structures is a complex challenge. This study addresses this challenge, by incorporating an innovative technique that employs Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) to measure strains at the top and the bottom of a beam and analyse them into a Bayesian inference framework. The FBGs allow to determine the position of the incremental neutral axis under bending deformation. The change of position of the incremental neutral axis relates to the degradation of concrete stiffness induced by fire, providing a key indicator of the structural condition of the whole member. The Bayesian methodology allows for a systematic handling of uncertainties, integrating prior knowledge with new data to improve the assessment's accuracy. By combining FBG-based strain sensing and advanced concrete modelling within a Bayesian framework, a novel approach is proposed to tackle the high uncertainties of post-fire assessments and deliver more reliable predictions than existing techniques. This offers a structured framework for interpreting the measured data and predicting the structural health of fire-affected concrete structures. To enable Bayesian inference, a numerical model is developed to calculate the incremental neutral axis position during and after fire. The model evaluates all the strain components, both reversible and irreversible and aggregates them to calculate the neutral axis position. The model's capabilities are validated using experimental data. The application of this methodology to a demonstration case shows its potential. The results show that employing the assessment technique can provide information on both the fire exposure, material properties of the member and its residual capacity. It highlights the feasibility of using FBG-based measurements for the post-fire assessment of concrete structures and underscores the value of Bayesian methods in managing the uncertainties inherent in such evaluations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104441"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144262395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of moisture contents on temperature control performance of structural firefighters’ gloves with the incorporation of phase change material","authors":"Xun Wang ,&nbsp;Weihuan Zhao ,&nbsp;Susan S. Xu ,&nbsp;Jonisha Pollard","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phase change materials (PCMs) are extensively utilized in thermal management applications. We examined thermal protection enhancement in structural firefighting gloves through the incorporation of PCMs, particularly under conditions influenced by moisture from hand sweating or external water sources. We conducted experiments to assess the impact of varying moisture content (MC) levels within glove fabrics on the temperature regulation performance of PCM-integrated firefighters' gloves. Three scenarios in fire settings were considered in the study, including contact with hot surfaces (conductive heat) and exposure to hazardous environments and flashovers (radiant/convective heat sources). Our findings indicate that under intense heat, the time before reaching a second-degree burn threshold (60 °C) on hand skin surface was minimized at lower MC levels. However, when the MC level exceeded specific values, the duration of thermal protection increased with higher moisture levels. The PCM integration extended thermal protection by between 1.4 and 2.1 times during direct contact tests and by between 1.2 and 1.5 times under radiant/convective heat exposures, compared to non-PCM gloves under similar wet conditions. Additionally, PCM layer's release of latent heat during solidification led to a prolonged temperature rise on skin surface at post-exposure, while moisture assisted in enhancing the thermal dissipation rate following heat exposure due to effective water evaporation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104444"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glowing to flaming transition in Douglas fir with varied moisture content","authors":"Jorge Valdivia,&nbsp;Xiuqi Xi,&nbsp;Albert Simeoni,&nbsp;James L. Urban","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104430","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In wildfires, vegetation can ignite through convective and radiative heating, influenced by factors like wind and fire size. Understanding ignition from these modes is crucial for computational fire models. This study investigates the ignition behavior of Douglas fir branches under convective heating using a custom apparatus, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and computational simulations in Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). Ignition delay times were determined from color camera recordings. In all experiments resulting in flaming ignition, glowing combustion preceded it. Fuel moisture content (FMC) significantly impacted ignition, with higher FMC delaying ignition and reducing ignition probability, while lower FMC increased the likelihood of ignition. In tests with flaming ignition, gas-phase ignition occurred near the fuel sample in most cases, though in some, it occurred farther away. High-speed imaging was used to track ignition location and flame propagation when gas-phase ignition occurred at a distance from the sample. TGA revealed how thermal decomposition influenced ignition dynamics. Computational modeling aligned with experimental findings and clarified the role of heat transfer, fuel properties, and FMC on combustion. These results enhance the understanding of vegetation ignition and fire dynamics under convective heating conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104430"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pool fire suppression performance of foams stabilized by PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers","authors":"Ke Qiu ,&nbsp;Xiaoyang Yu ,&nbsp;Qian Li ,&nbsp;Shouxiang Lu ,&nbsp;Mingjun Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104438","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104438","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers have the potential to develop the available fluorine-free foam replacing the aqueous film-forming foam for pool fire suppression. In this study, five PEO-PPO-PEO copolymers with different molecular weights and EO/PO ratios were studied for foam application to suppress the pool fire compared with the performance of APG foam, and the correlation of foam thermal stability and foam viscosity with the fire suppression performance was researched. In fire extinction tests, F127 foam and F108 foam with dense and stable layers covering the ignited heptane surface and APG foam with superior spreading performance showed the shortest extinction time. In burnback tests, F127 foam and F108 foam exhibited outstanding suppressing burnback performance than other foams and they could form the reversible localized gel foam triggered by the increasing temperature. The burnback time of the F108 foam was up to 22 min over 12 times longer than the APG foam. The suppressing burnback performance of the six studied foams was consistent with their foam stability on the heating heptane surfaces, and the foam spreading rate in the extinction tests correlated highly to the foam viscosity but was also affected by the foam thermal stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104438"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A provisional fire risk characterization of informal settlements of different scales in San Jose, Costa Rica","authors":"Sara Guevara Arce ,&nbsp;Anne Davidson ,&nbsp;Chloe Jeanneret ,&nbsp;John Gales ,&nbsp;Mohamed Beshir","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104439","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104439","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study gathers and explores qualitative information from four informal settlements within San Jose, Costa Rica, to help define future informal settlements’ fire safety research. In this paper, field visits to the four different settlements were conducted. Two of which are categorized as “large”, being over 0.50 km², while the other two are “small” being between 0 and 0.25 km². The physical differences and similarities observed in each settlement are considered with the aim to determine how these features might affect the fire risk and population response in case of a fire event. Through these visits, it was possible to conclude that informal settlements of similar size share several characteristics, while there is a clear difference between those of different sizes. The main differences and similarities were related to waste-management, proximity, type of construction of the houses, materials used, and organization within the community. This research also discusses current challenges faced by practitioners when performing informal settlements fire spread and evacuation modeling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104439"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flame heights and charring in a particleboard cavity under varying cavity widths and sample heights","authors":"Dheeraj Dilip Karyaparambil ,&nbsp;Trond Nordvik ,&nbsp;Sveinung Erland ,&nbsp;Patrick van Hees ,&nbsp;Nieves Fernandez-Anez ,&nbsp;Vidar Frette ,&nbsp;Bjarne Christian Hagen","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104440","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104440","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flame spread through ventilation cavities in timber facades is a serious fire safety concern in tall buildings. In this study, flame behaviour inside a particleboard cavity, resembling the ventilation cavity in a façade system, was investigated. Experiments were conducted with particleboard on one side and an inert panel on the other, across six cavity widths ranging from 10 cm to 25 cm. Variations in flame height, mass loss, temperature along the cavity height and gas velocity above the cavity were quantified. These quantities were found to increase as cavity width decreased. 3D scans of the sample surface were conducted after the experiment to quantify the charred volume. Deeper charring was observed with narrower cavities. Most of the charring was found to occur from ∼15 cm to ∼60 cm above the base of the sample. Flame heights for particleboard samples showed a significant variation during each experimental run, while those for inert samples remained more stable. A significant change in flame and char behaviour was observed when the cavity width was reduced from 15 cm to 10 cm. Additionally, flame heights, gas velocity, maximum char depth and char volume increased when the particleboard sample height was increased.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104440"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self-extinction of wood plate: Effect of fuel thickness and flame spread orientation","authors":"Yili Hu ,&nbsp;Supan Wang ,&nbsp;Xiu Yu ,&nbsp;Yanhui Liu ,&nbsp;Xinyan Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104437","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104437","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flame spread behaviour is a key element in evaluating material fire hazards, and studying the flame spread on wood helps understand the fire safety of timber structures. This work tests the flame spread on wood plates with thicknesses ranging from 1.0 mm to 30.0 mm under different irradiations and both upward and downward spread modes. Various flame spread phenomena are observed, including (1) flame spread without fuel burnout, (2) flame spread with fuel burnout, and (3) self-extinction. The flame tends to self-extinguish on wood, as the sample thickness increases or the flame spread changes from upward to downward. Minimum flame spread rate is found to be ∼0.03 cm/s for the upward flame spread, below which self-extinction occurs. Without external radiation, the self-extinction limit in terms of the maximum wood sample thickness for upward flame spread on one surface is quantified to be about 7.5 mm. As the irradiation increases, self-extinction becomes more difficult, because of the enhanced heating in both preheating and burning regions. For irradiation larger than 15 kW/m², the surface flame spread significantly increases and gradually transitions from the surface ignition process to the gas-phase flame propagation, so self-extinction no longer occurs. This work quantifies the self-extinction limits of wood flame spread as a function of sample thickness, irradiation, and spread orientation, which helps to improve fire resilience for future timber buildings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50445,"journal":{"name":"Fire Safety Journal","volume":"156 ","pages":"Article 104437"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}