Towards a simplified fire dynamic simulator model to analyse fire spread between multiple informal settlement dwellings based on full‐scale experiments

The technical parameters adjustment of smoke control system in a complicated underground commercial zone is studied by numerical simulations. An underground fire model (it encloses a hotel, a supermarket, and a net bar) and five typical fire scenarios are designed. The Fire Dynamic Simulator code is used to investigate the characteristics of fire spread and smoke movement, and obtain the available safety egress times in different fire scenarios. The required safety egress time is calculated based on the data of actual simulation exercises and numerical simulation by Building EXODUS. The simulation results show that, when the smoke exhaust rate is 5.56 cubic meter per second and air low rate reaches 3.89 cubic meter per second simultaneously, the available safety egress time is more than the required safety egress time.

Download Full-text

MODELLING OF FIRE IN AN OPEN CAR PARK

Applications of Structural Fire Engineering ◽

10.14311/asfe.2015.060 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Timea Márton ◽

Anne Dederichs ◽

Luisa Giuliani

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

High Temperatures ◽

Fire Spread ◽

Current Paper ◽

Spread Rate ◽

Dynamic Simulator ◽

Car Park ◽

Fire Dynamic Simulator ◽

Fire Accidents

Steel car parks exhibit high vulnerability to fire, as a consequence of the degradation of the steel mechanical properties at high temperatures and of the combustible type and amount. Real fire accidents in open car parks demonstrated a much faster and extended fire spread than predictions, assuming that a fire spread rate of 12 min and consider at most 3-4 vehicles on fire at the same time. Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) is applied in this current paper to study fire spread between cars. The outcomes of the investigations show that the fire spread is strongly influenced by the geometrical layout and that the distance between cars plays a determinant role on the fire spread rate and ignition of adjacent cars. In particular it was found that the fire spread can be faster than 12 minutes in the case of the cars parked 40 and 60 cm from each other.

Download Full-text

Towards the Development of a Probabilistic Approach to Informal Settlement Fire Spread Using Ignition Modelling and Spatial Metrics

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3040067 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 67

Author(s):

Antonio Cicione ◽

Lesley Gibson ◽

Colleen Wade ◽

Michael Spearpoint ◽

Richard Walls ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Informal Settlement ◽

Current Model ◽

Probabilistic Approach ◽

Fire Spread ◽

Full Scale ◽

Spread Rate ◽

Spatial Metrics ◽

Wind Speeds ◽

Fire Scenarios ◽

Potential Applications

Large conflagrations of informal settlements occur regularly, leaving thousands of people homeless daily and taking tens of thousands of lives annually. Over the past few years, a large amount of data has been collected from a number of full-scale informal settlement fire experiments. This paper uses that data with a semi-probabilistic fire model previously proposed by the authors, to illustrate the potential applications of the fire spread method proposed. The current model is benchmarked against a 20-dwelling full-scale informal settlement fire experiment, and the effects of the (a) ignition criteria, (b) wind direction, and (c) wind speeds on the predicted fire spread rates are investigated through the use of a parametric study. Colour maps of the fire spread rates and patterns are then used to visually interpret the effects of different types of fire scenarios and fire breaks. Finally, the fire spread capability within B-RISK is used to derive a linear equation for the potential fire spread rate as a function of the settlement spatial metrics (e.g., density and distance to nearest neighbour). To further illustrate the potential application of this work, the fire spread rate equation is then applied across the whole of Cape Town, South Africa, to show the 10 informal settlement areas most at “risk” of large conflagrations.

Download Full-text

Corrigendum to “Experimental study of fire spread between multiple full scale informal settlement dwellings” [Fire Saf. J. 105 (2019) 19–27]

Fire Safety Journal ◽

10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.102962 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 113 ◽

pp. 102962

Author(s):

Antonio Cicione ◽

Richard S. Walls ◽

Charles Kahanji

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Fire Spread ◽

Full Scale

Download Full-text

Experimental study of fire spread between multiple full scale informal settlement dwellings

Fire Safety Journal ◽

10.1016/j.firesaf.2019.02.001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 105 ◽

pp. 19-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Antonio Cicione ◽

Richard S. Walls ◽

Charles Kahanji

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Fire Spread ◽

Full Scale

Download Full-text

Determination of Critical Separation Distance Between Dwellings in Informal Settlements Fire

Fire Technology ◽

10.1007/s10694-020-01075-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yu Wang ◽

Lesley Gibson ◽

Mohamed Beshir ◽

David Rush

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Fire Risk ◽

Fire Spread ◽

Separation Distance ◽

Flame Length ◽

Critical Distance ◽

Fire Disaster ◽

Critical Separation

AbstractApproximately one billion people across the globe are living in informal settlements with a large potential fire risk. Due to the high dwelling density, a single informal settlement dwelling fire may result in a very serious fire disaster leaving thousands of people homeless. In this work, a simple physics-based theoretical model was employed to assess the critical fire separation distance between dwellings. The heat flux and ejected flame length were obtained from a full-scale dwelling tests with ISO 9705 dimension (3.6 m × 2.4 m × 2.4 m) to estimate the radiation decay coefficient of the radiation heat flux away from the open door. The ignition potential of combustible materials in adjacent dwellings are analyzed based on the critical heat flux from cone calorimeter tests. To verify the critical distance in real informal settlement fire, a parallel method using aerial photography within geographic information systems (GIS), was employed to determine the critical separation distances in four real informal settlement fires of 2014–2015 in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa. The fire-spread distances were obtained as well through the real fires. The probabilistic analysis was conducted by Weibull distribution and logistic regression, and the corresponding separation distances were given with different fire spread probabilities. From the experiments with the assumption of no interventions and open doors and windows, it was established that the heat flux would decay from around 36 kW/m2 within a distance of 1.0 m to a value smaller than 5 kW/m2 at a distance of 4.0 m. Both experiments and GIS results agree well and suggest the ignition probabilities at distances of 1.0 m, 2.0 m and 3.0 m are 97%, 52% and 5% respectively. While wind is not explicitly considered in the work, it is implicit within the GIS analyses of fire spread risk, therefore, it is reasonable to say that there is a relatively low fire spread risk at distances greater than 3 m. The distance of 1.0 m in GIS is verified to well and conservatively predict the fire spread risk in the informal settlements.

Download Full-text

Effects of Exit Vent Location on Fire Room Conditions During PPV

Heat Transfer: Volume 3 ◽

10.1115/ht2008-56456 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Colin M. Beal ◽

Ofodike A. Ezekoye

Keyword(s):

Positive Pressure ◽

Computational Simulations ◽

Cold Flow ◽

Flow Simulations ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Experimental Compartment ◽

Dynamic Simulator ◽

Fire Dynamic Simulator ◽

Hot Products ◽

Vent Location

Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) is a widely used fire fighting tactic in which a fan is used to push hot products of fire out of a burning structure. There is a recent body of research that has been conducted regarding the advantages and disadvantages of PPV. Studies of PPV most commonly use full scale experimental fires and/or computational simulations to evaluate its effectiveness. This paper presents computational simulations that have been conducted using Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) version 5 to evaluate the effects of exit vent location on resulting fire room conditions during the application of PPV to a ventilation constrained fire. The simulations use a simple one room structure with an adjacent hallway. We are simulating this geometry because we are in the process of designing and constructing a similar experimental compartment. Cold flow simulations are first conducted to understand how much the presence of the fire heat release affects the flow patterns. Then, two simulations which employ PPV with different exit vent locations are compared. The differences between the two simulations are detailed and a physical explanation for the differences is presented.

Download Full-text

ANALYSIS OF HEAT RELEASE RATE IN ENGINE ROOM FIRES OF 300 GT FERRY RO-RO PASSENGER BY USING WATER MIST SYSTEM AND CO2 SYSTEM

Majalah ilmiah Pengkajian Industri ◽

10.29122/mipi.v15i2.4878 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Wira Setiawan ◽

Distyan Kotanjungan

Keyword(s):

Heat Release ◽

Heat Release Rate ◽

Release Rate ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Water Mist ◽

Engine Room ◽

Passenger Ships ◽

Dynamic Simulator ◽

Fire Dynamic Simulator ◽

Suppression System

Based on statistical data in recent years, there are still quite a number of ship accidents due to fires, including on passenger ships. The water mist system is a fire suppression system that allows it to be used in the engine room with the advantage that it can keep the heat production rate low during the extinguishing process and can be operated earlier than the CO2 system. The research is conducted by using fire dynamic simulator in the engine room of a 300 GT ferry ro-ro passenger to compare the heat release rate of fire without an extinguishing system, an existing CO2 system, and a water mist system. The result shows that the CO2 fire suppression system reduces the heat release rate more rapidly to the decay phase at 375 seconds while the water mist takes more than 900 seconds. However, the fully developed phase of the water mist suppression system occurs more quickly than CO2 because the sprinklers are activated shortly after a fire occurs. Unlike water mist, the CO2 system is activated at 60 seconds so that the pre-combustion, growth, flashover, and fully developed phases are at the same HRR and time as the natural one.

Download Full-text