Numerical modelling of fire test with timber fire protection

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a complex pyrolysis computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of timber protection exposed to fire in a medium size enclosure. An emphasis is placed on rarely used temperature-dependent thermal material properties effecting the overall simulation outputs. Using the input dataset, a fire test model with oriented strand boards (OSB) in the room corner test facility is created in Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS).Design/methodology/approachSeven FDS models comprising different complexity approaches to modelling the burning of wood-based materials, from a simplified model of burning based on a prescribed heat release rate to complex pyrolysis models which can describe the fire spread, are presented. The models are validated by the experimental data measured during a fire test of OSB in the room corner test facility.FindingsThe use of complex pyrolysis approach is recommended in real-scale enclosure fire scenarios with timber as a supplementary heat source. However, extra attention should be paid to burning material thermal properties implementation. A commonly used constant specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity provided poor agreement with experimental data. When the fire spread is expected, simplified model results should be processed with great care and the user should be aware of possible significant errors.Originality/valueThis paper brings an innovative and rarely used complex pyrolysis CFD model approach to predict the behaviour of timber protection exposed to fire. A study on different temperature-dependent thermal material properties combined with multi-step pyrolysis in the room corner test scenario has not been sufficiently published and validated yet.

Case Study on Prediction of Temperature in Compartment Considering Fire Conditions in Buildings

Current fire resistance standards for major structural members of buildings require uniform fire resistance performance (in hours). However, buildings may be vulnerable to various local-fire conditions, depending on the industry or business, so it is necessary to examine their differences through simulations. In this study, the existing room corner test (KSF ISO 9705) and simulation results were compared to verify the reliability of the simulations. Next, the similarity of the results was identified. Simulations of actual buildings were performed based on local-fire conditions, and it was verified that the temperature varies by location. Based on the results, it is necessary to focus on performance-based fire resistance design rather than the specification-based design, which requires uniform fire resistance performance in hours. Simulation case studies should be conducted to reflect the diversity of the fire and structural member conditions.

Characteristics of Heat Release Rate Predictions of Fire by a Fire Dynamics Simulator for Solid Combustible Materials

The heat release rate (HRR) of fire for solid combustibles, consisting of multi-materials, was measured using the ISO 9705 room corner test, and a computational analysis was conducted to simulate the fire using an HRR prediction model that was provided by a fire dynamics simulator (FDS). As the solid combustible consisted of multi-materials, a cinema chair composed primarily of PU foam, PP, and steel was employed. The method for predicting the HRR provided by the FDS can be categorized into a simple model and a pyrolysis model. Because each model was applied and computational analysis was conducted under the same conditions, the HRR and fire growth rate predicted by the pyrolysis model had good agreement with the results obtained using the ISO 9705 room corner test.

Fire Growth in Standard Tests and Railcars

Large scale flammability performance of interior finish used on railcars has been evaluated in previous studies using the NFPA 286 room corner fire test, which has a cross-section similar to a railcar. In some studies, the wall containing the door was removed to account for the shorter length of the room compared to the railcar length. The focus of this study is to assess whether the NFPA 286 standard room-corner test with a door represents conditions that developed inside a railcar during a fire. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) was used to model the fire growth in a NFPA 286 standard room-corner test with a door, NFPA 286 room without the wall containing the door, and railcar geometry with a single door open. All three cases had the same exposure fire in a corner and the same lining material. In predictions of the NFPA 286 room-corner test with a door, gas temperature, heat release rate, and time to flashover agreed well with available NFPA 286 standard test data. The simulation results of fire growth inside a railcar with one side door open produced similar conditions and fire growth compared with the standard NFPA 286 room with a door. For simulations on the NFPA 286 room with the wall containing the door removed, it was found that removal of the wall with the door resulted in non-conservative fire growth conditions with the gas temperature and heat release rate under-estimated compared to the standard NFPA 286 room with a door. These simulations indicate that the standard NFPA 286 room-corner test with a door is representative of conditions that would develop inside of a railcar.