Heat Analysis and Fire Prevention of Timber Buildings in Southwest China Based on Fractal and Seepage Theory

In traditional settlements in Southwest China, there are many timber historical buildings and residential buildings, which feature a low fire resistance rating. The preservation and inheritance of these timber buildings are mainly threatened by fire. However, the existing research has not explored the deep correlation between the spatial structure of settlements and fire. To make up for the gap, this paper aims to find the ideas and measures that effectively prevent the fire from occurring in timber buildings of traditional settlements in Southwest China, based on fractal and seepage theory. Firstly, the fractal features were extracted from the spatial structure of these settlements. Then, the authors identified the factors affecting the spread of fire in buildings, and analyzed the mechanism of fire propagation between the timber buildings of traditional settlements. On this basis, a fire prevention scheme was proposed, which integrates the “targeted control of overall structure” with “comprehensive synergy between multiple local elements”. The research results provide a reference for applying fractal and seepage theory in the fire prevention of other buildings with special structures.

An Experimental Study on Fire Resistance Performance of a Bended Type Cladding Column System

As buildings are growing higher and larger, more composite structures have been used. However, the steel member used for composite structure tends to rapidly lose its strength at elevated temperatures. For this reason, it is required to apply a fire resistance mechanism, but it is difficult to implement because of the cost and technical limitations in the case of fire-resistant paint. In case of fireproof spray coat, scattering phenomena, poor work conditions for wet application, and construction delay are the main challenges to be addressed. In this study, a full-scale fire resistance test of non-fire resistant cladding column was conducted in accordance with KS F 2257-7. According to the test results, the specimens CC-01, CC-02, and CC-03 failed to meet the requirements for a 3-hour fire resistance rating because of the joint deformation and less cover thickness, while CC-04, CC-05, and CC-06 with increased thickness and reinforced joints satisfied the requirements for a 3-hour fire resistance rating.

THE PROGRESS IN HYDROGEN SAFETY RESEARCH

This paper presents the progress in hydrogen safety research which includes some of studies carried out at HySAFER Centre of Ulster University during last two years 2016-2018. The results of four studies are presented: modeling and simulation of radiation from cryogenic underexpanded jet fires; improved fire test protocol for hydrogen storage composite vessels accounting for dependence of fire resistance rating on the burner heat release rate; validation of the pressure peaking phenomenon for unignited releases and jet fires; and modeling of hydrogen tank fuelling.

Development of advanced intumescent flame-retardant binder for fire rated timber door

Intumescent flame-retardant binder (IFRB) offers a great advancement for the most efficient utilization of a wide variety of passive fire safety system at the recent development. This article highlights the fire-resistance and thermal properties of the IFRB using Bunsen burner and thermogravimetric analysis. The five IFRB formulations were mixed with vermiculite and perlite for the fabrication of fire-resistant timber door prototypes. Additionally, the fire rated door prototypes were compared under 2 hours fire test. The prototype (P2), with a low density of 637 kg/m3 showed the superlative fire-resistance rating performance, resulting in temperature reduction by up to 58.9 °C, as compared with that of prototype (P1). Significantly, an innovative fire rated timber door prototype with the addition of formulating intumescent binder has verified to be effective in stopping fires and maintaining its integrity by surviving a fire resistance period of 2 hours.

Preparation of Intumescent Fire Protective Coating for Fire Rated Timber Door

Intumescent flame-retardant coating (IFRC) provides a protective barrier to heat and mass transfer for the most efficient utilization of a wide variety of passive fire protection systems at the recent development. This article highlights the fire-resistance, physical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the IFRC using a Bunsen burner, furnace, Scanning Electron Microscope, freeze-thaw stability test, Instron Micro Tester, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. The five IFRC formulations were mixed with vermiculite and perlite for the fabrication of fire-resistant timber door prototypes in this research project. Additionally, the best fire-resistance performance of the fire-rated door prototype was selected and compared with a commercial prototype under the fire endurance test. An inventive fire-rated door prototype (P2), with a low density of 636.45 kg/m3, showed an outstanding fire-resistance rating performance, resulting in temperature reduction by up to 54.9 °C, as compared with that of the commercial prototype. Significantly, a novel fire-rated timber door prototype with the addition of formulating intumescent coating has proven to be efficient in preventing fires and maintaining its integrity by surviving a fire resistance period of 2 h.

A scenario-based methodology for determining fire resistance ratings of irregular steel structures

This article investigates the response of irregular steel structures under natural fires. As the severity and duration of natural fires depend on many factors, a probabilistic-based approach known as two-level factorial design is used, whereby possible fire scenarios are considered based on the minimum and maximum values of the involved factors. Two seven-story regular steel structures with three span lengths of 5500 and 7000 mm are designed to meet a 2.0-hr fire resistance rating based on the ISO834 fire. Two types of irregularities, setback and soft story, are then imposed on the regular structures to make them irregular. The regular and irregular structures are then exposed to the fire scenarios (32 in total) to evaluate their fire resistance ratings. The results show that while the regular structures are able to meet the required fire resistance rating under all of the fire scenarios, this is not the case for the irregular structures. It is shown that the reduction in the fire resistance ratings of the setback and the soft-story structures can be as low as 45% and 33% that of the required fire resistance ratings, respectively. Also, the setback irregular structures tend to collapse laterally, hence endangering the safety of adjacent buildings. To address the above deficiencies, it is proposed here that the maximum surface temperature on the structural members should be limited to 415°C–460°C. Alternatively, providing a 20%–25% increase in the insulation thickness can provide the required safety margin as dictated by fire codes.