Christian Knaust

Full Scale Investigations of Fast Spreading Room Fires

Abstract Fires in homes develop very fast nowadays, because the amount of combustible materials in furniture and electrical devices has increased significantly in recent years. Especially fires in childrens rooms can be very hazardous as several recent fires in Germany showed. To investigate the fire and smoke development in such a fire the test room was furnished like a typical childrens room and equipped with 36 thermocouples and a pressure measurement device. Also smoke detectors were installed. The fire was ignited by a small candle which was in contact with a mattress only for one second. Flashover occurred only after 4 minutes. The fire load and the fire and smoke development were investigated. The fire safety regulations for the furnishings, electrical devices and toys were discussed. Additionally the temperature rise in the compartment was predicted according to the method of McCaffrey.

Experimental investigations of the combustion efficiency for fire load calculations

Abstract The amount of heat, which is released by fire loads during the combustion process, depends on the material characteristics, the ventilation conditions, the storage density and the distribution. To evaluate the structural stability of buildings in case of fire, the fire load has to be quantified. In Germany, the fire load is quantified by using the combustion factor m, while internationally the combustion efficiency χ is applied. Both factors assess the burning behavior of materials, but the determination is carried out in different ways. Since the testing facility was abolished fifteen years ago, it is not possible to determine the combustion factor m anymore. So, it should be found out, if the combustion efficiency χ is a convenient method to quantify the fire load under the consideration of the German standards. As a part of the research, combustion efficiencies χ were determined for eight materials in the cone calorimeter and the single burning item test at different heat fluxes. The values of the combustion efficiencies χ as well as the corresponding combustion factors m were discussed and compared to the values of the literature. The results show an influence of the testing facility on the combustion efficiency. The values of the combustion efficiency determined in the single burning item test were higher than the values from the cone calorimeter.

Approaches towards a generic methodology for storage of hazardous energy carriers and waste products

Energy carriers – either conventional or ‘new’ ones – have to be provided in large amounts to meet the requirements of permanent availability and reliable supply of electricity. Depending on their state of aggregation, energy carriers are either stored in large masses (if solid or liquid) or at elevated pressures (if gaseous). Both impose the hazard of large-scale fire, in the latter case additionally the danger of explosion or unintended release. Very similar hazards occur for wastes. Solid wastes are present in large masses and only a small part is recycled. Most of the solid wastes are used in energy conversion. The main gaseous waste is CO2. During capturing also the hazard of unintended release exists. In this article, existing approaches for safe storage and fire prevention are discussed and a generic methodology is outlined. This methodology consists of the following steps: • gaining knowledge about the behaviour of the material stored (reactivity, thermal stability, etc.), • assessing the environmental conditions for the storage site (neighbourhood, safety distances, etc.), • assessment of prospective consequences of an incident and • development of individual loss prevention conceptions. All steps require both experimental testing and theoretical considerations about accident scenarios as integral parts of the methodology.