William D. Walton

Zone Computer Fire Models for Enclosures

Understanding the behavior of fire in compartments is of interest to the fire protection engineer for both fire safety design and postfire reconstruction. Such understanding may be obtained by examining experimental fires (full or reduced scale) or by fire models using mathematical techniques to represent the processes encountered in compartment fires by interrelated expressions based on physics and chemistry. The two major classes of fire models for analyzing enclosure fire development are stochastic and deterministic.

ASET-B: A room fire program for personal computers

ASET-B, a personal computer program for predicting the fire environment in a single room, is presented. ASET-B solves the same differential equations as the previously developed computer program, ASET (Available Safe Egress Time), using a simpler numerical technique. ASET-B requires as input the height and area of the room, the elevation of the fire above the floor, a heat loss factor, and a fire specified in terms of heat release rate. The program predicts the thickness and the temperature of the hot smoke layer as a function of time. ASET-B is written in BASIC and is not subject to copyright. This paper describes the program and its use. Included are a listing of the program, program variable name listing and a sample run. A discussion of user modifications also is given.

Estimating Temperatures in Compartment Fires

The ability to predict temperatures developed in compartment fires is of great significance to the fire protection professional for protection of human life and property. There are many uses for a knowledge of compartment fire temperatures, including the prediction of (1) the onset of hazardous conditions, (2) property and structural damage, (3) changes in burning rate, pyrolysis rate and heat (energy) release rate, (4) ignition of objects,(5) the onset of flashover and so on.

Cook County Administration Building Fire, 69 West Washington, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 2003: Heat Release Rate Experiments and FDS Simulations

On October 17, 2003, in the Cook County Administration Building, 69 West Washington, Chicago, Illinois, a fire resulted in six fatalities and several injuries. In response to a request from the Governor of Illinois, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) agreed to provide technical assistance to the Governor’s review team headed by James Lee Witt. NIST’s focus was the simulation of the fire using the Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) and visualizations using Smokeview to provide insight into the fire growth and smoke movement. A team from NIST visited the fire scene to collect data for the model including; building dimensions, floor plan, door and window locations, materials of construction and furnishing, and fuels. In addition, information collected by the Governor’s team on fire service operations and building systems was used to develop the fire timeline. The NIST team also documented the fire damage in order to compare fire model predictions with the observed physical damage. Exemplar interior finish materials and furnishings from the fire floor, but undamaged by flames, were obtained for use in laboratory scale heat release rate experiments. Laboratory scale data for rate of heat release was necessary for the fire model input and comparison to fire model results. This report documents the furnishings, the experiments conducted, and the results of those experiments. This report also explains the development of a computational simulation and the result of those simulations. The NIST simulation started with a small, flaming fire in the storage room and ended with the start of fire suppression activities by the fire department, 16 min 30 s later. The FDS simulations provide insight into the fire development in Suite 1240. The simulations examine the impact of the spread of smoke into the southeast stairway with and without a functioning smoke exhaust shaft. Another simulation examined the impact of automatic fire suppression sprinklers. The FDS simulation suggested that had automatic sprinklers been present in the storage room where the fire is believed to have originated, they would have controlled the fire and limited the fire spread to the room of fire origin.

Status of Fire Boom Performance Testing

Abstract Most response plans for in situ burning of oil at sea call for the use of a fire-resistant boom to contain the oil during a burn. Presently, there is no standard method for the user of a fire-resistant boom to evaluate the anticipated performance of different booms. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F-20 Committee has developed a draft Standard Guide for In Situ Burning of Oil Spills On Water: Fire-Resistant Containment Boom; however, the draft provides only general guidelines and does not specify the details of the test procedure. Significant advances have been made in the past three years in implementing the guidelines in the draft standard. Two series of tests, one using diesel fuel and one using propane, have been conducted to evaluate the protocol for testing the ability of fire-resistant booms to withstand both fire and waves. A brief description and comparison of these tests is presented along with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the use of each fuel and some issues identified in the tests.

SMOKE PLUMES FROM IN-SITU BURNING OF CRUDE OIL

ABSTRACT Several regions in the United States have begun the process of obtaining preapproval to use in-situ burning as a remediation method for oil spills. The Building and Fire Research Laborator...

Fire research needs workshop proceedings: : Emmitsburg, Maryland, October 20, 1999

A 2000-CHARACTER OR LESS FACTUAL SUMMARY OF MOST SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION. IF DOCUMENT INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT BIBLIOGRAPHY OR LITERATURE SURVEY, CITE IT HERE. SPELL OUT ACRONYMS ON FIRST REFERENCE.) (CONTINUE ON SEPARATE PAGE, IF NECESSARY.) As part of an ongoing effort to update and sharpen the National Fire Research Agenda, the U.S. Fire Administration in cooperation with the Building and Fire Research Laboratory, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology held two workshops to obtain input from the fire community. The first focused on the needs of the fire service and was held October 13-15, 1999, in San Antonio, Texas. The proceedings of that workshop are contained in NISTIR 6538. The second workshop was held October 20, 1999, in Emmitsburg, Maryland and focused on the needs of the fire protection community beyond the fire service. Representatives of professional organizations, trade associations, and building code organizations were invited to present their research needs. The recommendations of the workshop participants have been separated into 5 categories: design, fire protection systems, fire models, fire service and general recommendations. The attendees identified 17 needs which the editors of this report have recorded.

The user's view of computer hardware and software☆

The use of computers is becoming increasingly important in the solution of fire protection engineering problems. To take full advantage of the power of the computer, it is necessary to have a general understanding of computer capabilities and limitations. This paper provides a brief introduction to computer terminology, capabilities, and programming languages. It also presents a discussion of program transfer, a topic of increasing interest as programs are shared within the fire protection community.

Fire testing of solar collectors by ASTM E 108

A study was undertaken to investigate the use of ASTM E 108 (NFPA 256, UL 790), Fire Tests of Roof Coverings, for testing roofmounted solar energy collectors. Data are presented showing the results of the testing conducted. An evaluation of the testing procedures as they apply to roof-mounted solar collectors is given.