This report uses the term "fire-induced collapse" to indicate the failure of a structure, or significant portion of a structure, that could be attributable directly to a fire event in the building. In some cases, the building may have been under construction or in process of renovation, or it may have experienced significant damage prior to the fire caused by a blast, impact, or an earthquake. A subsequent report on the collapse of the WTC towers (NIST NCSTAR 1, September 2005) found that WTC 1 and WTC 2 collapsed due to aircraft impact damage to the structure and fireproofing as well as to fire. Both effects (damage and fire) were equally important. In the absence of structural and insulation damage, a fire substantially similar to or less intense than the fires encountered on September 11, 2001, likely would not have led to the collapse of a WTC tower. On the other hand, it was concluded in NIST NCSTAR 1A (October, 2008) that WTC 7 would have collapsed from fires having the same characteristics as those experienced on September 11, 2001, even without the initial structural damage to the building initiated by the collapse of WTC 1. The Building Performance Study conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA 403, May 2002) refers to the partial collapse of WTC 5 as "fire-induced." No analysis was conducted to determine the relative roles of the initial structural damage and the subsequent fires that led to the fate of WTC 5.
A thorough review was recently conducted to verify the correctness of equations being used to calculate heat release rate in standard test methods. The review incorporated 17 different standard test methods from American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Uniform Building Code (UBC), California Technical Bulletin (CA TB), International Standards Organization (ISO), and British Standards (BS). The standard test methods reviewed were ASTM D5424, ASTM D5537, ASTM E1354, ASTM E1537, ASTM E1590, ASTM E1623, ASTM E1822, NFPA 264, NFPA 265, NFPA 266, NFPA 267, CA TB 129, CA TB 133, UBC 8‐2, UBC 26‐8, ISO 5660, BS 476. Through this review, incorrect equations were found in 12 of the 17 standards with a total of 22 incorrect equations overall. The following paper provides the correct heat release rate equations and a summary of the review. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In standardized fire safety tests such as IMO Res. A 754 (18), ASTM E119, or ISO 834, the furnace temperature is controlled to a standard time-temperature curve [1,2]. The assumption is made that thermal exposure in these tests will be repeatable and can be described by the measured furnace temperature. The significant variations that occur in test results indicate this assumption is not well founded. Fire safety test results are influenced by both the temperature of the furnace and by heat transfer in the furnace. The heat transfer depends not only on the furnace temperature and how it is measured but also on the design of the furnace and the test unit. In developing engineering models of fire performance and performance-based codes, there is a need to understand both aspects of thermal exposure — temperature and heat transfer. To begin to address these problems, the U. S. Coast Guard's Research and Development Center authorized a study of furnace tests. The study documented important factors in current test methods that lead to large uncertainties in the fire safety test results. To attempt to understand and reduce these large uncertainties, the Coast Guard authorized the development of a Furnace Characterization Unit (FCU). The FCU was built, calibrated using a special electric heater at Sandia National Laboratories, and then used to characterize temperature and heat transfer in a large, gas-fired test furnace at Underwriters Laboratories. This paper reports the results of this multi-year effort.
A series of small-scale test-burn experiments were conducted at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in order to study variables which might affect the fire performance of plastic packages containing flammable liquids. The study demonstrated that manipulation of packaging variables could decrease the rate of fire growth as well as the peak rate of heat release by up to 70%. Critical variables were thermal insulation of bottles within the cartons, the material of construction and size of the bottles, and the use of flame retardant in the corrugated packaging. The research identified ways in which plastic bottles could be protected but made no attempt to optimize either methods or economics. Further experimental work as well as technical innovation in packaging design is needed.
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