Enhancement of Fire Safety of an Existing Green Building due to Natural Ventilation

Hong, Huang; Su, Chung Hwei; Li, Cheng Bang; Lin, Ching‐Yuan; Lin, Chun Chou

doi:10.3390/en9030192

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This fact illustrates the importance of applying energy-saving strategies in buildings' life cycle, from their construction to their disposal, in order to operate more efficiently [3][4][5][6][7]. Consequently, in recent years, there has been a renewed global interest in biomass energy sources as a substitute for petroleum-based resources and fossil fuels to meet the heating and cooling energy demands of buildings [8][9][10].…”

Section: The Challenge Of Biomass Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:There is considerable interest recently in by-products for application in green buildings. These materials are widely used as building envelope insulators or blocks. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to test stranded driftwood residues as raw material for possible thermo-acoustic insulation panel and environmentally sustainable brick. The thermal and acoustic characteristics of such a natural by-product were examined. Part of samples were mineralized by means of cement-based additive to reinforce the material and enhance its durability as well as fire resistance. Several mixtures with different sizes of ground wood chips and different quantities of cement were investigated. The thermo-acoustic in-lab characterization was aimed at investigating the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric specific heat, and acoustic transmission loss. All samples were tested before and after mineralization. Results from this study indicate that it is possible to use stranded driftwood residues as building materials with competitive thermo-acoustic properties. In fact, the thermal conductivity was shown to be always around 0.07 W/mK in the unbound samples, and around double that value for the mineralized samples, which present a much higher volumetric specific heat (1.6 MJ/m 3 K) and transmission loss capability. The lignin powder showed a sort of intermediate behavior between the unbound and the mineralized samples.

show abstract

Section: The Challenge Of Biomass Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Traditionally, a strongly prescriptive approach has been applied to the fire safety and protection requirements of many types of building profiles, such as power generating plant buildings, as contained within the standards applied [8]. Furthermore, given that a typical power plant arrangement consists of a variety of building profiles and their associated risks, a range of fire safety and protection systems may be found to cater to this variation in risk profiles [9,10]. However, such a highly prescriptive approach has often restricted advances in building design [11] and may not be appropriate for ever more complex arrangements as is being seen in the development of modern power station arrangements, and with the increasing range of fuels used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative Evaluation and Indicating Methodology for Sustainable Fire Safety in the Process Industry

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a mismatch between the desire to introduce greater levels of sustainability in engineering design and in the need to provide effective engineering solutions, particularly where issues of human safety and asset protection are involved. Sustainability engineering typically incorporates economic, environmental, and social factors, all of which are highly relevant and applicable to fire safety and the design of fire protection systems. The term fire strategy denotes a documented methodology to encapsulate a full range of such systems, within a single framework, for more complex risks such as those found in the process industry. The subject of fire safety is emotive and its application within building design may not change unless we refocus on a holistic and strategic approach, especially for complex building profiles. Fire is a recognized critical safety issue for most types of industrial plants. Due to the complexity of the processes, even a relatively small fire accident can lead to a chain of events that could be devastating, resulting in huge asset and continuity losses, damage to the local environment, and of course, the threat to life. More complex processes require a more flexible and relevant approach. The use of fire safety engineering and performance-based evaluation techniques, instead of prescriptive rules, continues to grow in prominence because of this. This is the case when specifying fire protection and safety for modern power generating plants. However, when it comes to critical infrastructure, such as is the case with power plants, it is sometimes not clear whether optimum fire safety engineering solutions have been applied. One of the ideas specifically developed for evaluating the most appropriate fire safety strategies and systems, especially for such infrastructure examples, is a method based upon the British Standard Specification PAS 911. This method is captured in a diagram and identifies eight main elements for fire safety and protection. The idea presented in this article is to allow assessment of a submitted actual fire strategy for a building or other form of infrastructure, against what has been predetermined as a standard baseline fire strategy for, in this case, a power plant building. The assessment makes use of a multi-level questionnaire, in this case specifically formulated for power plant fire safety needs. By comparing the actual fire strategy diagram against a baseline fire strategy, enforcement agencies, or other interested stakeholders, can recognize which fire safety factors play the most important part in the fire strategy, and determine whether proper levels of fire safety and protection have been applied. The fire strategy evaluation is realized by a team of engineers, which consists of independent fire strategist from a consultant office, internal fire and technical experts from the industrial plant, such as the person responsible for fire safety, person responsible for explosion safety, person responsible for housekeeping, and building manager. Additionally, there should be representatives of insurance companies and independent fire experts. Typically, the group consists of 7 to 12 people.

show abstract

“…Homes may also be involved in fires, and in several areas homes are traditionally made of wood based materials. While concrete dominated the home constructions for many years, the emerging focus on sustainability increases the popularity of wood constructions including sustainable safety measures [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Indoor Relative Humidity and Wood Moisture Content as a Proxy for Wooden Home Fire Risk

Log¹

2019

Sensors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Severe wooden home conflagrations have previously been linked to the combination of very dry indoor climate in inhabited buildings during winter time, resulting in rapid fire development and strong winds spreading the fire to neighboring structures. Knowledge about how ambient conditions increase the fire risk associated with dry indoor conditions is, however, lacking. In the present work, the moisture content of indoor wooden home wall panels was modeled based on ambient temperature and relative humidity recorded at meteorological stations as the climatic boundary conditions. The model comprises an air change rate based on ambient and indoor (22 °C) temperatures, indoor moisture sources and wood panel moisture sorption processes; it was tested on four selected homes in Norway during the winter of 2015/2016. The results were compared to values recorded by indoor relative humidity sensors in the homes, which ranged from naturally ventilated early 1900s homes to a modern home with balanced ventilation. The modeled indoor relative humidity levels during cold weather agreed well with recorded values to within 3% relative humidity (RH) root mean square deviation, and thus provided reliable information about expected wood panel moisture content. This information was used to assess historic single home fire risk represented by an estimated time to flashover during the studied period. Based on the modelling, it can be concluded that three days in Haugesund, Norway, in January 2016 were associated with very high conflagration risk due to dry indoor wooden materials and strong winds. In the future, the presented methodology may possibly be based on weather forecasts to predict increased conflagration risk a few days ahead. This could then enable proactive emergency responses for improved fire disaster risk management.

show abstract

Enhancement of Fire Safety of an Existing Green Building due to Natural Ventilation

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

An Alternative Evaluation and Indicating Methodology for Sustainable Fire Safety in the Process Industry

Modeling Indoor Relative Humidity and Wood Moisture Content as a Proxy for Wooden Home Fire Risk

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About