Fire Load Survey and Statistical Analysis

Thauvoye, Christophe; Zhao, Bin; Klein, Jochen; Fontana, Mario

doi:10.3801/iafss.fss.9-991

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…On the other hand, comparison of the office fire load density in EC1 with recent surveys shows that the fire load given in EC1 may be nonconservative compared to the data in survey. Results of the survey are approximately 40% higher [28] than EC1, and therefore, the 95% fractile is a reasonable fire load density for an office building [29].…”

Section: Characteristic Fire Load Densitymentioning

confidence: 89%

Probabilistic Study of the Resistance of a Simply-Supported Reinforced Concrete Slab According to Eurocode Parametric Fire

et al. 2018

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We present the application of a simple probabilistic methodology to determine the reliability of a structural element exposed to fire when designed following Eurocode 1-1-2 (EC1). Eurocodes are being used extensively within the European Union in the design of many buildings and structures. Here, the methodology is applied to a simply-supported, reinforced concrete slab 180 mm thick, with a standard load bearing fire resistance of 90 min. The slab is subjected to a fire in an office compartment of 420 m 2 floor area and 4 m height. Temperature time curves are produced using the EC1 parametric fire curve, which assumes uniform temperature and a uniform burning condition for the fire. Heat transfer calculations identify the plausible worst case scenarios in terms of maximum rebar temperature. We found that a ventilation-controlled fire with opening factor 0.02 m 1/2 results in a maximum rebar temperature of 448°C after 102 min of fire exposure. Sensitivity analyses to the main parameters in the EC1 fire curves and in the EC1 heat transfer calculations are performed using a one-at-a-time (OAT) method. The failure probability is then calculated for a series of input parameters using the Monte Carlo method. The results show that this slab has a 0.3% probability of failure when the compartment is designed with all layers of safety in place (detection and sprinkler systems, safe access route, and fire fighting devices are available). Unavailability of sprinkler systems results in a 1% probability of failure. When both sprinkler system and detection are not available in the building, the probability of failure is 8%. This novel study conducts for the first time a probabilistic calculation using the EC1 parametric curve, helping engineers to identify the most critical design fires and the probabilistic resistance assumed in EC1.

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Section: Characteristic Fire Load Densitymentioning

confidence: 89%

Probabilistic Study of the Resistance of a Simply-Supported Reinforced Concrete Slab According to Eurocode Parametric Fire

et al. 2018

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“…Using the inventory or direct weighing method alone has several disadvantages that may obstruct the progress of the survey and also negatively impact the survey results. This has resulted in the use of both methods for a number of surveys in the past [8][9][10][11][12]. This paper follows NFPA 557 [5] combination method in carrying out the fuel load surveys for CANDU nuclear plants.…”

Section: Combination Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The design fire depends on the total amount of fuel, its arrangement, distribution in the space, the geometry, and ventilation characteristics of the compartment of fire origin, all of which govern the intensity and duration of the fire. It is therefore important to identify, characterize, and quantify design fires for various buildings [1][2][3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Candu Fire Load Densities in Canadian Nuclear Plants

Shalabi

Hadjisophocleous

2019

CNL Nuclear Review

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A fuel survey was carried out at all operating CANDU reactors in Canada in 5 sites (Bruce A, Bruce B, Darlington, Pickering, and Point Lepreau). The survey used the National Fire Protection Association 557 combination method for the fire zones that contain fire safe shutdown analysis equipment. A fire zone group list for the sites was developed to combine fire zones with similar functions; 38 fire zone groups were produced from this exercise. The results of the survey show that the average fuel load density for all 1230 fire zones is 170.1 MJ/m2, and the average fuel load is 79 183 MJ. The maximum fuel load density is 1319 MJ/m2, and the maximum fuel load is 2 785 404 MJ. High-energy arcing faults risk was found in 254 fire zones out of the 1230 fire zones. Electric fault is the highest ignition source risk present in all 1230 fire zones.

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“…The b factor is limited between 100 and 2200 J/m 2 s 0.5 K. The time–temperature variations are determined based on different values of the characteristic fire load density ( q f , k ) (80% fractile). The 80% fractile is used here as per the code suggestion, although it has been shown in some surveys that this value might not always be a correct assumption (Thauvoye et al, 2008). The characteristic fire load density is dependent on the amount of combustible materials inside the compartments, which changes widely from about 120 MJ/m 2 to 1800 MJ/m 2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Behnam

2019

Advances in Structural Engineering

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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.

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Fire Load Survey and Statistical Analysis

Cited by 27 publications

References 6 publications

Probabilistic Study of the Resistance of a Simply-Supported Reinforced Concrete Slab According to Eurocode Parametric Fire

Probabilistic Study of the Resistance of a Simply-Supported Reinforced Concrete Slab According to Eurocode Parametric Fire

Candu Fire Load Densities in Canadian Nuclear Plants

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

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