Flammability and flame spread behavior of common fuels in Chinese historical buildings: An experimental research

Abstract

A feature of Chinese historical buildings is the preservation of many traditional customs, such as using candles and incense burners, and decorating the rooms with some textiles. Therefore, there are both many fire sources and combustible materials indoors, which puts a huge threat to fire safety. Although some researchers have experimentally studied the ignition and fire spread characteristics of several combustible materials, to better conduct fire risk assessment in historical buildings, the dynamic burning behaviour of common fuels should be further analysed. This paper carried out experimental investigations for flammability and fire spread behaviours of combustible materials usually used in Chinese historical buildings, which are made of both natural fibre and synthetics. Considering practical applications, the size of each sample is chosen from standard-testing size to real size. It is summarized that there are large deviations among different materials due to their ingredients, textures, structures, etc. The natural-based materials are easy to catch fire and burn up quickly, and some synthetics reveal sharp increase in heat release rate. For the synthetics, as it can melt during burning, the flame spread process is accompanied by dripping. Once there are some combustibles near it, the dripping part is liable to ignite the surroundings and cause damage to cultural relics. Based on these knowledges, fire hazards of different materials in Chinese historical buildings are evaluated.

Contemporary Fire Safety Engineering in Timber Structures: Challenges and Solutions

“…To better conduct a fire risk assessment in ancient structures, the dynamic burning behavior of common fuels was analyzed in the work of Hu et al [106]. Hu et al conducted experimental investigations for flammability and fire spread behaviors of combustible materials usually used in ancient Chinese structures made of natural fiber and synthetics.…”

“…Considering practical applications, the size of each sample was chosen from the standardtesting size to the actual extent. Naturally based materials easily ignite and burn quickly, and some synthetics reveal a sharp increase in the heat release rate [106]. Scholars have also researched the spread of fires in ancient timber structure complexes.…”

Smoldering ignition and emission dynamics of wood under low irradiation

“…For instance, a recent fire in Shuri Castle severely destroyed the wooden structure of this UNESCO World Heritage site in Okinawa, Japan (Figure 1C). Despite many advanced fire preventive measures, [7][8][9] the fire accidents of wooden structures have continuously raised their fire safety to be a public concern. Therefore, it is critical to understand the fire dynamics of wood to guide the fire safety design and optimize the emergency response.…”