Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Multiple Item Transient Combustion Calorimetry (TCC) Project
Research Overview
Experiments were conducted to determine the relationship between the peak heat release rate (HRR) and the number of multiple combustible items. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) collaborated on a set of experiments to measure the (HRR) of transient combustibles. These are items one might find in industrial spaces on a temporary basis, in particular nuclear power plants. For example, during maintenance work, items such as trash bins, pallets, cardboard boxes, and so on, might remain in an area for a limited time period. These items are typically not accounted for when designing the fire protection system, but they are considered as part of a probabilistic risk analysis (PRA). A key parameter in such an analysis is the maximum heat release rate an item can generate if it accidentally catches fire, and the time to reach that peak following ignition.
| Experiment Name | Plot of Heat Release Rate | Ignition Photo | Date/Time Sort descending | Specimen | Fuel Type | Test Duration (min) | Total Heat Released (MJ) | Peak HRR (kW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGQC_6m_20kgs_3MW | 
|
|
tube gas burner | Natural Gas | 25.95
|
2,372
|
3,094
|
|
| Test1_1box_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 22.42
|
116.3
|
328
|
|
| Test2_2box_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 31.37
|
236
|
481
|
|
| Test3_4box_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 44.22
|
479
|
944
|
|
| Test4_8box_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 49.32
|
979
|
2,581
|
|
| Test5_2Pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and paper | Cellulose | 39.52
|
502
|
934
|
|
| Test6_4Pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and paper | Cellulose | 39.23
|
1,073
|
1,801
|
|
| Test7_4Pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and paper | Cellulose | 49.73
|
1,092
|
2,049
|
|
| Test8_8Pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and paper | Cellulose | 53.47
|
2,229
|
4,174
|
|
| Test9_8Pallet_r1b | 
|
|
wood pallets and paper | Cellulose | 54.85
|
2,186
|
3,141
|
|
| Test10_1boxRags_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with cotton rags | Cellulose | 46.07
|
61.9
|
113.9
|
|
| Test11_4boxRags_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with cotton rags | Cellulose | 61.77
|
250
|
345
|
|
| Test12_4boxRags_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with cotton rags | Cellulose | 56.67
|
246
|
342
|
|
| Test13_woodCrib_r1 | 
|
|
wood cribs | Cellulose | 55.73
|
597
|
396
|
|
| Test14_2woodCrib_r1 | 
|
|
wood cribs | Cellulose | 61.68
|
1,263
|
907
|
|
| Test15_4woodCrib_r1 | 
|
|
wood cribs | Cellulose | 79.17
|
2,523
|
1,402
|
|
| Test16_8woodCrib_r1 | 
|
|
wood cribs | Cellulose | 115.43
|
5,120
|
2,301
|
|
| Test17_Trashcan_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcans filled with paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 56.27
|
131
|
159
|
|
| Test18_2Trashcan_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcans filled with paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 48.08
|
257
|
445
|
|
| Test19_4Trashcan_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcans filled with paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 68.97
|
512
|
587
|
|
| Test20_4Trashcan2pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and plastic trashcans with paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 38.77
|
1,028
|
2,319
|
|
| Test21_8box2pallet_r1 | 
|
|
wood pallets and cardboard boxes with paper | Cellulose | 48.95
|
1,506
|
3,240
|
|
| Test22_1tarp_r1 | 
|
|
plastic tarp | Plastic | 16.93
|
4.0
|
12.0
|
|
| Test22_1tarp_r2 | 
|
|
plastic tarp | Plastic | 23.65
|
below detection limit
|
10.5
|
|
| Test24_2tarp_r1 | 
|
|
plastic tarp | Plastic | 20.68
|
8.3
|
15.8
|
|
| Test25_1plasticCommodity_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with polystyrene cups | Cellulose, Polystyrene | 17.12
|
174
|
619
|
|
| Test26_2plasticCommodity_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with polystyrene cups | Cellulose, Polystyrene | 22.75
|
355
|
888
|
|
| Test27_4plasticCommodity_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with polystyrene cups | Cellulose, Polystyrene | 33.13
|
700
|
1,430
|
|
| Test28_8plasticCommodity_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with polystyrene cups | Cellulose, Polystyrene | 34.07
|
1,438
|
2,826
|
|
| Test29_1trashCanRagsPaper_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcan filled with cotton rags and paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 51.27
|
190
|
225
|
|
| Test30_2trashCanRagsPaper_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcan filled with cotton rags and paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 61.08
|
370
|
462
|
|
| Test31_4trashCanRagsPaper_r1 | 
|
|
plastic trashcan filled with cotton rags and paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 70.55
|
772
|
972
|
|
| Test32_box_r2 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 51.85
|
103.6
|
132.6
|
|
| Test33_2box_r2 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 47.45
|
223
|
267
|
|
| Test34_4box_r2 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 72.87
|
442
|
288
|
|
| Test35_8boxRags_r1 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with cotton rags | Cellulose | 77.60
|
433
|
290
|
|
| Test36_2Trashcan_r2 | 
|
|
plastic trashcan with crinkle paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 56.65
|
253
|
409
|
|
| Test37_4box_R3 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 34.95
|
459
|
930
|
|
| Test38_4box_R4 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with paper | Cellulose | 35.37
|
471
|
1,964
|
|
| Test39_4trashcan_R2 | 
|
|
trashcans filled with paper | Cellulose, Plastic | 55.08
|
453
|
705
|
|
| Test40_4Commodity_R2 | 
|
|
cardboard boxes filled with polystyrene cups | Cellulose, Polystyrene | 26.37
|
710
|
2,071
|
Bryant, R. and Bundy, M. The NIST 20 MW Calorimetry Measurement System for Large-Fire Research, Technical Note (NIST TN) 2077, 2019
https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2077
NIST Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)
https://doi.org/10.18434/mds2-2314