Fire dynamics & science

News and Updates

New Fire-Simulating Tool Could Improve In-Flight Fire Safety

March 24, 2021

Some of the most dangerous fires are the ones you don’t see coming. That goes not only for fires in buildings but for those kilometers off the ground, aboard

NIST Conducts Full-Scale Experiments to Demonstrate Flammability Risk of Residential Upholstered Furniture (RUF) and Potential Mitigation Strategies

March 12, 2020

The NIST Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) is conducting a series of full-scale fire experiments in collaboration with the National Fire Research Laboratory

The Ninth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research Conference

October 29, 2019

Two members of the NIST Flammability Reduction group recently attended the Ninth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research Conference, which was

Publications

Fire Hazards of Dry Versus Watered Christmas Trees

December 15, 2020

Author(s)

Matthew S. Hoehler, Matthew F. Bundy, Laurean A. DeLauter, Robin L. Materese, Leon Gerskovic, Jose R. Garcia

These experiments were designed to examine the difference in fire hazard between a dry Christmas tree and a watered Christmas tree for fire safety awareness

Experimental Study of the Effect of Ambient Pressure on Oscillating Behavior of Pool Fires

December 4, 2020

Author(s)

Jian Chen, Wai Cheong Tam, Wei Tang, Chao Zhang, Changhai Li, Shouxiang Lu

Pool fires are known to exhibit self-sustained oscillatory behavior, which plays an important role in the understanding of flame and fire spreading. To

Effect of Pressure on the Heat Transfer of Pool Fire in a Closed Chamber

June 15, 2020

Author(s)

Jian Chen, Yubo Bi, Yanli Zhao, Wai Cheong Tam, Changhai Li, Shouxiang Lu

A combined analytical and experimental study was performed to determine the effect of pressure on the heat transfer of pool fire in a closed chamber. A series

Large-Scale Structure-Fire Interaction: National Fire Research Laboratory Commissioning Test, Experiment and Modeling

June 1, 2020

Author(s)

Randall J. McDermott, Glenn P. Forney, Matthew S. Hoehler, Matthew F. Bundy, Lisa Y. Choe, Chao Zhang

The photograph on the left shows a large-scale experiment studying the interaction between fire and mechanically- loaded building elements performed during the

Tools and Instruments

Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)

The National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL) operates calorimeters to measure the heat and combustion products for fires in the range of 50 kW to 20,000 kW