Analysis of High Bay Hangar Facilities for Detector Sensitivity and Placement

Published

May 20, 1996

Author(s)

Kathy A. Notarianni, J E. Gott

Abstract

Existing building and fire codes in the United States offer little or no guidance in the design of fire protection systems in high bay spaces due to the lack of scientific data. Timely detection of a fire is more difficult in large spaces due to the distance heat and other products of combustion must travel to sprinklers or detectors. Possible stratification poses an additional challenge in selecting the optimal location of detectors. The focus of this paper is on the full-scale experiments conducted by NAVFAC and NIST which were designed to assist the Navy in reevaluating its criteria for the protection of high bay aircraft hangars. Previous studies conducted in 15 m and 30.5 m hangars used isopropyl alcohol, involved only one fire size, and were conducted with the hangar doors only in the closed position. The NAVFAC/NIST experiments included numerous fire sizes, aviation fuels, and both open and closed doors. Also participating in these experiments were five fire protection industry sponsors representing the fire alarm and automatic sprinkler industries, representatives from each branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, and representatives from select NFPA technical committees.

Proceedings Title

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). Honors Lecture Series. Proceedings. May 20, 1996. Engineering Seminars: Fire Protection Design for High Challenge or Special Hazard Applications. Proceedings

Conference Dates

May 20-22, 1996

Conference Location

Boston, MA

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

fire protection engineering, fire protection, hangars, aircraft fuels, heat release, large scale fire tests, flame detectors, sprinklers, fire research, draft curtain, optical flame detectors

Citation

Notarianni, K. and Gott, J. (1996), Analysis of High Bay Hangar Facilities for Detector Sensitivity and Placement, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). Honors Lecture Series. Proceedings. May 20, 1996. Engineering Seminars: Fire Protection Design for High Challenge or Special Hazard Applications. Proceedings, Boston, MA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=916649 (Accessed April 27, 2026)

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