Comparison of CFAST Predictions to Real Scale Fire Tests

Published

October 15, 1996

Author(s)

Walter W. Jones, J. L. Bailey, P. A. Tatem, Glenn P. Forney

Abstract

This paper describes a new algorithm of the Consolidated Fire Growth and Smoke Transport (CFAST) fire model and compares to data from real scale fire tests conducted onboard the ex-USS SHADWELL, the Navy's R&D Damage Control Platform. The new phenomenon modeled in this work is the conduction of heat in the vertical direction. The SHADWELL tests chosen for validation purposes were part of the Internal Ship Conflagration Control (ISCC) program. The work focusses on the four compartments of the ship which were vertically aligned. The temperatures of three of the compartments and the decks between them were compared with model predictions. Predictions compared very closely with experimental results for all compartments, although the temperature rise in the topmost compartment was barely above ambient.

Proceedings Title

Fire Safety Conference on Performance Based Concepts

Conference Dates

October 15-17, 1996

Conference Location

Zurich,

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

fire safety, fire codes, building codes, standards, fire tests, computer models, fire behavior, fire models, zone models, equations, predictive models, experiments, instruments

Citation

Jones, W. , Bailey, J. , Tatem, P. and Forney, G. (1996), Comparison of CFAST Predictions to Real Scale Fire Tests, Fire Safety Conference on Performance Based Concepts, Zurich, , [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=912475 (Accessed October 22, 2025)