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.
Summary
This project encompasses real-scale experiments to provide technical data to advance the design of structures under realistic fire conditions, validate physics-based computational models to predict the performance of structures exposed to fire, and evaluate new metrology techniques to assess structural response during a fire.
Description
Objective
To conduct large-scale fire experiments that provide the data needed to support the development of validated computational tools for the cost-effective engineering design of fire resistant structures.
Technical Idea
NIST’s National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL) provides the unique capability to measure the performance of real-scale structural systems to simulate real-fire conditions. Data resulting from experiments conducted in the NFRL clarify the fire behavior of structures and validate computational models that predict the system-level fire performance of structures.
The fire behavior of structures is dependent on the thermal insult. Large-scale fire experiments conducted as part of this project provide data expand the Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD) for use by practicing Fire Protection Engineers and researchers developing models of fire spread and growth.
Research Plan
This work focuses on developing and testing the performance of structural systems under fire and mechanical loads. It includes conducting experiments to simulate real-world conditions, such as testing composite floor systems and cold-formed steel structures experiencing realistic fire exposures. Key tasks involve creating repeatable fire conditions, conducting detailed experiments to measure structural behavior, and developing standardized testing protocols to ensure consistency across different studies. The project aims to enable performance based engineering design of structures by understanding how they perform under fire conditions, as well as to improve the resilience of buildings, and reduce construction costs.
Major Accomplishments
- Using the unique capabilities of the NFRL, NIST researchers have gathered data on important new building materials and structures exposed to real fires.
- Experiments that have helped us understand how fire weakens structures and causes them to fail, leading to recommendations on how to make buildings safer during fires.
- Results from the experiments have promoted U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, advancing changes to building codes in North America and enabling cost-effective fire protection engineering design.