Simulating the Effect of Flat Beamed Ceiling on Detector and Sprinkler Response

Published

November 6, 1994

Author(s)

Glenn P. Forney, Richard W. Bukowski, William D. Davis

Abstract

This paper documents a portion of the work performed during the first year of the International Fire Detection Research Project sponsored by the National Fire Protection Research Foundation (NFPRF). The first task was to confirm that fire sensor response can be evaluated using computational data obtained from numerical simulations. A field model was verified for this application by showing that its temperature predictions match experimental results obtained earlier by Heskestad and Delichatsios. This paper concentrates on the second task which was to perform a parameter study to show the effect of sensor response under beamed ceilings for various geometries and fire sizes. One question that is addressed is under what conditions can sensors be located on beams rather than in beam pockets. Time to sensor activation contour plots are presented that address this question. Twenty cases were run for various fire sizes, beam depths, beam spacings and ceiling heights. These data are summarized and recommendations are made on placing sensors in rooms with beamed ceilings.

Proceedings Title

American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Fire, Combustion, and Hazardous Waste Processing.

Conference Dates

November 6-11, 1994

Conference Location

Chicago, IL

Conference Title

HTD-Vol. 296

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

combustion, hazardous materials, waste disposal, beams, detector location, detector response, fire simulation, fluid flow, smoke detection, ceilings, sprinkler response

Citation

Forney, G. , Bukowski, R. and Davis, W. (1994), Simulating the Effect of Flat Beamed Ceiling on Detector and Sprinkler Response, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Fire, Combustion, and Hazardous Waste Processing. , Chicago, IL, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=912819 (Accessed October 25, 2025)