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PUBLICATIONS

Towards a Process to Quantify the Hazard of Fire Protection Design Alternatives

Published

Author(s)

Paul A. Reneke, Morgan Bruns, Stanley W. Gilbert, Chandler P. MacLaren, Richard D. Peacock, Thomas G. Cleary, David T. Butry

Abstract

There are a variety of fire protection technologies that have the potential to improve life safety in residences including barrier fabrics for upholstered furniture, new nano-scaled flame retardants, or better fire detector technology. However, there is no accepted methodology available to determine the absolute or even relative performance of different technologies. The Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is undertaking an effort to develop a method to quantify the relative improvements in fire safety that different technologies to evaluate the impact of changes in prescriptive or performance-based requirements. In order to better understand the process, this report examines the process for quantitative calculation of fire hazard of fire protection design alternatives using as an example case study the potential benefits of alternate requirements for residential smoke detector. The case study will help define the process, data, and tools necessary for a quantitative analysis of changes in fire protection designs. The long-term goal of the project is to develop a well-defined process and set of tools for such analyses. This report shows the result of the case study as well as a discussion of the process itself. Several conclusions are apparent. With the speed of current machines and zone fire models, it is practical to generate tens of thousands of cases to analyze. There is also a need for additional data, including but not limited to fire data, information about the distribution of floor plans and about type and arrangement of the contents. Finally, there needs to be guidance and modeling available to account for the impact of occupants’ actions and interactions with fires. Going forward, future research should focus on a two-prong approach. First, tools are needed to make Monte Carlo analysis more efficient. Secondly, additional opportunities to apply Monte Carlo analysis to real research problems would develop a
Citation
Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2041
Report Number
2041
NIST Pub Series
Technical Note (NIST TN)
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2041

Keywords

fire modeling, Monte Carlo, residential egress, residential fire safety, smoke detectors
Emergency building evacuation, Fire detection and Fire modeling

Citation

Reneke, P. , Bruns, M. , Gilbert, S. , MacLaren, C. , Peacock, R. , Cleary, T. and Butry, D. (2019), Towards a Process to Quantify the Hazard of Fire Protection Design Alternatives, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2041 (Accessed April 19, 2024)

Created May 1, 2019