Fire Safety: From Performance of Materials to the Compartment Fire Environment

这项研究的长期目标是增加对关键化学，流体动力学和热传递过程的了解，这些过程驱动火灾的发展，生长和毒性。在小范围内了解这些至关重要，但同样重要的是将其转化为全面的火灾情况，特别是开发创新的消防安全解决方案。在接下来的5年里，这一目标将通过两个领域的研究来推进，这两个领域的研究已经被文学、工业、监管机构和消防部门确定为需要研究的领域。****通风不足的隔间火灾***火灾环境的演变对房间设计、战术决策和消防设备的选择具有重要意义。火灾气体、热表面和通风之间相互作用的某些方面是可以理解的，但是对于空气不足的火灾——通风不足的火灾，几乎没有科学的描述。西澳大学的研究对通风良好的火灾进行了表征和研究。拟议的研究将使用类似的方法来调查通风不足的火灾，描述环境特征，并检查每次测试期间定时打开窗户或门的通风影响。温度、气体演化和流动模式将在单室和多室的大规模实验中绘制出来，对火灾如何在密闭、节能的结构中发展产生新的工程理解，并改进这类重要火灾的模型。****阻燃聚氨酯泡沫的性能***随着我们走向更环保、更可持续的社会，聚氨酯（PU）在消费品中的应用越来越多。然而，由于其可燃性、高热释放率和支持快速火焰蔓延的倾向，这种材料可能代表重大的火灾危险；当使用阻燃剂（FR）化学品控制可燃性时，就会出现不同的问题。出于监管目的，材料使用规定的方法进行测试，但测试费用昂贵且设备有限。我们的研究已经确定了筛选材料防火性能的方法，从而大大缩短了研发周期和成本。这些方法将扩展到使用不同尺寸、物理和化学性质的样品来研究FR和非FR PU泡沫的防火性能，并研究泡沫成分和FR类型对燃烧特性的影响。结果将增加对泡沫燃烧行为的理解，导致新的结垢规律，具有成本效益的筛选测试和开发这种有机材料的环保FR解决方案。****这项研究将进一步为下一代消防安全技术、测试标准和基于性能的设计的先进分析工具奠定坚实的科学基础。HQP将接受培训，以在加拿大和世界各地新兴的基于性能的消防安全市场中脱颖而出

Long term objectives of this research are to increase knowledge of key chemical, fluid dynamic and heat transfer processes that drive development, growth and toxicity in fires. Understanding these at small-scale is critical, but equally important is translation to full-scale fire situations, particularly for developing innovative fire safety solutions. Over the next 5 years, this goal will be advanced by studies in two areas where a need for research has been identified by literature, industry, regulators and the fire service.****Under-ventilated Compartment Fires***The evolution of a fire environment has important implications in room design, tactical decision making and choice of fire protection equipment. Some aspects of the interaction of fire gases, hot surfaces and ventilation are understood, but there has been little scientific characterization of fires where insufficient air is available - under-ventilated fires. Research at UW has characterized, and studied suppression of, well ventilated fires. Proposed research will use similar methods to investigate under-ventilated fires, characterizing the environment and examining the impact of ventilation via timed opening of windows or doors during each test. Temperature, gas evolution and flow patterns will be charted in large-scale experiments in single and multiple compartments, generating new engineering understanding of how fires develop in airtight, energy efficient structures and improved models for this important class of fire.****Behaviour of Fire-Retarded PU Foams***Polyurethane (PU) is increasingly used in consumer products as we move toward a greener, more sustainable society. This material can represent significant fire hazard, however, due its flammability, high rate of heat release and propensity to support rapid flame spread; different issues arise when flammability is controlled with fire retardant (FR) chemicals. For regulatory purposes, materials are tested using prescribed methods, but tests are expensive and facilities limited. Our research has identified methods for screening materials for fire performance, leading to significant reduction in R&D cycle time and cost. These methods will be extended to study fire performance of FR and non-FR PU foams using samples of varying dimensions, physical and chemical properties and to investigate effects of foam composition and types of FR on burning characteristics. Results will increase understanding of fire behaviour of foams, leading to new scaling laws, cost-effective screening tests and development of environmentally friendly FR solutions for this organic material.****This research will further creation of a sound scientific basis for next generation fire safety technologies, test standards and advanced analysis tools for performance-based design. HQP will be trained to excel in the emerging performance-based fire safety market in Canada and around the world.**