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

这项研究的长期目标是增加对推动火灾发展、增长和毒性的关键化学、流体动力学和热传递过程的知识。在小规模上理解这些至关重要，但同样重要的是将其转化为全面的火灾情况，特别是对于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献、工业、监管机构和消防部门确定为研究的需要。*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影响。人们了解了火灾气体、热表面和通风之间相互作用的某些方面，但对空气不足的火灾--通风不足的火灾--几乎没有科学的描述。威斯康星大学的研究已经确定了通风良好的火灾的特征，并对其进行了研究。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，并在每次测试中检查通过定时打开窗户或门来通风的影响。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，从而在工程上对火灾如何在密闭、节能的结构中发展产生新的理解，并为这类重要的火灾建立改进的模型。*阻燃PU泡沫的行为*随着我们迈向更绿色、更可持续的社会，聚氨酯(PU)越来越多地被用于消费品中。然而，这种材料由于其易燃性、高放热率和支持快速火焰传播的倾向，可能会带来严重的火灾危险；当使用阻燃剂(FR)化学品控制易燃性时，会出现不同的问题。出于监管目的，材料是使用规定的方法进行测试的，但测试费用高昂，设施有限。我们的研究已经确定了筛选材料防火性能的方法，从而显著缩短了研发周期和成本。这些方法将扩展到使用不同尺寸、不同物理化学性质的样品来研究阻燃和非阻燃PU泡沫的燃烧性能，并研究泡沫组成和阻燃类型对燃烧特性的影响。研究结果将增加对泡沫燃烧行为的了解，导致新的比例法则、成本效益高的筛选测试，并为这种有机材料开发环境友好的阻燃解决方案。*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创造可靠的科学基础。HQP将接受培训，以便在加拿大和世界各地新兴的以绩效为基础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.**