Compartment Fire Dynamics Under Differing Ventilation Conditions

这项研究计划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了解。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，特别是在开发创新的消防安全解决方案时。在接下来的5年里，这一目标将通过两个相互关联的研究推进，以解决文献中以及行业、监管机构和消防部门确定的空白：通风不足的隔间火灾和聚氨酯(PU)家具材料的行为。火灾环境的演变对设计、战术决策、消防设备和乘员安全具有重要意义。火灾与通风相互作用的某些方面已被了解，但尚未对空气(氧气)不足的火灾--通风不足的火灾--进行全面的科学表征。华盛顿大学的研究人员对通风良好的火灾进行了研究，最近的工作扩展到通风不足的情况。拟议的研究将更详细地调查通风不足的家具火灾，表征燃料和火灾环境，并检查通风的影响，包括机械通风和在每次测试期间定时打开窗户或门。我们将在我们的两层燃烧结构中进行大规模实验，绘制温度、气体演变和流动模式的图表，从而对家具火灾如何在密闭、节能的结构中发展产生新的理解，并为这一重要的火灾类别建立改进的工程模型。家具中的PU泡沫塑料和织物组合由于其易燃性、高放热率和支持快速火焰传播的倾向而具有显著的火灾危险。在使用阻燃剂(FR)化学品控制PU易燃性方面出现了其他挑战。然而，随着我们迈向更绿色、更可持续的社会，PU在家具中的使用越来越多。出于监管目的，材料使用规定的方法进行测试，但结果往往不能很好地转化为在真实火灾情况下的性能。我们的研究确定了火灾性能的筛选方法，将扩展到调查大型火灾中使用的家具材料的物理和化学性质，以及新的防火策略对其燃烧特性的影响。结果将增加对家具泡沫和织物组合的火灾行为的了解，并导致新的比例法则、经济高效的筛选测试以及现代家具火灾中火灾生长和蔓延的新模型。这项研究将进一步为下一代消防安全技术、测试标准和先进的性能化设计分析工具奠定坚实的科学基础。高素质的学生将接受培训，以在加拿大和世界各地新兴的基于绩效的消防安全市场中脱颖而出。

The long-term objectives of this research program are to increase knowledge of key chemical, fluid dynamic and heat transfer processes that drive development, growth and toxicity in fires. Understanding these at the small scale is critical, but equally important is translation to full-scale fire situations, particularly in developing innovative fire safety solutions. Over the next 5 years, this goal will be advanced by two interconnected research thrusts to address gaps identified in the literature and by industry, regulators and the fire service: under-ventilated compartment fires and behaviour of polyurethane (PU) furniture materials. The evolution of a fire environment has important implications in design, tactical decision-making, fire protection equipment and occupant safety. Some aspects of the interactions of fires and ventilation are understood, but comprehensive scientific characterization of fires with insufficient air (oxygen) -- under--ventilated fires - has not been done. Research at UW has studied well-ventilated fires with recent work extending to under--ventilated situations. The proposed research will investigate under--ventilated furniture fires in more detail, characterizing the fuels and fire environment and examining the impact of ventilation, both mechanical and via timed opening of windows or doors during each test. Temperature, gas evolution and flow patterns will be charted in large-scale experiments in our two-storey burn structure, generating new understanding of how furniture fires develop in airtight, energy efficient structures and improved engineering models for this important class of fire. The PU foam and fabric combinations in furniture represent significant fire hazards due to their flammability, high heat release rates and propensity to support rapid flame spread.  Other challenges arise in control of PU flammability with fire retardant (FR) chemicals. Yet, PU is increasingly used in furnishings as we move toward a greener, more sustainable society. Materials are tested using prescribed methods for regulatory purposes, but results often do not translate well to performance in real fire situations. Our research has identified screening methods for fire performance which will be extended to investigate physical and chemical properties of the furniture materials used in the large-scale fires as well as the impact of new FR strategies on their burning characteristics. Results will increase understanding of the fire behaviour of furniture foam and fabric combinations and lead to new scaling laws, cost- effective screening tests and new models for fire growth and spread in modern furniture fires. This research will further establish a sound scientific basis for next generation fire safety technologies, test standards and advanced analysis tools for performance -based design. Highly qualified students will be trained to excel in the emerging performance- based fire safety market in Canada and around the world.