1983 Center for Fire Research Annual Conference on Fire Research
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1983 CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON FIRE RESEARCH (Summaries of Research Grants and CFR In-House Programs) August 23-25, 1983 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Bureau of Standards National Engineering Laboratory Center for Fire Research Washington, D.C. 20234 July 1983 Preprint of the 1983 Center for Fire Research Annual Conference on Fire Research to be Held August 23-25, 1983 QC 100 .U56 #82-2612- 1983 CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON FIRE RESEARCH (Summaries of Research Grants and CFR In-House Programs) August 23-25, 1983 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Bureau of Standards National Engineering Laboratory Center for Fire Research Washington, D.C. 20234 July 1983 Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce Ernest Ambler, Director, National Bureau of Standards Preprint of the 1983 Center for Fire Research Annual Conference on Fire Research to be Held August 23-25, 1983 — FOREWORD The Seventh Annual Conference on Fire Research honors Professor Howard Emmons who retires from Harvard University this year. Professor Emmons has provided leadership and inspiration to many in this field as attested by the breadth and depth of the topics in the conference modeling of fire growth, flame phenomena and spread, diffusion flames and radiation, fire plumes , extinction and suppression— and the contributions of those he has taught. Howard Emmons has demonstrated the viability of scientifically based fire protection engineering practice. Of course, much remains to be done. The conference program and papers (to be published separately) provide a good indication of where we are in a numoer or crt-txcal areas of tare science. Thas document contaans summaraes of Center for Fire Research in-house and grants work. This ongoing work i£ intended to sustain the momentum in fire science research that has built up over the last decade and to continue the development of rigorous fire protection engineering practices. This year has been an important one of testing for the Center for Fire Research in the budget process. The results have been most gratifying, and that challenge appears to be behind us. We hope now to focus fully on the technical issues before us and welcome the opportunity to work with all of you on addressing them. Jack E. Snell, Director Center for Fire Research ' TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD iii ABSTRACT 1 CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH PROGRAMS Ad Hoc Working Group of Mathematical Fire Modeling 2 Exploratory Fire Research 3 Facility Fire Safety Performance 8 Fire Growth Processes 15 Fire Performance and Validation 21 Fire Research Information Services 26 Fire Risk Analysis 27 Fire Suppression and Extinguishment 30 Fire Toxicology 33 Materials Fire Properties 36 Smoke and Toxic Gases 39 GRANTS AND CONTRACTS American Institute of Architects Foundation Fire Safety Evaluation System for Board and Care Homes 42 Brown University Effects of Material Properties on Burning and Extinction-Fires on Vertical Fuel Surfaces 44 California Institute of Technology Experimental Study of Environment and Heat Transfer in a Room Fire 48 Case Western Reserve University Experimental and Analytical Study of Fire Sprinkler Scaling Laws 52 v Page Case Western Reserve University Flame Spread and Spread Limits 54 Clemson University Ternary Reactions Among Polymer Substrate- Organohalogen-Antimony Oxides in the Condensed Phase Under Pyrolytic, Oxidative and Flaming Conditions 57 Colorado School of Mines Characterization of Aerosols from Fires 60 Factory Mutual Research Corporation Computer Modeling of Aircraft Cabin Fire Phenomena 64 Factory Mutual Research Corporation Determination of Fuel Parameters for Fire Modeling 66 Factory Mutual Research Corporation (Joint Program with Harvard University) Prediction of Fire Dynamics 69 Harvard University The Prediction of Fire Dynamics • 75 National Fire Protection Association Investigation and Analysis of Major Fires 78 Pennsylvania State University An Investigation of Turbulent Fires on Vertical and Inclined Walls 87 Princeton University Flow Field Effects on the Sooting Structure of Diffusion Flames 91 SRI International Continued Development of Residential Fire Decision Analysis Model 94 SRI International Polymer Degradation During Combustion 96 TRW Modeling of Wind-Aided Flame Spread 98 vi Page University of California, Berkeley Dynamics of Smoke and Inert Tracers Produced in Porous Fuels 102 University of California, Berkeley Fire Propagation in Concurrent Flows 106 University of California, Berkeley Intralaboratory Evaluation of a Standard Room Fire Test 110 University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Fire Modeling 114 University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Flame Radiation 118 University of Florida Network Models of Building Evacuation: Development of Software System - Year Two 121 University of Maryland The Determination of Behavior Response Patterns in Fire Situations, Project People II 125 University of Michigan Degradation of Mechanical Properties of Wood During Fire 128 University of Montana Chemistry of Smoldering Combustion and Its Control 132 University of Notre Dame Computer Modeling of Aircraft Cabin Fire Phenomena 136 University of Notre Dame Scaling Correlations of Flashover Experiments 140 University of Pittsburgh Toxicity of Plastic Combustion Products 143 vii 1983 CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON FIRE RESEARCH August 23-25. 1983 Abstract This report contains extended abstracts of grants and contracts for fire research sponsored by the Center for Fire Research, National Bureau of Standards, as well as descriptions of the internal programs of the Center for Fire Research. Key words: Combustion; decision analysis; fire models; flame spread; human behavior; ignition; polymers; smoke; soot; toxicity: wood. 1 AD HOC WORKING GROUP OF MATHEMATICAL FIRE MODELING CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH FY 83 Professional Personnel Robert S. Levine, Chairman of Steering Committee John A. Rockett, Chairman of Computer Committee James G. Quintiere, Chairman of Models Subcommittee Note: The Modeling Committee is chaired by Professor Howard Emmons of Harvard University, the Subprogram Committee by John de Ris of Factory Mutual, and the User's Needs Committee by Irwin Benjamin of Benjamin-Clarke. A number of CFR personnel are members of the technical committees. Program Objective s The objectives of this committee are to facilitate the development and use of mathematical models of fire and to coordinate and facilitate research needed to improve the models. The steering committee includes members from other government agencies who have influence on their agencies' research and development in this field. The coordination, of course, is voluntary. Project Areas Each applicable area is included in another program abstract. The major portion of the CFR effort is in the Fire Modeling Program. Associated Grants Several grants as listed elsewhere. 2 EXPLORATORY FIRE RESEARCH FIRE MEASUREMENT AND RESEARCH DIVISION CENTER FOR FIRE RESEARCH FY 83 Professional Personnel Kermit C. Smyth, Research Chemist and Head James E. Brown, Research Chemist Toshimi Hirata, Guest Worker Takashi Kashiwagi, Materials Research Engineer W. Gary Mallard, Research Chemist J. Houston Miller, Faculty Research Associate Thomas J. Ohlemiller, General Engineer William M. Pitts, Research Chemist Kathleen E. Werner, Chemist Program Objectives (1) Improve the understanding of the chemical and physical processes which underlie macroscopic fire phenomena. The research embraces broad areas covering both solid and gas phase processes, with particular attention to polymer degradation, the effects of radiation, and the hot gas chemistry and physics leading to incomplete combustion. (2) Devise new techniques and methods for studying these phenomena. (3) Furnish fundamental scientific information to support the other activities within the Center for Fire Research. Scope This work is scientific not empirical. It embraces broad areas underpinning CFR programs with focussed study in the areas of materials degradation, hot gas physics and chemistry, and radiation. Efforts are directed towards improved understanding of the chemical and physical processes which underlie macroscopic fire phenomena and include development of new techniques and methods for studying these processes. Proj ects 1. Polymer Gasification and Ignition Transient gasification characteristics of polymeric materials under nonflaming conditions are being investigated at fire level radiant heat fluxes. Results show that the gas phase oxygen level has a marked effect on the rate of gasification and also decreases the averaged molecular weights and affects their distribution in the polymer undergoing depolymerization. Molecular weight distributions of PMMA 3 . residues have been measured by gel permeation chromatography. Two types of residues were studied; one from a thermally thick sample irradiated under non-flaming conditions with thermal radiation from an electrically heated graphite plate. The other was a small, thermally thin sample ('v- 10 mg) heated iso thermally . The former samples were exposed to different radiant fluxes, to different atmospheres containing various concentrations of oxgyen, and for different exposure times. Eight to ten thin layers ( 'v 125 pm thick) were sliced from the surface, and their molecular weight distributions were measured. Results indicate that the effects of gas phase oxygen on the molecular weight distribu- tion appear as deep as 0.6 mm. The broad molecular weight distribution (large polydispersivity of