FireDOC Search

Author
Newton, B. A.
Title
Analysis of Common Fire Severity Methods and Barrier Performance.
Coporate
Worcester Polytechnic Inst., MA
Report
Thesis
December 1994
212 p.
Keywords
fire severity | fire barriers | scenarios | fire safety | flashover | fire models | methodology
Identifiers
Building Fire Safety Engineering Method (BFSEM); post-flashover fire models; barrier testing - E119; comparative analysis methodology
Abstract
The objective of this thesis is to analyze common fire severity methods and barrier performance. This was accomplished by developing realistic scenarios which are applied to each of the methods for comparison purposes. The severity theories investigated include Ingberg's, Law's, Pettersson's, and the Normalized Heat Load. The comparison will clearly show that the Normalized Heat Load is the method of choice. Knowing this, the Normalized heat load can then be used to make a relationship between test furnace times and real-world compartment fire times. Also, the effects of the statistical information on the magnitude of severity exptected in the field may be better understood.