FireDOC Search

Author
Bukowski, R. W.
Title
On the Central Role of Fire Calorimetry in Modern Fire Hazard Assessment.
Coporate
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Report
DOT/FAA/CT-95/46; AAR-423
Book or Conf
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Fire Calorimetry. Proceedings. July 27-28, 1995, Gaithersburg, MD, Hirschler, M. M.; Lyon, R. E., Editors, 81 p., 1995
Keywords
calorimetry | fire hazard | hazard assessment | heat release rate | fire safety | systems engineering
Identifiers
rate-of-heat release (RHR)
Abstract
Over the past two decades, fire science has evolved to the point that predictive models provide a practical means to evaluate the performance of safety systems over the range of applications regulated under law. Such evaluations take the form of fire hazard or fire risk assessments where the end points are loss of life, injury, or property damage. Numerous successful applications of these techniques to the reconstruction of accidental fires as well as quantitative validation studies have contributed to a general acceptance of these techniques. This presentation will review the role of RHR in fire hazard assessment and provide some examples of the application of RHR measurements in the reconstruction of fire incidents and in the performance evaluation of fire safety systems designs for regulatory approval.