- Author
-
Cooper, L. Y.
- Title
- Thermal Response of Gypsum-Panel/Steel-Stud Wall Systems Explosed to Fire Environments - A Simulation for Use in Zone-Type Fire Models.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
-
NISTIR 6027,
June 1997,
54 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
walls
|
ASTM E119
|
compartment fires
|
fire models
|
fire barriers
|
gypsum board
|
zone models
|
heat transfer
- Identifiers
- wall system and basic elements of a thermal model; geometry of the model wall system; heat transfer to the panel surfaces; model for the thermal response of the gypsum panels; initial/boundary-value problem for the thermal response of the wall system; initial/boundary value problem in transformed variables
- Abstract
- This work develops a method for simulating the thermal response of fire-environment-exposed wall systems constructed of arbitrary-thickness gypsum panels mounted on either side of vertical steel studs. The studs, separated at regular intervals, form an unfilled air gap between the panels. The main objective is an experimentally-validated, modular, thermal-wall-model algorithm that can be easily integrated into zone-type compartment fire models that can be used in "stand-alone" analyses. The algorithm solves an initial-value/boundary-value problem for the temperature distribution through the thicknesses of the two panels and within a specific time interval. The analysis is based on temperature-dependent thermal properties for the gypsum. The initial temperature distribution and the type of boundary conditions at the outer surfaces are user-specified. A variety of choices for the boundary conditions are available. These include boundary conditions that are expected to satisfy the requirements of any zone-type fire model and those that can be used to determine fire performance of the wall systems in ASTM E119 or ISO 834 tests. The algorithm output includes the final temperature distribution and, when outer surface temperatures are specified, the final rate of heat transfer to these surfaces.