A methodology is developed to determine the locations of the fewest number of fire stations at an airport such that two guidelines, recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration, are met. The first guideline stipulates that airport fire vehicles must be capable of reaching any potential crash site on the runway system within a two minute time period. The second guideline requires stations to be located such that the chance of possible blockage of vehicle response routes to potential crash sites is minimized. The methodology transforms an initial continuous facility location problem into a discrete problem. By modeling the discrete formulation as a modified set covering problem, a solution is determined that meets the two guidelines. To illustrate the utility of the methodology, it is applied to two situations at the Atlanta Airport. In the first situation it is assumed that no fire stations exist at the airport, and in the second, three of the four fire stations planned to be in existence at the airport are assumed to be in operation. For both situations, the methodology is applied three times, changing the average speed vehicles are assumed to be capable of traveling on the runway system each time. For an average speed of 40 m.p.h., it is shown that fire vehicles, responding from the four stations at the airport, are not capable of reaching every potential crash site on the runway system within a two minute time period. / Master of Science

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / A theoretical and experimental treatment of fire processes in fuel-Lined, ventilated passages is presented. Initially a radially well mixed axial flow condition is considered. Experiments are first performed in non-stratified flow conditions where fire propagation and gas temperature histories are acquired from liquid and solid fuelled fires. Theory and experiment;display transient fire propagation for typical duct fire scenarios where initial fuel mass Loading is constant with respect to duct length. ( Abbreviation abstract ) / AC2017

The advent of performance-based codes in the United States underscores the need for a thorough, systematic approach to the documentation and accomplishment of a performance-based design. This project has three objectives: economic analysis of performance-based codes from a social view point, documentation of a performance-based design, and an example application of the ICC Performance-Based Code to high-rise office building. Economic issues explored include the externalities, insurance, and liabilities associated with performance-based codes. Documentation of a performance-based design includes delineation of the scope and goals with agreement between the designer, architect, building owner, and authority having jurisdiction, examination of the relevant code statutes, development of appropriate fire scenarios which meet the requirements of the performance matrices, thorough documentation of all design tool and calculation assumptions and limitations, and a clear demonstration of satisfactory accomplishment of stated goals and objectives. Finally, performance-based design alternatives to a prescriptively-designed 40 story office building were developed. There were three major design alternatives. The first design feature was the evacuation of occupants using elevators. The second alternative was the use of the assured fire safety system, which combined emerging technologies in fire detection, alarm, and suppression. The final design alternative was the routing of the domestic water supply through the sprinkler riser in order increase the reliability of the sprinkler system and save design, material, and installation costs associated with the domestic water supply risers. Finally, this project analyzed the specific life-cycle economic impact of the design alternatives when compared to the prescriptive design.

A risk-based decision methodology is presented to support United States Coast Guard regulators' determinations of the most appropriate fire safety areas for allocating research and development resources. The methodology consists of risk-based analysis of previous shipboard fire and explosion incidents to establish historical problem areas and trends. The analysis results were then presented to a panel of experts in shipboard fire safety regulations. An analytical hierarchical process was used to encode these experts' opinions on subjective attributes of the decision. Nineteen attributes were selected by the panel and used to rate eighteen potential research and development alternatives. The series of eighteen alternative areas for possible research and development efforts were ranked using a scoring model. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the top five alternatives to assess the relative influence the attributes have on the decision. Information from two marine casualty databases were analyzed to establish the historical problem areas and trends. Fire and explosion incidents were taken from the United States Coast Guard's Marine Safety Information System (MSIS) database and Lloyd's Maritime Information Service Ltd.'s Casualty System (CASMAN). Following the methodology presented, the top five areas for possible allocation of research and development resources are: egress of passengers and crew, development of international design & approval standards for fire protection systems, hazard analysis review of fire safety regulations, development of alternative design assessment methodology, and investigation of lagging requirements for fire protection.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-128).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-128). Also available in print.

Fifty-six fourth-grade children served as participants in this study. Three training procedures (behavioral, animated-graphics, and still-graphics) were assessed for relative effectiveness in the acquisition of fire emergency skills and attainment of knowledge, Each of the training groups was compared to a no-treatment control group. Performance on dependent measures was assessed prior to and immediately following training. Hypotheses predicted that the behavioral and animated graphics conditions would produce the greatest level of skill and knowledge acquisition. Results demonstrated a significantly higher level of fire emergency skill acquisition and knowledge attainment for both the behavioral and animated graphics groups relative to the still graphics and no-training groups. The value of using animated versus static images in computerized instruction for fire-safety skills training was demonstrated. / Ed. D.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Real Estate and Construction

A fire growth calculation method has been developed that couples a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with bench scale cone calorimeter test data for predicting the rate of flame spread on compartment contents such as furniture. The commercial CFD code TASCflow has been applied to solve time averaged conservation equations using an algebraic multigrid solver with mass weighted skewed upstream differencing for advection. Closure models include k-epsilon for turbulence, eddy breakup for combustion following a single step irreversible reaction with Arrhenius rate constant, finite difference radiation transfer, and conjugate heat transfer. Radiation properties are determined from concentrations of soot, CO2 and H2O using the narrow band model of Grosshandler and exponential wide band curve fit model of Modak. The growth in pyrolyzing area is predicted by treating flame spread as a series of piloted ignitions based on coupled gas-fluid boundary conditions. The mass loss rate from a given surface element follows the bench scale test data for input to the combustion prediction. The fire growth model has been tested against foam-fabric mattresses and chairs burned in the furniture calorimeter. In general, agreement between model and experiment for peak heat release rate (HRR), time to peak HRR, and total energy lost is within pm 20%. Used as a proxy for the flame spread velocity, the slope of the HRR curve predicted by model agreed with experiment within pm 20% for all but one case.

The interaction between the heat flux and fluid flow of an engine compartment fire and the windshield of a post-collision passenger vehicle has been studied using analytical methods. A computational fluid dynamics model of this scenario has been developed with TASCflow using a turbulent, reacting, multi-component fluid flow in a multi-grid domain with conjugate heat transfer objects. A group of computer programs have also been created to automate the grid generation and model construction processes. Calculation tools have also been developed using aspects of fire dynamics for the purpose of making comparisons to the results of CFD modeling as well as experimental measurements. A framework has been established for the modeling and validation of the windshield problem using the tools developed in this study.