With its destabilizing shifts away from mercantilism toward liberal economics, early nineteenth-century Britain generated an increasingly powerful class of technocrats, including architects and builders, in design and construction. This burgeoning professional group involved in architecture, planning, and building directed processes, products, and technologies of construction toward maintaining societal order. In doing so, they cemented their social hierarchical status. Following abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and emancipation from 1833-1838, architects and builders had to adapt their techniques of communication and labor management, and adjust their building practices to material and technological innovations. In contrast to heroic narratives of industrial progress and optimism that conventionally dominated histories of modern architecture, figures of apprehension, anxiety, and anticipation more appropriately encapsulate the consequential events of this period. Through empirical analyses of small-scale techniques of drawing and building, this dissertation renders the general transition from rigid, mercantilist arrangements aligned with economies of enslavement toward ideologies of free trade, increasingly widespread wage labor regimes, and liberalism more broadly, into legible, tangible forms. Using as heuristics architectural technologies for preempting, mitigating, and suppressing fires—planning, constructional assemblies, mechanisms, materials, regulations, financing, and legislation—I demonstrate that preventing undesirable occurrences governed a heterogeneous array of activities. These ranged from English architects' professionalization initiatives, to plans for evacuating people from and extinguishing fires in theaters, to labor management in West Indian military outposts, to fire insurance offices that spread their risk profiles by indemnifying Caribbean sugar plantations beginning in the late eighteenth century. Thus capital and uncertainty went hand in hand as elements in conveying wealth, as architects and others involved in building at once made risk both fungible and material.

Thesis (MEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In the past use was made of prescriptive design rules to provide for the fire limit state. Modern Design Codes provide the scope and the means to design for fire in a performance based manner. The Eurocode provides guidance on the actions on structures exposed to fire as well as methods to predict the structural behaviour of elements in fire. Structural designers can now incorporate the use of parametric fire curves to describe compartment fires. These fire models are not an extension of the old nominal standard temperature time curves. Parametric curves are analytical models that are based on natural fire behaviour. The temperature in the fire compartment can be predicted in a scientific manner taking account of fire loads, ventilation conditions and compartment characteristics. The combination of rational fire models and temperature dependant structural behaviour enables designers to predict whether elements will fail during a fire. This is an improvement on the empirical prescriptive fire resistance ratings, used to date. Multi-storey steel framed structures, with composite floors, were identified as structures with high inherent fire resistance and robust behaviour. The composite beams in the floor structure were identified as critical elements when subjected to fire. The deterministic design and the reliability level of these elements were studied. Deterministic fire design procedures are presented that can be used to design unprotected composite beams for the fire limit state. The reliability of the deterministic design procedures was evaluated through a First Order Reliability Method. Parametric fire curves are suitable for reliability analysis due to the fact that they can be described by stochastic variables. The fire load was determined to be the dominant variable influencing the reliability level of the composite beams. The ventilation conditions of the fire compartment also has important implications for the temperature development of the composite beams. The reliability analyses results show that reasonably sized composite beams can be used as unprotected elements in smaller fire compartments with moderate fire loads. It was found that a structural element’s total probability of failure can be improved by the use of active fire fighting measures. The benefit of active fire fighting measures can be quantified by considering their probability of failure. By use of conservative assumptions and basic knowledge of fire engineering principles, rational design methods can provide safe and economical solutions for fire design of composite beams.

"An organization of a variety of useful references and tools for evaluating typical situations that have to be addressed in a performance based fire safety design are structured in this project. The chapters in this paper are arranged the same way as the situations may appear in fire scenarios. Each chapter discusses relevant issues for regulatory required sub evaluations in fire safety engineering. In this paper the sub evaluations are named; Fire spread within the origin, Barriers and fire spread beyond the origin, Fire detection and initial action, Automatic sprinkler systems, Smoke movement, control and toxicity, Structural frame, Fire brigade intervention and Life safety. The paper addresses standards and publications to evaluate fire safety in buildings. The tools and references presented are an assortment from a variety of methods and correlations that have been developed through the years in order to achieve knowledge of the dynamics of the fire and how to control its severity. The topics for the sub evaluations are codes and standards, design fire development, fire protection efficiencies in fires, reliability issues, building and construction characteristics, occupant characteristics, evaluation tools and evaluation software."

"The objective of this thesis is to examine the methods of barrier analysis used in the Building Fire Safety Engineering Method (BFSEM), and to develop the areas of the analysis which currently rely almost exclusively on subjective judgment rather than quantitative measures. The use of the Normalized Heat Load to quantify heat energy impact on a barrier is examined in detail. Procedures are developed which apply the properties of a normal statistical distribution to barrier failures times, for use in simplifying the construction of barrier catalog curves. A framework is also developed to help standardize the selection of barrier effectiveness factors. Finally, this thesis outlines the procedure for developing barrier performance curves to allow easy implementation of the barrier analysis into the general framework of the BFSEM. A design example is presented to illustrate the analysis procedures."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-286). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-250). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-140). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Trä har använts som byggmaterial i tusentals år men det har även varit känt för att brinna lika länge. Idag har trä kommit att bli aktuellt att bygga högt och stort med mycket tack vare att det är en hållbar och klimatsmart råvara som det finns gott om i Sverige men med det har även problem uppstått. Brandproblematiken, som studeras i det här projektet, i träkonstruktioner beror på luftspalter mellan konstruktionsdelar, risken med att en brand kan ta sig in i konstruktionen, att vatten i samband med trä inte är bra, försäkringsbolagens tveksamhet på grund av dessa aspekter vilket försvårar och leder till dyra försäkringar och slutligen faktumet att det inte finns särskilt många dokumenterade fall där skador uppkommit i samband med brand. Det finns därför förbättringsmöjligheter att sträva efter och i det här projektet ligger fokus främst på att undersöka vilka krav som ställts och vilka klassifikationer som finns, vilka brandtekniska lösningar som finns och hur dessa påverkar träbyggnaders estetik samt hur försäkringsbolag ställer sig till träbyggande eller inte. För att undersöka dessa aspekter och försöka se hur de skulle kunna förbättras har intervjuer hållits, artiklar, böcker och andra internetrelaterade sidor har lästs och en del siffror har tagits från doktorsavhandlingar. Det resulterade i nya perspektiv på problemet med att bygga högt och stort i trä på grund av brandrisken men även större förståelse för de positiva aspekterna med träbyggande ur ett hållbarhets perspektiv. De brandtekniska lösningarna har inverkan på estetiken när brandsäkerhet även sätts i fokus och försäkringsbolagen visade sig se träbyggande ur ett lite annat säkerhetsperspektiv där alla parter skulle kunna lära sig av varandra och få ett bättre samarbete. På så sätt skulle Sverige kunna främja träbyggande ännu mer och byggbranschen bidra till ett hållbart byggande där materialvalen är klimatsmarta. / Wood has been used as building material for thousands of years but it has also been known for being a burning material for as long. Today, wood has come to be a material to build high and large with mostly because it is i sustainable and climate-friendly material that Sweden has plenty of in the forests but it has also led to som problematic aspects. The fire related problems that are being studied in this project are the air gaps between construction parts, the risk that fire may get into the construction, that water in combination with wood is not good, the insurance companies doubts due to these aspects which make it a bit more difficult and more expensive to get insurance and finally the fact that there are not many documented cases where damage has occurred because of fire. Therefore, there are possibilities for improvements and in this project focus is primarily on investigating the requirements for fire safety and what classifications there is, what fire technology solutions are available and how these affect the aesthetics of wooden buildings as well as whether or not insurance companies are against wood construction. In order to investigate these aspects and try to see how they could be improved, interviews have been held, articles, books and other internet-related pages have been read and some numbers have been taken from doctor dissertations. This resulted in new perspectives on the problem of building high and large in wood due to fire risk, but also greater understanding of the positive aspects of wood construction from a sustainability perspective. The fire technology solutions have an impact on the aesthetics in cases when fire safety is also in focus and the insurance companies turned out to see wood construction from a slightly different security perspective where all parties could learn from each other and in order to get better cooperation. Thus Sweden could encourage wood construction even more, and the construction industry could contribute to a sustainable way of construction where the choice of material is good for the climate.

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.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamos porceliano ir olivino užpildų įtakos kaitrai atsparaus betono savybėms problemos, jo gaminimas, tyrimas ir įdiegimas pramonėje. Išnagrinėti pagrindiniai užpildai, rišamosios medžiagos bei priedai, kuriuos naudojant buvo gaminamas kaitrai atsparus betonas. Šio darbo pagrindinis tikslas - sukurti plūkiamąjį, SiO2 mikrodulkėmis modifikuotą, kaitrai atsparų betoną, susidedantį iš aliuminatinio cemento, porceliano, olivino bei plastiklio, kuris būtų naudojamas šiluminių agregatų išklojų įrengimui, taip pat suirusių išklojų remontui. / In the master thesis are examined the problems of the influence of fillers from porcelain and olivine on the properties of fireproof concrete, its production, study and introduction in the industry; are examined basic fillers, binding agents and compounding material, on basis of which the fireproof concrete was made. The basic purpose of this work is to create packed fireproof concrete, modified by micro-specks of SiO2, which consists of the aluminates cement, porcelain, olivine and plastic, which would be used for the pavement of heat engine units, and also for repairing of the worn pavement.