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Calorimetry, the science of measuring heat from chemical reactions and physical changes, is one to the most valuable tools fire safety engineering have at their disposal. Calorimetric devices such as the cone calorimeter and the fire propagation apparatus (FPA) give us the means to evaluate and understand how different materials burn at a small scale. Due to fire being affected by many different environmental factors, these devices help us to isolate and examine how each factor affects fire as a whole and be able to apply this knowledge to tools that can be used at larger scales. This thesis reports various pieces of work on different calorimetric studies done on cellulosic material used in today’s natural and built environment. All experimental tests herein are done using the FPA, the state of the art calorimeter for fire safety studies. The experimental techniques presented here show how invaluable calorimetry is in giving us key insights on the combustion dynamics of fire related processes. The thesis is presented in manuscript style. Each chapter is a stand alone research work intended for publication with the exception of the first and last chapter; intended to introduce these and their relevance to the science and the last to summarize on overall findings and recommended improvements. Chapter 2 presents a study on the burning of live and dead pine needles. Pine forests present a relatively high flammability risk comprised in great part by pine needles. Different moisture content, flow conditions and their interrelationship is studied on the different parameters affecting the combustion processes. Overall, the results show that fire physics and chemistry vary with fuel and flow conditions and that moisture content is not the only difference between live and dead fuels but that the needle bed physiochemical mechanisms matter as well. This is the first time calorimetry data is presented on the burning of live and dead pine needles. Chapter 3 complements chapter 2 with an added in-depth analysis on the effect of different pine needle species, fuel load and imposed heat insult. Interrelationship between these variables is shown to have a strong effect on the overall combustion process. Fuel load is shown to be an essential condition to know as it gives a direct indication on the intensity of the fire. Flow is shown to have a varied effect depending on the fuel load, it can either aid or be detrimental to the overall combustion process especially relating to ignition times. Chapter 4 is a study on the effect of leaf morphology to flammability of different natural fuels. This study is a direct extension of the work presented in the paper Belcher et al (2010) in Nature Geoscience. Representative natural fuel samples from the Triassic/Jurassic Boundary, a time period of great importance because it marked a time of major environmental changes, are used to evaluate fire activity as a whole during this time period. The study shows that smaller leaf area and larger surface area to volume ratio show a strong correlation to an increase in flammability of these fuels. The research presents new insight into how leaf morphology can be used as a tool to assess the effect of fire activity around the globe and how closely vegetation is linked to this. Chapter 5 presents a study on flammability of chipboard. Wood being an inhomogeneous, non-isotropic material presents researchers with a complex problem due to its burning behavior. Wood has been a preferred construction material since far back and is widely used in construction today. Different oxygen levels, heat insults, material thicknesses and densities and the interrelationship between these variables are assessed to observe the effect on the flammability of chipboard. Density and thickness is shown to have little effect on the overall burning dynamics with thermally thick samples apart from the increased fuel content. Oxygen levels and imposed heat insults, however, show a wide range of effects and the interrelationship proves to be quite important during the combustion process. The research outlines how char formation is affected by the different variables and how important this process becomes along the overall combustion process. Calorimetric studies are presented that illustrate the use of these devices to study the effect of varying environmental conditions and the importance of their interrelationships on both natural and built environment fuels. The works highlight the importance of first establishing the dynamics of the combustion process in order to be able to extract combustion parameters that are needed for modeling fires better in both wildland and built environments.

Problems can be solved using existing knowledge and methods derived from past experiences; and in building design, where buildings are sufficiently similar to those already built, this process can be optimised by creating standardised solutions to common problems. There is significant demand for specialist engineers who can apply these standardised solutions to established problems quickly and accurately; but novel designs generate entirely new problems for which established solutions are not always applicable. Generalist engineers working on novel designs must first define the problems before they can develop options and if necessary, create optimised solutions. Fire safety engineering (FSE) is the process of achieving fire safety in our built environment. The field requires both specialists trained in current practice and generalists skilled in creative and critical thinking. Current fire safety engineering education is mostly aimed at producing specialists, yet there is growing demand for generalists in high-end architecture, hindered by a lack of generalist education. Current education literature in FSE explains in detail what to teach, however they do not explain how to motivate students to learn what is taught; how to create the ‘need to know’ - the purpose that drives learning. The purpose can either be intrinsically motivating (i.e. the subject is interesting) or extrinsically motivating (i.e. if you don’t learn it then you will fail the exam). The former is sustained by autonomy and choice; the latter is sustained by control. Control increases the likelihood that the predicted outcome will be realised, but by definition reduces the likelihood of realising any other outcome, including potential innovation.Initially a study was created to test the effects of creating an autonomous learning environment within a traditional lecture-based ‘fundamentals’ course at the University of Edinburgh. This study, along with observations at a range of US universities led to the formation of an overarching theory of education. Ultimately, purpose is the goal students strive to achieve; autonomy creates the opportunity to think and learn independently; and structure provides the constraints that converge students towards an optimised result, supported by sound evidence and reasoning. Thus the key to generalist education was to provide purpose, autonomy and structure (PAS) in that order. The PAS concept was trialled at EPFL (Switzerland) and the participating students, with no prior knowledge of fire engineering, produced work of exceptional quality. In summary, the present study offers an observational validation that Purpose, Autonomy & Structure (PAS) can be used to effectively support the generalist way of thinking and although the examples given in this paper are related to fire safety engineering (due to the need for generalists in that field), the qualitative evidence on which the conclusions are based is not subject-specific, implying that the PAS methodology could be applied to other disciplines.

This thesis presents a methodology to determine failure criteria of building insulation materials in the event of a fire that is specific to each typology of insulation material used. This methodology is based on material characterisation and assessment of fire performance of the most common insulation materials used in construction. Current methodologies give a single failure criterion independent of the nature of the material – this can lead to uneven requirements when addressing materials of different characteristics. At present, fire safety codes establish that performance of different materials or assemblies is assumed to be “equivalent” when subject to the same test, where attainment of the unique failure criteria occurs after a required minimum time. Nevertheless, when using extremely different materials this may not be actually the case. Building performance is currently defined in a quantitative way with respect to factors such as energy usage (i.e. global thermal transmittance), element weight (i.e. thickness and mass), space utilisation and cost of application. In the case of fire performance, only a threshold value is required, therefore a quantitative performance assessment is not conducted. As a result, the drivers are those associated with the variables that can be quantified, whereas the thresholds merely need to be met without any alternative for a better performance. This work opens the door to a performance-based-design methodology that takes into account fire performance as an optimisation variable for the building design, to be used with all other quantifiable variables. An added advantage is that the numerical tool required embraces a low level of complexity. As a result, the possibility for any insulation product to achieve quantifiable and acceptable fire safety levels for required energy efficiency targets is established. As a final remark, an application of the performance assessment methodology that introduces fire safety as a quantifiable variable is presented.

O trabalho apresenta as etapas e os trabalhos realizados para a construção de um sitio eletrônico como um caminho para a difusão da segurança contra incêndio. O sítio trata das normas do Corpo de Bombeiros de São Paulo, de sua Regulamentação, e se limitou aos casos tratados pelo Projeto Técnico Simplificado (PTS), os quais abrangem, resumidamente, edificações com piso mais elevado com até seis metros de altura e área construída até setecentos e cinqüenta metros quadrados. O objetivo desse sítio é o de permitir ao arquiteto, através sua navegação, obter todas as informações necessárias que o capacitem a cumprir essa regulamentação e legalizar essas edificações junto ao Corpo de Bombeiros de São Paulo. O texto apresenta um resumo histórico da evolução da legislação do Corpo de Bombeiros de São Paulo, descreve o Projeto Técnico Simplificado, com sua composição e impressos, consolida a regulamentação pertinente aos casos tratados por esse procedimento, desenvolve diagramas de bloco do fluxo das informações necessárias para a implantação do sítio, e relata os resultados de pesquisa de campo indicando sua necessidade, mais pesquisa de aperfeiçoamento do sítio, com duas versões: a primeira que buscou a coleta de sugestões e percepção de erros, e a segunda, conduzindo-o a busca de eficiência, eficácia e satisfação do usuário. Encontram-se presentes, nos diversos capítulos, todas as instruções iniciais orientadoras das pesquisas além da tabulação dos resultados obtidos. As conclusões indicam que o caminho percorrido conduziu à produção da ferramenta eletrônica desejada a qual, mesmo que ainda passível de aperfeiçoamentos, permite sua implantação imediata. / This work presents the stages and tasks carried through the construction of a web site as a way for the diffusion of the fire safety concepts. The web site deals with the norms of Saint Paul State Fire Department (SPFD) of its regulation, and was limited, itself, to the cases dealt by the Simplified Technical Project (STP), which enclose, briefly, construction with raised floor with up 6 meters high and construction area up to 750 square meters. The point of this web site is to allow architects through its navigation, to get all necessary information to enable them to fulfill the norms and legalize their construction with SPFD. The text presents a historical summary of the evolution of the SPFD legislation, describes the STP with his composition and printed matters, consolidate the pertinent regulation to the treated cases by this procedure, develops blocks diagrams of the flow of the necessary information for the implantation of the web site, also tells the results of the field research indicating its necessity, plus perfection research of the web site with two versions: the first one, that pursued the collect of suggestions and perceptions of errors, and the second one, leading to efficiency search, effectiveness and user satisfaction. There are in several chapters all the initial instructions that oriented the researches well as the tabulation of the gotten results. The conclusion indicate the covered way lead to the production of the desiderate electronic tool, witch, even still possible more development, allow its immediate implantation.

Prescribed fire has become a known silvicultural disturbance on public and private lands in the United States. Implementation of fire as a treatment allows land managers to reach specific goals through lower operational costs compared to mechanical or chemical means. Differences in management strategies for forested ecosystems often lead to individual plant species being overlooked. With an increasing number of invasive plants spreading into North American ecosystems, response of invasive plants to fire could potentially affect management decisions. It is important to understand the fire-response of invasive plants as stimulatory, neutral or suppressive to aid in future management of ecosystems. This study quantified the impact of small-scale prescribed fire on the invasive plant Japanese chaff flower (Achyranthes japonica; hereafter Chaff), at three different sites in Southern Illinois. The hypothesis was that fire would decrease the density and survival of chaff. Fixed sample plots were created (24 plots per site). At each site a set of unburned plots (control 8-16 plots) and treatment plots (burned 8-16 plots) were established, resulting in 32 burned plots and 32 unburned plots between 2015 and 2016. To best understand the effects fire had on Chaff, plant phenology was classified into four different life stages (cotyledons, seedlings, juveniles, adults) during each survey of the study plots. Using multi-model inference, one candidate model set was created to evaluate the survival of adult chaff flower, and 4 model sets to investigate the change in density of adults, juveniles, seedlings, and cotyledons respectively. The models had sites, treatment (burned versus unburned), and year (2015 and 2016) as explanatory variables. We compared the models using Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for sample bias (AICc) to compare and rank models. The top model described survival of adult chaff flower, retained only treatment (burn vs. unburned) as a variable, and showed that Chaff survival was lower in burned plots than in unburned plots (β = -0.30, SE = 0.02), with the effect being greater at site 3 where about 46% of adult plants died after being treated with fire. The top model describing the change in adult plant density retained an interaction between year and site, and showed that adult chaff density increased from 2015 to 2016 on sites 1 and 2 by 32% and 14%, respectively. However, on site 3 there was nearly a 50% decrease in adult chaff flower plants in 2016. The juvenile and cotyledon stages showed similar results, by retaining an interaction between site and treatment, with an addition to year; the data showed a higher number of juveniles and cotyledons in the unburned plots than the burned plots going from 2015 to 2016. Seedling density decreased from 2015 to 2016 on sites 2 and 3, but on site 1 there was a slight increase. This increase could be largely due to the ability of the plants independent ability to replenish gaps in the population. Chaff can grow from the cotyledon class to an adult plant in a single growing season with sufficient sunlight, nutrient, and space. This study showed that a single entry of low intensity prescribed fire can kill established adult chaff plants. A single entry of prescribed fire had a direct negative impact on emerging young chaff plants, but the traits and characteristics of this invasive species which enable it to persist after a disturbance, as well as the documented variability on control associated with seasonal and local site differences, suggest that fire treatment alone may not be enough to halt its spread. Future work could focus on more burns, with repeated entry of fire in chaff flower populations and burns conducted at higher intensities and at different times of the year to further explore the impacts of fire on this invasive species.

"Fire investigators have historically relied upon fire damage as a means to conclude where a fire originated despite the lack of formal processes. The historical and current literature on the topic was evaluated with a specific emphasis toward the research conducted over the past eighty years related to fire patterns and their creation in the context of the fire environment. A seven step reasoning process for evaluating damage for determining the area of origin, along with a new definition for the term fire pattern, was developed. The aim was to develop and implement into practice a decision support framework that assists forensic fire investigators in assessing the efficacy of fire burn patterns as reliable indicators of the area of fire origin. This was facilitated by the development of a prototype method for determining the area of origin based on fire patterns analysis, named the Process for Origin Determination (POD). This dissertation describes the application of the POD with test subjects and presents an analysis of the outcomes showing its benefits. It has been shown through the use of reliability and validity tests that the POD assisted novices in more consistently and more accurately determining the area of origin over a variety of scenarios."

Fire has always been one of the most serious threats of collapse to structural building frames. The September 11 incident has stimulated significant interests in analyzing and understanding the behavior of the structures under fire events. The strength of the material decreases due to the elevated temperature caused by fire, and this reduction in strength leads to the failure of the member. Frames that do not have sufficient ductility can suffer progressive collapse of the entire structure if one member fails during a fire event. Such collapse could result in loss of human life and serious economic consequences. The motivation for this thesis is to provide an understanding of the continuity effects in steel frames under fire conditions. The continuity effects of the structure can provide additional strength to the system to sustain the loads under fire event. Different scenarios of the frame and beam structures which include changes to member sizes, fire locations, and bay size, are investigated with the assistance of SAP2000 and ANSYS. These programs can provide the collapse analysis for each scenario at different temperature. The continuity effect was investigated from the strength point of view of the structure. Ultimately, the thesis presents a design tool for aiding member design under fire conditions. The design tool consists of different graphs that maybe use to determine the collapse load capacity of a continuous structure at elevated temperature based on the analysis of a simpler, determinate structure.