Fire Models and Design - Assignment Example

FIRE MODELS AND DESIGN Name of the student Name of the Institution Date of submission Part A 1. Discuss the terms “fire resistance testing” and “reaction to fire Testing” BS 476: part 20 of 1987 defined fire testing as the capability of an constituent of building developed to withstand exposure to a given standard temperature, pressure and time regime with minimal loss of its fire separating its main function or load bearing function or both for a given time period. The structural material fire rating and assembly are generally strong-minded through testing in the dimension values for customary units as the primary units of measure (Rabin et al., 2014). On the other hand, reaction to fire testing relates to the combustibility and ignitability of a material that is how it contributes to the growth rather than its ability to resist the passage of fire. In most cases, the test tend to be smaller in scale than for fire resistance and are carried out on specific components or materials representative of end use condition(Rabin et al., 2014). 2. Discuss the functional requirements (B1 to B5) of Approved Document B. Approved functional document B started functioning in the year 2001 and all new buildings works taking place in a school work under this approval. The functional requirements B1 to B5 of schedule 1 of the building regulation include; B1: Its main purpose is to ensure satisfactory provision of means of giving an alarm in case of fire outbreak and satisfactory standard of means of escape for persons in the event of the fire outbreak in a building (Cary et al., 2015). B2: This regulation provides requirements that ensure inhabitation of fire spread over internal lining of a building (Cary et al., 2015). B3: The regulation ensures the stability in the event of fire and help in ensuring that there is a sufficient degree of fire separation within buildings and between adjoining buildings. This helps in providing automatic fire suppression where necessary. It further helps to inhibit the unseen spread of fire and smoke in concealed space in the building (Cary et al., 2015). B4: It ensures that external walls and roofs have adequate resistance to the spread of fire over the external envelope and that spread of fire from one building to another is highly restricted (Cary et al., 2015). B5: To ensure satisfactory access for fire appliances to buildings and the provision of facilities in buildings to assist fire fighters in saving life of the people in and around buildings (Cary et al., 2015). 3. Discuss the term means of escape and the process of escape Means of escape the principle on which escaping means provisions are based on the time available for a person to escape during an event of fire breakdown. It is the assessment of the length of time between the fire starting and it making the means of escape from the workplace unsafe. Normally it is greater than the time required for escape. Regardless the fire location, once individuals are aware of it, they should be able to proceed safely along a recognizable escape route to place of safety. After moving to a place of relative safety, they should move to a place of ultimate safety in the case of fire outbreak and this is the process of escape. 4. Explain the term “travel distance "Travel distance means the distance from any point in a floor area to an exit measured along the path of exit travel, except that when floor areas are subdivided into rooms used singly or into suites of rooms and served by public corridors or exterior passageways, the distance shall be measured from the door of the rooms or suites to the nearest exit." It seems that if a floor area has rooms. Then the travel distance is measured from the room door onwards. 5. Discuss the importance of space separation between buildings The 2009 International Building Code (IBC) in section 1613.6 consist of eight alternatives to the 2005 the American Society for Civil Engineers minimum Designers load buildings and other structures (ASCE-7-05). It helps in finding safe haven for stopping spread of the fire and bringing sanity in the building and construction industry. It includes exit separation concept which help in evacuating people in case of fire outbreak. Regardless of your building size, shape, or design, providing space between exits is necessary for allowing occupants to get out of a building safely if an exit is blocked during a fire. Part B: 15 Questions 1. What is the maximum recommended compartment size for each of the following cases: a) A single storey shop with sprinkler protection Maximum floor area per compartment 12,000m2 Maximum cubical extent per compartment NC Maximum storage height 18m b) A single storey industrial unit Compartment below ground maximum floor area 2000m2 and maximum cubic extent 7500m3. 2. What is the maximum size of an opening (unprotected area) that can be discounted when considering space separation between buildings? < = 2,000 m 3. What is the minimum recommended fire resistance periods for the following structures: a) A 35m high sprinkler protected residential building 1hour b) A ten storey shop with sprinkler protection 0.5 hours 4. In each of the following cases state whether a fire fighting shaft is recommended and if so whether or not a fire fighting lift is also required: a) An office building with a top occupied floor of 250m2 located at 19m above fire service vehicle access level. Yes fire fighting shaft is required (Suard, Hostikka & Baccou 2013) b) A four storey assembly building with a top storey of 1400m2 located 10m above fire service vehicle access level. Yes, fire fighting shaft is required and lift is not necessary (1 mark) 5. What purpose groups would be appropriate for the following premises? a) A hospital 2(a) b) A hotel (4) c) A manufacturing factory (6) d) A swimming pool building (5) (2 marks) 6. According to Table 2 of ADB, what are the recommended travel distance limitations (single direction & more than one direction) for the following: a) A normal hazard storage facility 45m b) A place of special fire hazard 25m c) The bedroom of an apartment 35m d) A lecture theatre with fixed seating in rows 18m e) Shop floor 45m f) A residential care home 35m 7. According to Table 3 of ADB, what is the recommended minimum number of escape routes from a storey with: a) 50 people 1 b) 400 people 1 c) 550 people 2 d) 605 people 3 (2 marks) 8. According to Table 4 of ADB, what is the minimum exit width required to accommodate: a) 109 people 850mm b) 218 people 1050 c) 10 people 50mm d) 500 people 2500mm (2 marks) 9. A building with four above ground floors is served by two escape stairs without lobby protection. Using Table 7 of ADB, what is the minimum width of the escape stairs if each floor accommodates: a) 75 persons 800mm b) 130 persons 800mm (2 marks) 10. A building with five above ground floors is served by three escape stairs with lobby protection. Using Table 7 of ADB, what is the minimum width of the escape stairs if each floor accommodates: a) 155 persons b) 230 persons (2 marks) 11. Assuming 100 occupants from the ground floor accommodation also exit through the ground floor of the stair enclosures for Questions 9 and 10, how wide do the final exits need to be? (I.e. a merging flow – diagram 15 and associated equation). (4 marks) P = 100/2 = 50 n = 5 From the formula 50 = 20w +5(w-0.3)/ (5-1) 50 = 20w + (5w-1.5) (4) 50 = 20w+ 25w-6 56 =45w W = 124mm 12. According to Table C1, what floor space factors would be appropriate in the following areas? a) An office 6m2/per person b) A bar within 2m of serving point 0.3m2/person c) A shop sales area 2m2/person d) A restaurant 0.5m2/person 13. For a square room, 40m by 40m, calculate the number of occupants using the floor space factors obtained in Question 12. In each case what is the minimum number of exits required and how wide should each exit be as a minimum. a) An office 6m2/per person 1 exit b) A bar within 2m of serving point 0.3m2/person 2 exit c) A shop sales area 2m2/person 2 exit d) A restaurant 3 exit 14. What is meant by the following terms: a) Life safety: known as NFPA 101, is a consensus standard widely adopted in the United States (Suard, Hostikka & Baccou 2013) b) Property protection: this are building codes and principles used in managing building for safety of people and property (Suard, Hostikka & Baccou 2013) c) Fire resistance: The ability of building components and systems to perform their intended fire separating and/or load bearing functions under fire exposure(Suard, Hostikka & Baccou 2013) d) Cavity barrier: This is separation within concealed spaces, products to prevent the spread of fire and smoke in cavities and concealed spaces(Suard, Hostikka & Baccou 2013) e) (4 marks) 15. Figure 1 and Figure 1a below represents a two storey office building, from the dimensions give an estimate for internal room sizes. With reference to Figures 1 and 1a determine: a) Travel distances from each room and each floor, Since the floors are 3, distances travelled are 27m2 b) Occupancy load The occupancy load of the project is given by (6-0) = 6 c) Purpose group 2(a) d) Exit and final exit widths EW = 5.3 x AC)/ N − 1 = (5.3*4) 6-1 = 4.24mm e) Stair widths and Ground floor storey exit 250 persons share a common final exit with 1.2m wide stair Required final exit = ((250/2.5) + (1.2 x 60))/80 width (metres) = 2.150m f) Classification of wall and ceiling linings Ceiling linings - the following ceiling surfaces should be included in the assessment: the surface of glazing any part of a ceiling which slopes at an angle of 70º or less to the horizontal Bibliography Rabin, S.S., Malyshev, S., Shevliakova, E. and Pacala, S.W., 2014, December. The Effects of Modern-Day Cropland and Pasture Management on Vegetation Fire: An Earth System Modeling Approach. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 1, p. 0223). Cary, G.J., Keane, R.E., Flannigan, M.D., Davies, I.D. and Parsons, R.A., 2015. What determines area burned in large landscapes? Insights from a decade of comparative landscape-fire modelling. Suard, S., Hostikka, S. and Baccou, J., 2013. Sensitivity analysis of fire models using a fractional factorial design. Fire Safety Journal, 62, pp.115-124. Read More