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The flame spread behavior over a filter paper in opposed flow was investigated on the ISS/Kibo, and the results were compared with the flammability map predicted in advance by scale analysis for a two-dimensional flame. The on-orbit experiments were conducted in the solid combustion experimental module (SCEM) as the first combustion test of the FLARE project by JAXA. A filter paper with a length of 130 mm, a width of 40 mm or 20 mm, and a thickness of 0.12 mm was used as the specimen. The opposed flow velocity and the oxygen concentration were varied from 0 cm/s to 25 cm/s, and from 13.5% to 34%, respectively. The ambient pressure is 101.3 kPa. The predicted limiting curve reasonably agreed with the minimum limiting oxygen concentration observed. On the other hand, in extremely slow flows, very robust flames were observed beyond the limiting curve. When the condition reached the limit of two-dimensional flame, the flame front changed from a linear shape to a spherical shape (flamelet) to shorten the preheat zone length, reducing the radiative heat loss to survive. In these cases, the flamelet was sustained for a long time (> 100 s), and a large amount of decomposed gas was released at the periphery of the pyrolysis zone generating a combustible vapor cloud around the spherical flame font. The presence of a long-life robust flamelet and the accumulation of such combustible mist can be fire hazards in microgravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the pyrolysis mechanisms of Nomex insulation paper in nitrogen and air atmospheres. The Nomex insulation paper is composed of 93% poly (m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) fibers and 7% inorganic substances based on elemental analysis. Using the thermogravimetry, it is found that the pyrolysis behaviors in nitrogen and air are similar below 770 K, with large discrepancies identified in the temperature range of 770–1073 K. The peak mass loss rate in air is 9 times higher than that in nitrogen. The kinetic analysis shows that the average activation energy (E ) in air is lower than that in nitrogen by 32% when the temperature is higher than 770 K, indicating a lower thermal stability. The PMIA fibers are found decomposing more seriously in air using SEM. Below 770 K, the functional groups of two atmospheres are mainly produced by the breakage of amide bonds and formation of aromatic nitrile. Unlike nitrogen, the organic substances in the solid residue are mostly oxidized at 1073 K in air. Consequently, the maximum productions of H2O, CO2 and CO in air are nearly 5 times higher than those of nitrogen, and the HCN generated during pyrolysis is further oxidized to NOx in air. Combining with the results of Py-GC/MS, it is inferred that the small molecules generated by the degradation of PMIA molecular chains, especially the benzene rings, will experience oxidization reactions in air atmosphere, with large amounts of H2O, CO2, CO and NOx produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire risk was evaluated by cone calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis and vertical combustion tests for four common interior wallpaper species including PVC, non-woven, pure paper and silicone wallpapers. This paper compared the time to ignition, heat release rate, smoke production rate, and mass loss parameters, analyzed burning process, pyrolysis and flame propagation properties of four kinds of wallpaper. Based on observations for wallpapers, it is found that the silicone wallpaper had the longest time to ignition and was not lighted under the 15, 20 kW/m2 heat fluxes. This means that the silicone wallpaper can be ignited at a higher heat flux and will have a greater safety than other kinds of wallpaper. Under 30 kW/m2 heat flux, the smoke production of pure paper wallpaper was the lowest, the silicone wallpaper had the lower heat release rate, no smoke released and stable pyrolysis property in the first 40 s. This mean that the first 40 s of the fire of the silicone wallpaper can be used as a prime time for evacuation of people under 30 kW/m2 heat flux. The pyrolysis property and flame propagation of each wallpaper are related to its component. In addition, it is found that the "empty drum" phenomenon of the wallpapers is a prerequisite for the wallpaper used to burn, and only the silicone wallpaper among the four wallpapers has almost no flame propagation due to the thermal shrinkage phenomenon. It is concluded that the wallpaper coated with silicone rubber has a higher safety compared with the wallpapers containing PVC and synthetic fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of steel connections is essential in structural fire design and analysis for steel-framed composite structures. The current structural design provisions provide strength reduction factors of load-carrying members and their end-connection elements at elevated temperatures, based on small-scale experiments under uniform heating conditions. The realistic thermal and structural evolution in member connections, especially as part of full-scale floor assemblies exposed to a large compartment fire, has not been well characterized. A large compartment fire experiment was recently conducted on a 9.1 m by 6.1 m composite floor assembly as part of a two-story steel-framed building. The test assembly had a total of ten shear-tab (fin-plate) connections subjected to combined fire and mechanical loading. This paper presents the measured thermal response of these connections to fire and comparison with the corresponding Eurocode 3 predictions with two methods (1) incorporating the beam bottom flange temperature at midspan and (2) the section factor method. The results show that the Eurocode 3 methods conservatively predict the maximum temperature during heating and the cooling rate but overestimate the high-temperature strength of connections when estimated using the section factor method, showing that the Eurocode 3 simplified approaches are not meant to provide the details of the failure mode for connections. This study suggests that estimating the strength of connections using strength reduction factors may not guarantee a safe structural fire design. In addition, this paper estimated the total axial force (from slab and beam) at the composite connection via using the strain gauge measurements close to the column bases which were not exposed to fire. It suggests realistic axial load and rotational demand on the shear connection due to restraints to thermal elongation or contraction of supported members should be considered in future design guidance as should designing and detailing the connections for ductility to withstand the inelastic deformation demands during the heating and the cooling phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the development of DC transmission projects in China, the number of converter stations has increased. Fire accidents in converter stations have also become more frequent. Transformer insulating paperboard, as a typical combustible material in converter station equipment, poses a greater fire risk. So in this paper, flame spreading behaviors, including experimental visual characteristics, fire spreading rate, mass loss with time and mass loss rate, of transformer insulating paperboard with different thickness and different inclined angles are investigated. The results show that: (1) In downwards flame spread, that is, in the case of positive angle, the flame height and width gradually decrease with the increase of angle; in the case of negatively inclined angles, the flame length shows an increasing trend with the decrease of inclined angles, and the flame thickness gradually becomes thinner. (2) In upwards flame spread, that is, in the case of negative angle, the fire spreading rate of the insulating paperboard decreases sharply with the increase of the angle; In the case of a positively inclined angle, the change of flame spreading rate is not obvious with the increase of inclined angles as compared with the conditions in negative angles. The paperboard thickness also has a significant impact on the flame spreading rate, and the flame spreading rate will decrease significantly with the increase of paperboard thickness. (3) In upwards flame spread, the mass loss rate of insulating paperboard will decrease significantly with the increase of inclined angles; in downwards flame spread, the change of mass loss rate is not obvious with the increase of inclined angles as compared with those in condition of negative angles. At the same time, the mass loss rate will increase significantly with the increase of paperboard thickness. (4) The mass loss rate and fire spread rate of the insulating paperboard have a strong correlation with the flame length and the length of the pyrolysis zone. A heat transfer process model about characteristic length scale and mass loss rate is established. In order to simplify the model, a dimensionless relation about angle is defined to replace the feature length and to explore the relationship between angle and mass loss rate. Based on the inherent relationship between fire spread rate and mass loss rate, the relationship between fire spread rate and angle is found. And the result shows satisfactory agreement between the predictions and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building information modelling (BIM) is widely considered to be leading the digital transformation of the AEC industry because of its data management capabilities among different stakeholders and across the building life-cycle. Fire safety engineering (FSE) is one of the disciplines that has been excluded for a long time from integrated approaches such as BIM, even though ensuring fire safety is a fundamental aspect of building performance. This paper presents a systematic literature review of BIM–FSE integration methodologies to highlight its potentialities for building life-cycle management and the digital transformation of the AEC domain. The findings show that the majority of BIM–FSE applications are focused on fire and evacuation simulations, followed by detection, monitoring and real-time emergency management. Technologies that are often involved in BIM-based fire safety solutions are CFD-based technologies, game- augmented and virtual reality, and the internet of things. Native formats are the most used for data sharing, while open standards still lack adequate data structures for FSE applications. The review highlights the benefits, embedded potentialities and limitations of the BIM–FSE integration in a decade of research studies. Future research directions for the digital transformation of FSE through BIM are proposed in a research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of Fire Technology is devoted to scientific studies of facade fires, including experiments, computer models, design, technology, and regulations. The building facade is one of the most important aspects of an architectural design, taking up around 15%-25% of the total construction cost. The 4th paper, from I Southwest Jiaotong University i and I Sichuan Fire Research Institute i performed multiple full-scale facade fire tests on a 12-story building that was covered by the expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and a plaster layer. [Extracted from the article]

Woolson's cataloguing of 82 tests is followed by tests which follow the Woolson-Miller test standard up until its date of publication in 1912 [[5]]. In reference [[5]], Woolson provides a catalogue of structural fire tests starting with the 1896/97 New York fire tests that followed the Henning test standard. Despite the corruption associated with the test series, the evidence from Woolson and Miller suggest that the test series was still considered as valid during the era of the temperature-time curve's establishment and the original foundation for the tests that followed it. In 2020, we submitted a now published review paper in Fire Technology discussing early narratives of fire testing and the origins of the standard temperature and time heating curve [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

After over 30 years of fast economic development and massive construction of infrastructures, China now owns the largest total length of tunnels in the world. However, many tunnels are overloaded with a large traffic volume and vulnerable to fire accidents in operation. Once a fire occurs in the tunnel, the occupants face a dangerous and confined environment and need to evacuate before reaching untenable conditions. Failure in fire evacuation will cause severe injuries and casualties under high-temperature and toxic fire smoke, and many past fire accidents have taught us lessons. Driven by the need for tunnel fire safety in China, many new researches are conducted related to fire evacuation in tunnel environments including full-scale experiments, and new evacuation strategies are carried out with sophisticated tunnel designs and regulations. Hence, this work aims to review these latest developments and studies in China towards better and safer evacuation in tunnel fires. In specific, the paper summarized the evacuation issues in tunnel fires generally and pointed out the unique issues in China. Aiming these issues, the paper then introduced recent evacuation strategies and evacuation research in China respectively. Typical tunnel fire accidents and full-scale tunnel fire evacuation tests in China were discussed in detail as case studies. Detailed evacuation strategies and the exposed issues were analyzed in those tunnel fire accidents emphatically, while evacuation findings of human behavior such as evacuation choices and trajectories were presented according to several field tunnel fire evacuations conducted by the authors. Finally, we highlight the research advances and challenges of fire evacuation in tunnels, as well as the need and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, most of the previous work focused on the effects of crown bulk density, crown base height, and wind on the initiation and behaviors of crown fire using tree branches. However, very few investigations have been carried out related to the initiation and behaviors of crown fire using a real tree considering moisture content, crown height and tree flower. In this paper, a series of burning experiments are carried out using real trees to investigate the effects of moisture content, crown height and tree flower on initiation conditions from surface fire to crown fire and crown fire behaviors. The variables of two crown heights (1.0 m, 1.5 m), three crown moisture contents (45 ± 2%, 55 ± 2%, 65 ± 2%) and tree flowers are selected. The main conclusions are as follows: when the tree has the higher crown base height and the larger moisture content, the crown fire initiation success from surface fire decreases, while the existence of tree flowers tends to lead to initiation success of crown fire. The critical fireline intensity can be used to determine the initiation of crown fire from surface fire for conditions with the absence of tree flowers, whereas the critical value can not be applied to cases with the existence of tree flowers. Moreover, the lower moisture content and higher crown height are, the maximum values of the flame height, fire plume temperature, and radiation heat flux of crown fire are larger. Besides, when the tree is covered with tree flowers, the flame height, fire plume temperature, and radiation heat flux of crown fire increase significantly due to the increases of fuel load and flammability. This work can not only provide theoretical basis for crown fire, but also supply technical guidance for the prevention and extinguishment of crown fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experiments and simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of lateral smoke exhaust in tunnel fires. A special phenomenon, plug-holing was observed. Combined with the exhaust vent size, heat release rate and exhaust velocity, the plug-holing was analyzed. The smaller the heat release rate and the greater the exhaust velocity will enhance the plug-holing. On the contrary, the narrow exhaust vent will help to inhibit the occurrence of plug-holing. At the same time, it is found that the Froude number criterion proposed by Hinkley is not suitable for lateral smoke exhaust system. In this paper, considering the difference between lateral smoke exhaust and ceiling smoke exhaust, the Froude number proposed by Hinkley is modified to determine the plug-holing in lateral smoke exhaust, and a new modified Froude number is established. The results show that when the new modified Froude number is greater than 2.5, the plug-holing of the lateral smoke exhaust will happen at the smoke layer. The new modified Froude number might be more accurate compared with the existing criteria to judge the occurrence of plug-holing for lateral smoke exhaust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, electrical fires, which constitute the majority of fire incidents, have become a significant concern. This paper presents a quantitative evaluation of the research on electrical fires from 1993 to 2022, using literature measurement and visual analysis techniques. A total of 2915 publications were collected from the Web of Science database to review and analyze the research progress on electrical fires. In this investigation, the quantitative distribution of literature by year as well as the distributions of main source journals, countries and regions, institutions, and discipline categories were analyzed. Additionally, research hotspots were identified and the knowledge field was mapped using VOSviewer. The results indicated an exponential growth in the number of publications on electrical fires, with Ceramics International emerging as the most prolific journal, having published 79 papers and accounting for 2.5% of the total research. The most active countries in electrical fire research were found to be China, the United States, South Korea, India, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, with Chinese publications having the most significant impact. The University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tsinghua University are the most productive institutions in the field of electrical fire research; their main research directions include electrical structure, electrical experiment simulation, insulating materials, battery fires, fire extinguishing technology, and detection methods. Further, we observed that the scope of research on electrical fires has expanded from the macro to micro level. Thematic analysis conducted in the last decade has revealed that battery fires and equipment materials have emerged as the primary focus of research in this field. These research findings offer a comprehensive overview of the evolution of research hotspots, which can assist researchers in quickly grasping the research frontiers as well as the overall situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental study presented in this paper aimed to investigate the effects of bolt number and their pattern on the failure time of minimally fire-protected glulam beam bolted connections. Four full-size glulam beam-end connection configurations reinforced perpendicular to wood grain with self-tapping screws (STS) were experimentally tested under exposure to elevated temperatures that followed the CAN/ULC S101 (Standard methods of fire endurance tests of building construction and materials. Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, Fifth edition, Ottawa, Canada, 2019) standard fire time–temperature curve. All metal connecting components (i.e., bolt heads and nuts and steel plate edges) were fire protected using wood plugs and strips, respectively. Throughout the duration of fire tests, all specimens were subjected to monotonic load causing bending moment equivalent to the maximum moment design capacity of the weakest unreinforced connection configuration. Fire test results show that the failure time of all four proposed wood–steel–wood connection configurations surpassed the 45-min mark, which is the minimum prescribed fire resistance rating for timber connections in applicable codes, with the two configurations that employed six bolts sustained the applied load for more than 60 min in standard fire conditions. Increasing the number of bolts from four to six enhanced the failure time of the proposed connection configurations with time increments more than those due to changing the bolt pattern. Most importantly, test results confirm that reinforcing the connections with STS fully curtailed wood splitting and averted row shear failure that is frequently encountered in similar but unreinforced connection configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracture behavior of welding material at elevated temperatures can significantly affect the performance of steel welded connections in fires. Therefore, this paper investigates the fracture behavior and fracture model of welding material in steel welded connections exposed to elevated temperatures up to 700°C. Firstly, using the standard tension test data and numerical analysis method, the true stress–strain model of E7018 welding materials at elevated temperatures was derived for fracture prediction of steel welded connections. The fracture parameters of the welding materials at elevated temperatures in tension and shear were calibrated from the results of the standard tension test and longitudinal fillet-welded connection tension test, respectively. The 2D fracture models of welds at elevated temperatures were developed considering the relationship between stress triaxiality and equivalent plastic strain at fracture. The 3D fracture models of welds at elevated temperatures were then established from the 2D fracture model by considering the effect of Lode angle parameters in tension and shear. The 3D fracture models of welds were validated against the tension tests on the fillet welded connections at elevated temperatures under different load angles including 0°, 45°, and 90°. Finally, the fracture model as the function of temperature, stress triaxiality, Lode angle parameter, and plastic strain at fracture was proposed for E7018 welding material. According to the results, the welding material demonstrates ductile fracture behavior at elevated temperatures. The developed 3D fracture model can reasonably predict the fracture behavior of the welding material in steel welded connections at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the comparative fire performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams made of concretes with different strengths by undertaking fire resistance tests. Four RC beams made of normal strength concrete (NSC), high strength concrete (HSC), and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) with different fiber combinations, were subjected to structural loading and tested under fire conditions. Results from the fire resistance tests show that UHPC beams undergo severe fire-induced spalling and exhibit lower fire resistance as compared to HSC and NSC beams. Additionally, the inclusion of polypropylene (PP) fibers in UHPC beams aids in reducing spalling and increasing fire resistance in UHPC beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental study that investigates the effect of fiber dimension on preventing spalling of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). UHPCs with different dimensions of polypropylene (PP) fibers were prepared for permeability test at different temperatures and spalling test under ISO834 fire curve. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation was also conducted focusing on the fiber of a UHPC sample at the same location after it was subjected to elevated temperatures. The results of permeability tests and spalling tests showed that longer fibers of 12 mm and 18 mm and finer fibers of 28 μm and 33 μm were more beneficial for increasing the permeability of UHPC at high temperature, resulting in higher effectiveness on spalling prevention. Permeability measurements indicated a significant increase occurred at 150°C regardless of fiber dimensions; this increase plays an important role in spalling prevention. SEM results further testify that this increase can be attributed to the formation of microcracks caused by expansion of PP fibers. An aspect ratio of 300 is recommend for spalling prevention of UHPC, when 3 kg/m3 of PP fibers are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the fire response of a frame with Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Columns (ST-RC column-RC beam). The structure was modeled in the finite element analysis platform ABAQUS, and the its validity was verified against experimental data. The model was subjected to fire and vertical load and the failure mode, deformation, internal forces, stresses, and fire resistance, and the factors that influence the fire resistance were analyzed. Two failure modes were detected: in the one, the beam of the frame is involved, and in the other, beam and column simultaneously fail. Under the combined action of fire and load, the bending moment of the beam and column changes significantly. The parameters that have a great influence on the fire resistance of the structure are the column and beam load ratios, beam to column linear stiffness ratio, column slenderness ratio, column section size, core area ratio of column section, and compressive strength of concrete around column. Considering the above main factors, a simplified calculation formula for the fire resistance of this frame is provided. This research can provide reference for the design of this kind of frame structure in practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid fire testing is a testing method for structures on fire based on a substructuring method. A complete structure is divided in two substructures, one in a fire test laboratory (physical substructure), and one numerically simulated (numerical substructure). In fire engineering, some hybrid fire tests have been successfully performed in the last decades, but as the method is still in its infancy, these hybrid tests were limited to one-degree-of-freedom tests. The paper presents the first successful multi-degree-of-freedom hybrid test performed in fire engineering. The physical substructure is a steel column with an axial displacement and rotations at the ends controlled by electric jacks. The numerical substructure is a non-linear 2D plane frame structure modelled in SAFIR®. The equations of the algorithm, the experimental setup, the testing process, and the results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catastrophic events of September 11, 2001, stand out as a major motivation for research on improving the understanding of structural behaviour in fire. These events included the first complete collapse of a tall steel framed structure solely due to fire. World Trade Center 7 (WTC7) was a 47-storey office building within the WTC complex that collapsed due to a fire initiated by debris from the collapse of WTC1. In the following years, detailed investigations were carried out by expert teams to pinpoint the cause of the progressive failure of WTC7. Each of the expert teams analysed the fire and structure and made varying conclusions with regards to the mechanisms responsible for initiating and propagating the collapse of the building. This paper revisits the collapse of WTC7 and its investigation, and then explores the hypothesis that a potential hydrocarbon fire may have compromised the large transfer structure within the mechanical space of the building. This is done via two OpenSees finite element models. The first model explores the thermomechanical response of the mechanical floors to a potential diesel fire, and the second investigates the response of the structure to a failure caused by that fire. The outcome of the analyses shows that it is feasible that a mechanical room fire could lead to a failure in the transfer structure, which would then result in the loss of support to at least two columns within the building core. The failure of these columns may unbrace the eastern-most core columns and precipitate in the failure of the structure as observed on 9/11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses application of a new methodology that facilitates fuel load surveys in buildings. The methodology consists of four steps comprising digital inventory, data organization, item matching through computer vision, and fuel load estimation, and is programmed into a digitized surveying application. The present paper applies the methodology to three office buildings and provides the results of surveyed fuel load density. A total office area of 1720 m2 was surveyed consisting of 34 closed offices and 161 cubicles within 12 large open plan office spaces. Compartment areas range from 8 m2 to 87 m2 for closed offices and 24 m2 to 345 m2 for open plan offices. The measured fuel load density for movable content had a mean of 1115 MJ/m2 with a standard deviation of 614 MJ/m2. When including the fixed content, the measured total fuel load density had a mean of 1486 MJ/m2 with a standard deviation of 726 MJ/m2. These values are considerably larger than values found in older surveys and most code provisions. The surveyed rooms had large quantities of paper, which amounted to 54% of the movable fuel load on average. Based on these results, and findings from other recent surveys, it is recommended to collect additional data. The work has established the foundation toward a fully automatized method, relying on an electronic form and a structured database of recorded information. A wide adoption of this method could populate an extensive fuel load database which can then be used to provide design guidelines for fuel load density in codes and standards, for application in performance-based design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents papers, written in 1850 and thought to be written or influenced by author Charles Dickens, that discuss progresses in fire science. Topics covered include the appearance of the papers in Dickens' magazine "Household Words," the lecture given by scientist Michael Faraday about the chemical history of candles which was published in "Household Words" and an overview of fire fighting in the Victorian era.

This paper presents the performance-based fire safety analysis of steel structures of padel-center built in Nokia, Finland. The analyses are conducted using advanced calculation models (fire simulations using Fire Dynamics Simulator, FDS, and finite element method, FEM, based analyses of the steel frames in elevated temperatures using SAFIR software, including joint analysis) in support with less sophisticated models (critical temperatures of steel members). The following localized fire scenarios are studied: lounge area furniture fire (4 sofas), sporting equipment fire (10 sporting bags filled with flammable clothing), fire during maintenance (scissor lift fire with miscellaneous temporary fire load) and a fire on HVAC balcony near the trusses. The aim of the paper is showcase recent developments in design processes and methods that are in practical use today in performance-based fire design (PBD), to demonstrate that relatively extensive performance-based studies can be (commercially) viable also in relatively small and mundane steel buildings, and to present a fairly robust framework for PBD of similar steel structures. As a result of the performance-based design, most of the steel structures in the case building could be constructed without fire protection, but some critical structures were identified and protected to class R30. The proposed design was approved by the local municipal authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete-filled hollow section (CFHS) columns with a solid steel core have gained popularity in the construction of tall buildings due to their robust load-bearing capacity, slender design, ease of prefabrication, and exceptional structural fire resistance. In this research paper, we introduce an innovative approach aimed at enhancing the structural performance of these columns. Our method involves replacing the solid steel core with high-strength bar bundles and substituting concrete with grout to achieve superior fire resistance. These modified columns are referred to as "bar-bundle columns." The paper presents the results of extensive fire tests conducted on three bar-bundle columns, each with different bar-bundle sizes, quantities, and configurations. Additionally, we determine the temperature-dependent material properties of the high-strength steel used for reinforcing bars and the thermal properties of the grout used as a filler through standard experimental tests, which are crucial for numerical simulations. An advanced nonlinear finite element model is describe which is capable of predicting the fire behavior of bar-bundle columns. Finally, this numerical model is employed to conduct parametric analyses and propose a simplified design model for bar-bundle columns under fire conditions.Our findings indicate that the bar-bundle configuration and using grout as a filler significantly delays the heating of the steel core, resulting in enhanced fire resistance when compared to CFHS columns with a solid steel core. The simplified method proposed in this study can be used to estimate the fire resistance of slender bar bundles, but further experimental testing could further refine and improve its accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sprinkler system can be very reliable and effective way to reduce fire risks in buildings if maintained properly. When the sprinkler system operates as designed, the temperatures affecting the load-bearing structures are often relatively low and the structural resistance is typically not compromised. Holistic Structural Fire Engineering (SFE) provides an opportunity to take active systems, like sprinklers, into account in the design. However, it is important to ensure that if the sprinkler system does not operate as designed, the consequences are still tolerable. Even though there are options to account sprinkler system in SFE, there is a lack of consistent guideline (at least in Finland). This can lead to totally different structural fire design and safety in similar buildings, depending on the interpretation and assumptions made. This paper presents a framework to take the effect of the sprinkler system consistently into account in SFE. The framework is based on Finland's fire regulations and on experience of multiple projects. Two case-examples, where this framework has been applied are presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slim-floor-type of steel-timber hybrid floor systems which use steel beams contained within the depth of the cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor slab offer many benefits, but there is still very little research available on the fire resistance performance of these systems. In the study presented in this paper two furnace tests and numerical simulations have been conducted to investigate the thermal profiles of the steel member and CLT slabs and to obtain information on the temperature development and charring of the hybrid beam section when it is exposed to standard fire conditions. Also, the effects of intumescent fire protection on temperatures and charring performance were investigated. Numerical 2D thermal simulations for unprotected and protected cases were conducted using SAFIR software, and the agreement between experiments and numerical-analysis predictions were in general very good. The results show that intumescent protection reduces the temperatures of the steel and CLT components as well as charring depth significantly, and the start of charring at CLT slab support may be delayed if intumescent paint protection thicker than that required for the load bearing steel member is used. The result also showed that CLT temperatures exceed 100°C already in the early stages of the fire which decrease the strength and stiffness properties of CLT much before the start of charring. Therefore, the fire design of the CLT slab support should not only consider the char depth and residual cross-section analysis but also the reduction in strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional storage method of fire accident cases is mainly in the form of text, and it is difficult to effectively conduct comprehensive analysis due to the limited ability to display key information and fire knowledge. In this paper, a structured storage form of building fire cases was proposed based on knowledge graph, which can comprehensively describe and visualize the fire causes, the dynamic fire development process and evacuation process. It enables readers to get information and knowledge from building fire cases intuitively, and supports the comprehensive analysis for building fire prevention strategies. The knowledge graphs are constructed for two common building types (residential and public buildings), and have the capacity to reflect the dynamic development law of fires from ignition to spread in different buildings. Meanwhile, as the occupants' evacuation is the first concern when a fire occurs, the knowledge graphs also visualize the relationship among various conditions in the evacuation process. Different application scenarios are displayed in the paper, including case query, root-cause analysis and consequence forecasting, which shows the advantages and applicability of building fire knowledge graph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to use the residual strength theory to study the probability of a domino effect accident occurring following the explosion of a spherical tank. We build a novel domino effect accident probability model, using Monte Carlo methods to simulate the ejection of debris. At the same time, the velocity and velocity distribution of fragments ejecting from the upper and lower parts of the explosive spherical tank are obtained. Finally, the relationship between the volume of the exploding spherical tank and the target, the crater Angle (ψ0 and ϕ0) of debris impacting the target, the probability of target destruction and the risk of domino effect accidents are considered. The results show that the maximum speed of debris from the lower part of a spherical tank exceeds that from its upper part, and the hazard associated with the debris from the lower part cannot be ignored. With the same target volume and spacing, the probability of a domino effect accident caused by projectile debris from the upper half of an exploding spherical tank is higher than that from the lower half. As theψ0 value increases, the probability of target failure gradually decreases, and as the ϕ0 value decreases, the probability of target failure also gradually decreases. Moreover, with changes in ψ0 and ϕ0, the probabilities of destruction and the occurrence of a domino effect accident significantly change. The results of this paper can provide guidance for the risk assessment of oil and gas storage tanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a healthcare context, the success of a fire safety procedure in a real-life emergency mainly depends on staff decisions and actions. One of the factors influencing staff decision-making is their training. In most healthcare facilities, safety educators use slide-based lectures as a training tool. Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining fire safety community attention for being an interesting training tool. However, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of VR-based fire safety training simulators compared with a slide-based lecture. The present research proposes a novel non-immersive VR-based training for healthcare fire safety education. This paper describes the prototyping steps required to develop a non-immersive VR serious game (SG) to train the staff of Vincent Van Gogh (VVG) hospital in Belgium. The paper finally validates the VR SG comparing its effectiveness against slide-based lecture training. 78 staff from VVG hospital in Belgium participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: Group A was trained using a slide-based lecture, and Group B was trained using the VR SG. The results indicated that the VR SG was more effective than the slide-based lecture in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention and in terms of self-efficacy increment in short and long terms than the slide-based lecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction of wildfire spreading is necessary for managing and fighting the forest fire. The traditional models require higher accuracy of the input parameters, which is impossible in real forest fires. The paper proposed a fire-spreading model based on the dynamic data of the fire field to improve its adaptability. The model is designed using a convolutional neural network with mixed-inputs and attention mechanisms (MI-AM-CNN). It predicts the burn map after a period of time through the multiple-channel image containing terrain variables and the current burn map, and the scalars containing climate variables. The channel and spatial attention modules are integrated to handle the advanced features that contain important fire variables information and strengthen the influence of important features on the prediction. Based on the FARSITE, a large number of data sets are generated for training, validating, and testing the models in the paper. The proposed model MI-AM-CNN is compared with the state-of-the-art neural network models. Quantitative results show that MI-AM-CNN has the highest performance in predicting effectiveness and efficiency, and it can be applied recursively to get the continuous predicted results. In addition, the prediction results of MI-AM-CNN on the historical fire data demonstrate the ability of its application in the real fire case. The MI-AM-CNN can be used as a predictive method in firefighting operations, and its predicted results can provide theoretical support for the forest fire spread prediction method based on artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spate of high-profile battery fires is sabotaging India's attempt to be one of the leaders in electric vehicles, especially in the 2-wheeler sector that employs the nation's traffic-obstructed streets. The Electric Vehicle (EV) industry and its clients are battling the likely fallout, myths, and fake news. For what reason do EV batteries burst into flames?—the paper responds to this fundamental but pressing question by profoundly delving into several aspects, such as the EV battery working conditions, EV components quality, temperature and external entity effects. This review focuses on the reasons, risks, ramifications and remedies of EV fires from an Indian perspective. An account of the EV fires of 2022 in India has been taken as the focal point of discussion in the paper. Many misconceptions, such as extreme weather and poor thermal management, have been refuted with valid arguments and factual results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents experimental and numerical results of an investigation into the thermal and structural behaviour of an innovative modular structural steel system, which includes cellular beams, that was tested in a 1-h standard fire scenario while loaded. The modular system consists of a 5.66 × 3.8 m rectangular steel frame, with a profiled steel sandwich decking (SD) system attached, which comprises of (a) profiled steel decking, (b) fibre cement, and (c) calcium silicate boards and strips. The SD system is suspended from the underside of the horizontal structural members to provide inherent fire protection to the steel beams from the bottom and acts as the load-bearing component of the flooring. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the fire resistance of the structural system, whilst under load, which is primarily based on the fire resistance of the SD system. Temperature data for the SD system was collected during the experiment and used to validate a numerical finite element analysis model. This study shows that the SD system was able to achieve a fire resistance rating of 57 min in the experiment which was governed by insulation resistance. A lower fire resistance rating is estimated based on numerical models. Structural resistance was maintained throughout the test. During preliminary testing structural collapse was observed in a separate experiment which highlights how the system is sensitive to damage to the ceiling boards. Numerical results highlight that thermal bowing and movement may result in changes in thermal interactions between adjacent elements. This paper provides novel large-scale experimental data on a loaded flooring system in fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China Power Grid is actively building a new energy-based ultra-high voltage grid system. Therefore, the researches on fire safety of power grid are of great importance. This paper firstly investigates the fire accident characteristics in the substation system. With the focuses on the transformer oil fires, the early detection and early warning, modification, fire monitoring and extinguishing systems of transformer oil are reviewed. It is found that the researches on flowing and jet fires should be reinforced while modified oil and pyrolysis gas detection can be applied for reducing the fire probability. Secondly, the fire risks and characteristics of cables are summarized for the transmission and distribution lines, and the methods of early warning, fire prevention and rescue are analyzed. For the wildfire threatening the transmission and distribution cables, the characteristics of wildfire and corresponding firefighting methods are reviewed. The water mist and liquid nitrogen are identified as the most effective ways of extinguishing cable fires and advanced fire detection and long-range drone fire extinguishing technologies should be improved for wildfires. Finally, the thermal runaway mechanism and fire characteristics of LIB in the energy storage system are summarized, and the difficulties in fire extinguishing are discussed. The application of the existing fire detection system in the field of LIB is proposed, and the early warning indicators for intelligent fire protection are introduced. In the future, the intelligent fire protection systems will improve the safety of energy storage systems, and efficient test platforms and reliable test standards will continue to be demanded to reduce the likelihood of thermal runaway and fire severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on the evolution of the vertical temperature profile of spilled plume originated from a compartment-facade fire under the conditions of different horizontal projection lengths. A series of reduced scale experiments were carried out in a 1:8 cubic fire compartment model with a single window at the center of the compartment's side wall. A vertical facade wall was attached to the compartment window, and a horizontal projection was installed at the level of window's top as the representative of a fire protection cornice in a real building. In the experiments, by varying the length of horizontal projection, the total heat release rate as well as the window sizes, the vertical temperature recorded by a series of thermocouples along the centerline of facade wall was analyzed. Results showed that, with the presence of horizontal projection, especially for a longer projection, the temperature of the spilled plume was reduced significantly, which is beneficial to fire protection in high-rise buildings. Meanwhile, two different regions were observed due to the flame retrieving effect to the facade wall, and therefore, the temperature would first increase and then decrease in the vertical direction, which is completely different from the results obtained without the horizontal projections. A critical vertical height with the highest temperature was discovered, and regarded as the new reference point. On this basis, a new normalized vertical height based upon the reference point and a new virtual origin were brought up. Finally, new correlations of vertical temperature with the updated normalized vertical height were proposed within the buoyancy plume region. This is a novel investigation for the spilled flow dynamics from a compartment-facade fire with horizontal projection conditions, and has great significance for improving the fire-fighting capabilities for a building in practice. For a compartment-facade fire, two new regions with a low temperature zone are newly discovered at the presence of horizontal projection, and new correlations of vertical temperature decay are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past three decades, fire engineering has experienced fast development worldwide. Fire regulations for building industry were moved from prescriptive description to performance-based specification. This trend started in the UK in the 1980s and spread to other western countries. Hong Kong closely followed the UK development and adopted the approach of performance-based design (PBD) for the Hong Kong International Airport and MTR stations in the early 1990s. The Government of Hong Kong SAR formally recognised the PBD approach in the prescriptive codes of practice in the mid-1990s and developed the performance-based code (PBC) in the 2000s. This PBC was promulgated in 2011. The evolution in fire engineering impacted the fire community in Mainland China. The State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) was established in University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1991. Then fire science and fire engineering stepped into the fast development track. The building industry in Mainland China started to adopt the PBD approach in the early 2000s for the significant developments including large airport terminals, railway and metro stations, super high-rise buildings, and mega commercial centres. However, a structured PBC system is not available within the regulatory framework to date. Adoption of PBD approach is slowing down in recent years. This paper presents a review of fire engineering development in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The review focuses on the development of the PBC in Hong Kong, and the PBD approach and fire research in Mainland China in the past 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kawagoe's Law is an essential correlation in compartment fire research, which defines the relationship between the ventilation factor and maximum fuel burning of the compartment. Although this law has been widely used, there is still a lack of numerical validation and knowledge on the limiting conditions of its application. In this paper, a numerical study is conducted under full-scale compartment fire with different opening sizes and gas fuel supply rates using the LES model for validating Kawagoe's Law. The mass flow rate of inflow through the opening and the indoor heat release rate is focused during the numerical validation. Numerical results show that the inflow rate and indoor heat release rate comply well with Kawagoe's Law under ordinary openings with a small aspect ratio. However, Kawagoe's Law becomes less valid for openings with large aspect ratios and small-gap openings. The jet flame was observed in the case of openings with large aspect ratios under a high fuel supply rate. For compartment fires with small gaps, a breathing process, i.e., the periodical suppression and revitalization of the fire, is modeled. This work provides practical guidance for modeling compartment fires and paving the way for constructing a numerical compartment fire database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focusses on real-time detection and abnormal state prediction through a set of wireless equipment of fire water system to provide a better solution for fire inspection. The main goal of this research is to improve the fire extinguishing efficiency. Firefighting and rescue operations are urgent, and concealed or dry fire hydrants may cause failure cases of firefighting. To prevent this situation, this paper proposed the wireless equipment of fire water system to monitor the multiple indicators of outdoor hydrant, indoor hydrant, and sprinkler network. The objective of the experiment is to realize the real-time monitoring and obtain the data information of the state of the fire water system. Also, the multiple linear regression analysis method is adopted to analyze the monitored water pressure data to achieve rapid identification of abnormal water pressure value. The results indicate that the data transmission of the wireless equipment of fire water system is reliable, the pressure is accurately monitored below 0.40 MPa, and the average relative error of abnormal water pressure monitoring results is less than 6%. The new equipment and algorithm are used not only to monitor the state of water supply system, but also to depict the change of water consumption in the monitoring environment and predict the unconventional state, which provides directional help for fire patrol and inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire detection and fire alarm systems (FDAS) have the function of warning people swiftly of the hazards of a fire and thus permitting rapid rescue, protecting material assets (particularly where unattended), ensuring operational processes, and preventing fires from spreading, i.e. ensuring early and effective firefighting. In attaining these objectives, installed FDAS contribute substantially to fire protection. In this context, automatic fire detectors have the function of detecting fires early, swiftly and reliably. Fire detectors are sensor systems and form part of a wider safety system. They are exposed to numerous environmental conditions specific to their use and, like other socio-technical systems, undergo natural ageing processes which limit their service lifespan. Owing to the numerous risks that arise when a fire detector fails or its function is impaired, the continuous serviceability of a FDAS must be ensured. This requires controlled replacement of fire detectors. In some countries, this is ensured by standards. This paper explains the need for controlled replacement of fire detectors and the associated causes and effects, with reference to the example of Germany and the provisions of DIN 14675-1. The paper explains, in terms of practical relevance and with reference to examples, the basic concept of preventing possible failure of a technical safety system in order to assure its protective function in the event of a hazard occurring, together with the range of essential causes and effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an FEA modeling protocol for simulating ultra-high-performance concrete-filled double-skin tubes (CFDST) for heat transfer analysis purposes. The research presented in this paper refines the existing FE methodologies for circular, rectangular, elliptical, hexagonal, and octagonal CFDST members under fire conditions. Various modeling parameters, such as thermal properties of different materials and the thermal contact conductance at the interaction surfaces, are incorporated and controlled via an automatic algorithm for proficient modeling. It is found that the available models for calculating the thermal contact conductance at the interfaces between metal tubes and the concrete cores have a strong dependence on the cross-sectional shape. Thus, a refined model of the thermal conductance for the hexagonal and octagonal CFDST columns is proposed. Extensive experimental results (212 fire tests) are assembled from the literature to verify the proposed FE methodology. Good agreements with test results are demonstrated when predicting the temperature fields within the considered CFDST cross-sections. Consequently, extensive results from the proposed algorithm can provide an initial basis for parametric studies and for forthcoming nonlinear stress analysis simulations of CFDST columns under fire, which are primary goals in future studies. Finally, complying with the existing design codes, a new simplified analytical model based on the finite difference (FD) method is presented for predicting the temperature developments through CFDST columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large outdoor fires such as wildfires, wildland urban interface (WUI) fires, urban fires, and informal settlement fires have received increased attention in recent years. In order to develop effective emergency plans to protect people from threats associated with these events, it is important to understand human behavior in large outdoor fires. This paper provides a broad review of existing empirical research and modeling efforts on human behavior in large outdoor fires to provide researchers and practitioners with reference material. In this paper, first, the various methodologies on how information on human behavior is collected from large outdoor fire events is reviewed. Next, available empirical literature that synthesized this information from various survey techniques to paint a picture of the human behavior from large outdoor fire disasters is summarized. The review then moves into how evacuation models have been developed to potentially predict human behavior during various large outdoor fire disasters, and how these models are dependent on the data collection methodologies above. This review concludes with emerging issues and challenges. The review found that interviews and surveys taken from pre-and post-disasters have greatly advanced the understanding of human behavior in large outdoor fires. Yet, past modelling efforts were mainly limited to traffic modelling approaches. The current research direction has shifted to the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Geographic Information System (GIS) methods to model evacuation behavior coupled with fire spread. Most of the reviewed research was concerned with wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires, due in part to the greater number of disasters across the globe. As there were less informal settlement fire and urban fire disaster studies in the literature, much more work on those two fire types is needed in the future. There also needs to be broader comparison to all large outdoor fire types to potentially harness similarities amongst all of these types of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of wildfire incidents affecting communities in Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) areas has been rapidly increasing. Understanding the fire spread between structures and evaluation of the response of the communities to the possible wildfire scenarios are crucial for proper risk management in the existing and future communities. This paper discusses a stochastic methodology to evaluate the community's response to potential wildfire scenarios. The methodology has three primary features: (1) it is based on stochastic modeling of fire spread; (2) it breaks the wildfire incident into two consecutive segments: spread inside the wildland and spread inside the community; (3) it integrates the two spread models in the form of a conditional probability. The paper focuses on fire spread inside the community and applies the proposed methodology to two case studies in California, US. The two case studies demonstrate variations in fire spread within the communities for the given fire scenarios approaching from the wildland. The performance of communities is characterized using cumulative distribution functions of the number of ignited buildings over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition a paper that was being published at the same time by a highly respected European laboratory, EFECTIS, authored by Eric Guilluame directly supports the results we obtained.[3] Babrauskus goes on to criticize the study by claiming that it does not accurately reflect the real environment. The corresponding author of the letter has questioned the independence and ethics of the testing laboratory and authors. [Extracted from the article]

Upward flame spread is the most rapid and hazardous of the different modes of flame spread. Moreover, studies on the effects of ambient parameters on flame spread are very important for fire safety on spacecraft systems. Therefore, the effects of pressure (0 kPa to 70 kPa), oxygen mole fraction (0.30 to 0.90) and sample width (0.3 cm to 2 cm) on upward flame spread over thin papers were studied. A flame break-off phenomenon over papers was firstly observed, which occurred more likely at high oxygen and high pressure conditions. Upward flame spread reached a steady state by varying the ambient parameters and using narrow samples. The smaller sample width narrowed the flammability limits. Differences in upward and downward flame spread were discussed. We found that a power law relationship between flame spread rate and pressure remained valid near the extinction limit for upward spread, while the power law broke down in the extinction region for downward spread. The controlling mechanism of upward spread was revealed by a pressure modeling method showing that the upward flame spread rate was proportional to the Grashof number raised to an exponent of 0.257. For upward flame spread over narrow solids, the gas phase kinetics and radiation effects are less important compared to the heat convection in the flame spread process, which is quite different from the downward spread. This study contributes to the fire safety of space vehicles and enhances the understanding of the controlling mechanism of flame spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a summary of a special issue of the journal Fire Technology, titled "Structures in Fire 2022." The issue focuses on the research area of structures in fire, which is important for the safety and resilience of engineering infrastructures and urban environments. The special issue includes 24 papers that were selected from the 12th International Conference on Structures in Fire (SiF2022). The papers cover a range of topics, including the performance of structural members in fires, fire safety of timber members, system-level structural response to fire, and the incorporation of sprinkler systems in structural fire evaluation. The research presented in this special issue contributes to enhancing our knowledge of structures in fire. [Extracted from the article]

As more intense and more frequent natural hazards result in human and economic losses, fires, and more specifically wildfires in wildland-urban interface/intermix (WUI) are among the natural hazards that present a substantial, albeit preventable risk of ecological and human disasters. Although wildfires are a largely researched area of study in forest ecology and natural sciences across the globe, with social science and interdisciplinary studies of risk catching up, WUI areas across North, Central and South America that show an increase in wildfire risk are currently under-researched, with the exception of Canada and the US. In this paper, we focus on wildfires in the Mexican WUI, which have historically been seen as a threat to forest ecosystems rather than as a threat to populations. This paper sets out to understand to what extent the under-researched WUI wildfires present risk to WUI populations in Mexico using a mixed methods approach. We perform a Mexico WUI fire diagnostics by drawing on the official datasets, documentation regarding preparedness, mitigation and response to wildfires affecting urban populations, and where information is lacking, we review media news sources regarding the outcomes for populations in the past WUI wildfires in Mexico. We conclude that a substantial proportion of WUI territory in Mexico is at risk from wildfires, potentially causing harm to populations in the future. Thus, more should be done to prepare these populations to respond, and mechanisms for fire risk mitigation, wildfire adaptation and recovery from fire effects should be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at deriving fire fragility curves for a prototype steel pipe-rack in an industrial plant subjected to localised fires. In particular, starting from a reference case study, uncertainties related to the structural capacity and the size of the localised fires caused by a hole in a tank or a hole in a pipe are included in the analyses. Thus, the influence of uncertainties in the derivation of the fragility functions was highlighted by comparing four sets of analyses in which both demand and capacity uncertainties were progressively introduced. Moreover, alongside the cloud analysis (CA), the suitability of the multiple stripe analysis (MSA) to build relevant probabilistic fire demand models was assessed. Fire fragility curves were derived by considering the interstorey drift ratio (ISDR) as engineering demand parameter (EDP) and by assessing different relevant intensity measures (IMs) that represent the severity of localised fires. It was found that by introducing uncertainties in the steel yield strength, lower probabilities to exceed the life safety and the near collapse limit states with respect to the reference case study were observed. Moreover, the inclusion of further uncertainties, described with continuous physically-based probability functions of the size of the fire diameter, affected the probabilistic models by lowering the probability of exceedance. These functions provide a more realistic description of the fire scenario, enabling a better representation of the structural vulnerability. For this case study, the CA exhibited better suitability for the derivation of fire fragility curves than the MSA. All the analysis results are thoroughly discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional video surveillance, temperature-based or smoke-based fire source location methods are difficult to timely and accurately locate the fire source in warehouses with the characteristics of burning intensely, smoke spreading quickly, and being sheltered by shelves and goods. To overcome the drawbacks, a deep-learning-based fire source localization algorithm with temperature and smoke sensor data fusion according to the different stages of the combustion process is proposed in this paper. The temperature and smoke concentration information are collected from sensors distributed in different spatial locations of a warehouse. A convolutional neural network is used to exact the fusion data feature. The deep learning algorithm is adopted to construct the fire source localization model where the fusion data feature of temperature and smoke concentrations are the inputs and the fire source coordinates are the outputs. By using Fire Dynamics Simulator, a warehouse that meets the practical application is constructed and kinds of fire scenes are simulated. The experimental results show that the RMSE of the model localization reaches 0.63, 0.08, and 0.17 in three stages respectively, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed fire source localization algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the significant hazards in the event of a fire in high-rise residential buildings in cities is the length of time taken to completely evacuate a large number of occupants. On a city scale, it is important that a city's fire and rescue services are in place to minimize the consequences which can be incurred in any potential fire incident. The paper presents the methodology and results of a study that evaluates the city-wide vulnerability in high-rise residential building fires in the City of Istanbul, Turkey. In the context of fire and rescue service arrival to burning buildings, a high-rise building can be considered vulnerable if the fire and rescue service arrives at the building site only after the expected completion of evacuation of the building, thus unable to fulfill its intended purpose of saving the occupants. The study is based on comparison of an agent-based evacuation model of safe escape times for 1167 high-rise residential buildings against their fire and rescue service arrival times estimated using GPS data. This methodology can be used to inform the decision about optimal locations of a city's fire and rescue services. As an example, this study indicates that adding a single new fire station in the City of Istanbul can improve its preparedness for fire accidents by reducing the risk of its most vulnerable district by more than 26%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented wherein the editor discusses various reports in the issue on topics including the development of design fires, a new method for risk assessment in rail tunnels and modelling and testing of users during evacuation in underground systems.

This paper is proposing an machine learning based expert system for preliminary prediction of the insulation fire resisting performance of shallow floor systems when subject to exposure to the ISO 834 Standard Fire Curve. The proposed system is a digital tool which incorporates a machine learning algorithm trained on the outcomes of pre-run two-dimensional finite element heat transfer analyses of shallow floor system details. The algorithm predicts the insulation performance of similar details with a measurable accuracy of 96% (i.e the insulation rating band was predicted correctly in 96% of the cases) without the requirement for an explicit deterministic analysis. The paper presents the challenges and prerequisites to build such an expert system and acts as a proof of concept for the use of machine learning for the assessment of the insulation performance of shallow floor system under the guidance of BS EN 1363-1:2012. A Support Vector Machine machine learning algorithm is adopted in this work. The required processes that were needed for the development of the expert system include the stages of data acquisition, exploratory data analysis, choice of machine learning algorithm, model training, tuning, and validation. This expert system is useful for practitioners to rapidly assess the feasibility of different construction details at early stages of the design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildland fire is a major natural disaster that causes the environmental hazards and severe negative impacts on the lives. Therefore, early prediction is the key to control such phenomenon and avoid the economic and ecological damage. This paper proposes an improved long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network model with multiply input layers and attention mechanism to increase its performance, which is named as Multi-AM-LSTM. The proposed model is used to predict the wildland fire burned areas, as well as to carry out an analysis of the multilateral interactive relationship among the related variables. The Montesinho Natural Park dataset is introduced to provide the wildland fire and meteorological data between Jan. 2000 and Dec. 2003. And then, the correlation analysis performs to figure out the related variables with the wildland fire and the features of the variables can be extracted by using the convolutional neural network. Next, the improved LSTM model is established to predict the wildland fire and further the attention mechanism is injected into the LSTM model, which can help reduce the loss of historical information and strengthen the impact of important information. Quantitative results show that the designed model outperforms the recent outstanding methods with the highest accuracy over 96%. The results indicate that the model is capable to predict the wildland fire burned areas at a high accuracy in a reasonable computational complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]