Fire Technology

The Institute remains a leader in fire research, simulation, and testing for international, commercial, and government clients. A permeability facility, a single burning item test apparatus, a large-scale rate of heat release calorimeter, and new computer simulation capabilities have been added this year to better serve clients in the automotive, petrochemical, maritime, and telecommunications industries.

SwRI has built a new facility to test flammability characteristics and evaluate fire performance of 25- and 50-foot tall interior and exterior wall structures, to help minimize fire hazards in high-rise buildings and warehouses. The facility also tests the effectiveness of fire protection systems such as ceiling-mounted and rack-mounted sprinkler systems.

The Institute's Listing, Labeling, and Follow-Up Inspection Services Program continues to gain national and international recognition as it expands its scope to certify intrinsically safe devices for the European market. SwRI's certification program for aboveground fuel storage tanks is being evaluated for incorporation into the Australian and New Zealand codes.

Institute engineers are developing and using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to simulate and predict a wide variety of fire scenarios. Existing CFD codes use algorithms to characterize fires over solid surfaces. Using the new models, the Institute can simulate more complex fire problems, including the interaction between gas and solid phases. This makes it possible to predict the properties of a fire, marking a significant improvement over existing models that calculate only the consequences of a fire with properties specified by the user.

SwRI engineers are assisting the composite materials industry in the development of marine composites that meet the requirements of the Inter-national Maritime Organization for fire restricting materials. Such materials can replace the traditional noncombustible materials used on marine structures. Materials are tested in the Institute's full-scale room test facilities to determine if they meet requirements for heat release and smoke production rate.

Institute scientists have conducted research on the single burning item (SBI) test, a new fire test method that will serve as the basis for a European reaction-to-fire classification system of construction products. SwRI is determining how the European system compares with the combustibility and flame-spread requirements in U.S. building codes and regulations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Fire Protection Association, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandate comprehensive tests of bulk storage and shipping containers used for hazardous materials. The Institute's laboratories subject containers to extreme cold and hot thermal cycling, drop and penetration impact tests, pressurized helium or water leakage tests, and fire tests. During the fire test, the container is engulfed in a hydrocarbon pool fire so engineers can evaluate the thermal response and insulation capacity, as well as the container's ability to maintain its integrity.

Responding to expected growth in the use of plastic fuel tanks for trucks and automobiles, the Institute has built a 2,000-square-foot Permeability Test Facility to evaluate hydrocarbon emissions from plastic fuel systems. The facility houses two sample chambers for component or fuel system evaluations of hydrocarbon emission and speciation chromatography. Temperatures in the chambers can vary from -40°F to 182°F to simulate temperature changes in the environment. A 1,280-cubic-foot soak chamber is used to store test samples at 205°F during the performance testing cycle.

SwRI engineers have invented a polymer material product with the potential to reduce one of the world's leading causes of fires. Statistics compiled by the National Fire Protection Association indicate hundreds of lives lost and millions of dollars in property damage each year caused by fires originating in trash cans. The FireTrapª uses an optimized version of a polymer shrink film to replace the normal trash bag in a waste can. When a fire occurs, the shrink film encapsulates the fire and deprives it of oxygen, thereby smothering the fire. This technology has been demonstrated successfully in the laboratory.

SwRI engineers designed and built a new test fixture to analyze wood structural beams under structural as well as fire loads. Such testing provides the wood industry with performance values for the beams' char rate and load-carrying capability in fire situations, leading to a computer model to predict fire resistance for these and other combustible building elements.

Ultracapacitors are high-performance energy storage devices that physically separate and accumulate electrical charges. These devices are being developed for use in a number of advanced technologies such as hybrid electric vehicles, telecommunications, catalytic heating, and total battery replacement systems. Institute engineers conducted a study to determine the failure mode and hazards associated with these devices should they be subjected to severe thermal environments such as fires. An extensive test matrix was developed to define failure mode and identify combustion by-products in order to verify that the ultracapacitor could improve the safety of consumer products.

The Fire Technology Department is fully accredited by the National Evaluation Service, Inc., as a testing laboratory and as a Listing, Labeling, and Third Party Quality Assurance Agency. The Institute has received accreditation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a nationally recognized testing laboratory, and also by Lloyd's Register of Shipping. SwRI is also awaiting acceptance from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Standard Council of Canada as a testing laboratory and third party quality assurance agency.

1997 Annual Report SwRI Home