SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Testing Services

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Critical fire science issues and technology needs are addressed through the highest quality of engineering and research services by the Fire Technology Department of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). SwRI explores advanced topics in fire science resulting from 21st Century advancements in:

• Buildings

  Fire detection and suppression, code compliance, structures, computer modeling and simulations, toxicity/corrosivity, flammability/combustibility, custom design and evaluations
   

• Transportation

  Alternative fuels, plastic fuel tanks and permeability, aerospace systems, maritime
   

• Production Facilities

  Loss prevention, jet and pool fires, explosion analysis/energetic materials, hazards and risk analysis, product and process evaluation
   

• Telecommunications

  Bellcore NEBS, corrosivity
   

• Environmental Concerns

  Hazardous material evaluation, dispersion and evaporative emissions modeling, aboveground storage tanks, flammability/combustibility, system safety engineering, toxicity/corrosivity
   

• Military Systems

  Product and process evaluations, hazards and risk analysis, system safety engineering

As an integral partner supporting technical groups that conduct materials flammability and fire resistance testing, SwRI continues to strive for more reliable fire performance tests, advanced instrumentation systems, and expanded technology for safer habitats, refineries, storage facilities, telecommunication facilities, and transportation systems.

Engineering and research tools available include:

• Computational codes for modeling a variety of fire scenarios

• Structural response to fire

• Heat release from jet and pool fires

• Burn characteristics of energetic materials

• Predictions of spreading and dispersion of hazardous material

Large, well-equipped laboratories are in constant operation to search for information needed to verify advanced computational codes and to explore new technology in the field of fire science. In addition, SwRI supports the fire science community by presenting scientific papers at national and international symposia and by participating in technical society meetings and presentations.

Fire Detection and Suppression

Full-scale fire detection and suppression studies are conducted in a large-scale warehouse/sprinkler facility. Standard protocols as well as custom-designed tests are used to determine the severity of typical warehouse fire scenarios and to define the effectiveness of sprinkler system configurations. Evaluations are performed to obtain quantitative data for suppression system performance using standard protocols developed by the National Fire Protection Association, Underwriters Laboratories, or Factory Mutual.

Structures/Structural Elements

SwRI conducts studies on the response of structures to static and dynamic loads. Typical structures include:

• Buildings

• Support structures used in processing plants and offshore platforms

• Aircraft

• Watercraft

• Automobile frames

• Military systems

These studies investigate the residual strength and response of these structures to fire and blast effects. A full range of static and dynamic loading fixtures and associated advanced instrumentation to measure deflections and loads is available to support the demanding requirements for examining the effects of fires on structures.

Structural and environmental performance tests for building products complies with the International Code Council Evaluation Services, Inc. (ICC-ES) AC-11 and AC-24. SwRI is one of the few facilities in the world that offers all tests recognized by the ICC-ES Acceptance Criteria in one location. Additional tests are also offered that are not required by the ICC-ES but may be necessary to meet other building code requirements.

Flammability/Combustibility

SwRI conducts tests in accordance with national and international standards. A variety of custom experimental tests are offered to determine

• Characteristics of flammability

• Combustibility

• Reactivity

• Explosibility of solid, liquid, and gas material

Flammability/combustibility encompasses experimental test measurements of flammability limits:

• Lower explosion limits (LEL)

• Upper explosion limits (UEL)

• Minimum oxygen concentration (MOC) for flammability

• Autoignition temperature (AIT)

• Flash point (FP)

• Heat and pressure produced by reactions such as run-away or exothermic reactions

These and other tests are conducted on:

• Gases and vapors

• Dusts

• Solid and liquid consumer chemical process materials

• Energetic materials (e.g., propellants and explosives)

The following tests are also conducted:

• Reactivity tests

• Shock tests

• Impact sensitivity tests

• Friction sensitivity tests

• Heat- and temperature-related reactivity tests

As part of this work, the following tests are performed in laboratory-scale and full-scale equipment:

• Flame arrestors

• Means to inert reactions

• Reaction and explosion venting tests

Explosion Analysis and Energetic Material Characterization

Explosion studies are conducted on solids, liquids, gases, vapor clouds, and dust. SwRI examines every aspect of detonation phenomena using the latest in X-ray, high-speed cameras, and high-speed video recording. Explosion data are captured with high-speed computerized data acquisition systems for further analysis. Energetic materials are evaluated in a special facility that can accommodate the effects of high-pressure gas combustion and other hazardous chemical reactions. Some of the many parameters investigated include:

• Ignition sensitivity

• Explosion severity

• Activation energy

• Flame propagation

• Burn rates

• Flammability

• Turbulence effects

• Pressure rise rates

Custom Design and Evaluations

Engineers and scientists at SwRI design custom tests and provide consultations to fulfill clients' unique requirements and provide sound scientific evaluations specific for the product and its application. Full-scale tests are developed to determine the performance of customer products, materials, and structures in realistic fire environments. Tests are instrumented, photographed, and videotaped to provide a record of all results. Custom fire performance evaluations are conducted in support of performance-based code approval processes.

Jet and Pool Fires

The effects of jet fire impingement and hydrocarbon pool fires on structural members of offshore petrochemical installations and other industrial installations are studied in a severe thermal exposure facility. Internal safety mechanisms for offshore systems are qualified and emergency shutdown procedures are evaluated and tested. Engineers from SwRI can also provide plant safety and hazard assessments at clients' facilities.

Computer Modeling and Simulations

Zone and field computer models are used to determine the severity and corresponding thermal exposure conditions in compartment fires and to predict the transport of smoke and flame through multiroom structures. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes are used to predict the thermal environment and erosive effects of jet and pool fires. The fire models are coupled with algorithms to predict the response of solid fuels and structural materials.

Product and Process Evaluations

Evaluations encompass products and processes for commercial, government and military systems, and small businesses. To accomplish evaluation objectives, SwRI engineers engage in

• Process evaluations (process characterization, design reviews, configuration management, human factors, standards, codes, regulations, corrective actions, and training)

• Assessment of unsafe process conditions (plant inspections, control adequacy assessment)

• Simulation and testing of processes (pilot process design, equipment testing, prototype design and evaluation)

• Development of automatic process equipment (definitions of functions needed, design of control and safety equipment, evaluation under simulated and actual process conditions)

• Development of process safety equipment (extinguisher systems and sprinkler layouts)

• Product evaluations (flame and detonation arrestors, valves, hazardous material pumps, environmental equipment, process heating and cooling equipment, dust and solids filters, piping components, security barriers, weapon components, and other process elements)

Loss Prevention

SwRI provides a multidisciplinary staff of engineers, chemists, physicists, and mathematicians to address environmental and safety concerns from industry hazards. The combined effort results in a solid base of services that includes:

• Risk management

• Process audits

• Development of protective structures

• Analytical and physical modeling

• Health effects and environmental impact

• Accident investigation and assessments

• Fire effects

• Reliability engineering

• Systems safety engineering

• Training programs

• Numerous testing and evaluation services

Hazard and Risk Assessment

SwRI resources for hazard and risk assessment projects include:

• Large-scale fire testing facilities

• Small-scale fire testing facilities

• Ballistic and explosive test ranges

• Laboratories for environmental studies and materials research

• Computer code libraries

• Modeling facilities

These resources, along with an experienced staff of engineers and scientists, allow SwRI to provide a comprehensive approach to address environmental and safety concerns now and in the future.

SwRI works directly with the client to assess risks cost effectively and to provide assistance for compliance with the multitude of regulations currently governing industries throughout the world.

Dispersion and Evaporative Emissions Modeling

Computer codes and models represent powerful tools to predict potentially hazardous conditions that can be eliminated for systems during the design phase. Codes and models are also used for consequence analysis, with results used to guide emergency response contingency plan development. Typical models include:

• Spreading, dispersion, dilution, and evaporation of chemical spills in waterways

• Rupture of pipelines carrying volatile liquids and gases

• Dense gas dispersion

• Chemical spill rate from punctured storage tanks and ship tanks

Hazardous Material Evaluation

Driven by increasingly stringent regulations, companies worldwide are being charged with assessing the safety and hazards of the materials they produce. Some regulations are motivated by accidents, whereas others are intended to minimize the hazards of normal operations. Additionally, SwRI's multidisciplinary staff is qualified to address the risks of potentially energetic materials and other hazardous materials. Research studies are routinely conducted to investigate:

• Fire effects

• Blast effects

• Dust explosibility

• Explosive atmospheres

• Safe handling of propellants

• The consequences of high-energy releases from energetic materials

System Safety Engineering

Systems safety engineering applies sound engineering principles to identify hazards early and implement actions to eliminate or reduce risk in a timely manner. To meet this objective, SwRI initiates systems safety engineering throughout the concept, design, development, fabrication, demonstration, and testing process of new or modified systems. SwRI tailors safety engineering programs to comply with:

• Military Standard 882

• EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act

• OSHA's Hazard Communication System

• OSHA's Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals

• Other standards and recommended practices

Toxicity/Corrosivity

Dense clouds of toxic smoke often cause more harm to fire victims than flames and heat. Smoke toxicity and its potential effect on humans are evaluated at SwRI by chemists, physicists, and fire protection engineers. Smoke tests from small-scale sampling to large-scale smoke control tests supply industry with solutions to comply with regulatory demands. The increased use of advanced composite materials has resulted in more rigid demands for smoke toxicity testing. SwRI performs a variety of toxicity protocols to evaluate dangerous chemical byproducts, including analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and various methods described in ASTM E 800, and tests that rely on animal response such as the University of Pittsburgh Test Protocol for Measurement of Acute Lethality of Thermal Decomposition Products of Specimens. SwRI is a certified test laboratory for Materials and Equipment Acceptance (MEA) by the City of New York's Department of Buildings.

The corrosivity of combustion products can be determined analytically by acid gas measurements. However, it is more common to measure it experimentally by its effect on the resistance of a copper target, such as in Cone Calorimeter application standard for electrical cable insulation, ASTM D 5485 (also referred to as the cone corrosimeter).

For more information about fire technology services and engineering research and development at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please call (210) 522-2311 or e-mail fire-info@swri.org.
 

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

March 31, 2008