Fire Exclusion Distances and Escalation Assessment

Combustion / Smoke Hazards Assessment in Enclosed Spaces

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BC uses powerful and modern tools for addressing open and/or internal fire assessment within complex geometries.

 

BC capability of fire modeling accounts for both steady-state and transient simulations both for quantifying primary and secondary events due to accident propagation. Hazards of open fires and fires occurring in enclosed spaces are assessed.

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Accurate Fire Exclusion Distances provide precise information to decision-makers when addressing key topics such as human vulnerability, structural damage, implementation of prevention/mitigation measures, and emergency preparedness.

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The identification of mechanisms of Escalation triggered by fire, modeling the behavior of equipment exposed, and prevention of accident propagation are studies performed by BC. Time To Failure (TTF), Time to Effective Mitigation (TEM), and effectiveness of Active/Passive Protection Systems are concepts fully addressed.

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In addition to the well-known hazards of high heat fluxes, other hazards are considered for fires occurring in enclosed spaces when compared with open fires:

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Combustion Hazards for personnel include the extend of external flaming, increased carbon monoxide (CO) concentration, and explosion hazard from unburned fuel if the fire terminates due to lack of oxygen.

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The effects of Smoke on a target location due to direct flame impingement or either following smoke dispersion from the end of a fire is of interest for determining the physiological response of personnel within the enclosed space, and also for predicting the impact of the smoke on visibility for evaluating impairment of escape / evacuating routes.

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The assessment of fires occurring in enclosed spaces is extremely valuable for screening runs that can be done easily or before detailed design has been completed. The computer time is short, so it is easy to perform many "what if..." runs, testing the effect of design modifications, or sensitivity runs.

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