CFAST Project Report

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Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke Transport (CFAST) Modeling Project FP3070 Panyawat Tukaew Adam Macsata

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 3 SET UP ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 SIMULATION ............................................................................................................................................ 4 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................... 9 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 10 APPENDIX I – APARTMENT 101 INPUT FILE .............................................................................. 11 APPENDIX II – APARTMENT 102 INPUT FILE ............................................................................ 11 APPENDIX III – APARTMENT 103 INPUT FILE ........................................................................... 13 APPENDIX IV – APARTMENT 104 INPUT FILE ........................................................................... 14 APPENDIX V – APARTMENT 105 INPUT FILE ............................................................................. 15

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Introduction

This is a report of an investigation of a fire in an apartment building. Five apartments of similar geometries were involved in the fire. They each had varying ventilation conditions and fuel loads.

CFAST modeling program was used for fire modeling to help investigate this fire. CFAST model provides a zone modeling capability that is appropriate for this investigation because the fire occurred in compartments, which can be easily divided into control volumes or zones. The use of this type of model is also cheaper and faster than a CFD model, and in this case, the zone model method is able to provide reasonably accurate results for the investigation.

Set Up

The standard room has a doorway with dimensions of 1.1 m x 1.95 m, and the two windows are each 1.05 m x 1.5 m. Both the walls and ceiling was constructed with Gypsum Board (5/8 in). Each room had a single sprinkler on the ceiling in the center of the room with an RTI value of 100 (m*s)^1/2 and an activation temperature of 68C.

3.6 m

2.4 m

2 m

0.65 m

0.5 m

2.05 m

0.45 m

A

B

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Simulation Apartment 101 Window A Closed

Window B Closed

Doorway Closed

Room contents 2 standard sofas, the first placed along the center of the left wall and the seconds along the center of the right wall

For Input File, See Appendix I

The time to flashover can be calculated using the Critical Heat Release Rate, Qfo

!Qfo = 0.0078At + 0.378Av Hv where At = total internal surface area (m2)

Av = Area of the opening (m2) Hv = Height of the opening (m)

At = 2(3.6m × 2m)+ 2(3.6m × 2.4m)+ 2(2 × 2.4m) = 41.28m2

Av = 0m2

Hv = 0m

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!Qfo = 0.0078(41.28) = 0.322MW = 322kW!Qtotal = 2(2 !Q) = 0.04690t

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t ≈166s there are 2 wall fires so !Qtotal = 2(2 !Q)

The sprinkler activated at 60.2 seconds Apartment 102 Window A Open

Window B Closed

Doorway Closed

Room contents 2 standard sofas, the first placed along the center of the left wall and the seconds along the center of the right wall

For Input File, See Appendix II

The time to flashover can be calculated using the equation for steady state upper layer temperature,

ΔTg = 6.85

!Q2

Av HvhkAt

⎛

⎝⎜⎞

⎠⎟

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= 6.85 (2(2 !Q))2

Av HvhkAt

⎛

⎝⎜⎞

⎠⎟

13

Av = 1.05m ×1.5m = 1.575m2

At = 41.28m2 −1.575m2 = 39.705m2

Hv = 1.5m Assume that hk=0.025kW/m2

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(873− 293) = 6.85 (2(2(0.04690t 2 ))2

(1.575) 1.5(0.025)(39.705)⎛⎝⎜

⎞⎠⎟

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t ≈ 75.81s

The sprinkler activated at 66.7 seconds. Apartment 103 Window A Halfway open (Used 0.5 opening fraction)

Window B Closed

Doorway Closed

Room contents 2 standard sofas, the first placed along the center of the left wall and the seconds along the center of the right wall.

For Input File, See Appendix III

The time to flashover can be calculated using the equation for steady state upper layer temperature,

ΔTg = 6.85

!Q2

Av HvhkAt

⎛

⎝⎜⎞

⎠⎟

13

Av = 0.525m ×1.5m = 1.575m2

At = 41.28m2 − 0.7875m2 = 40.49m2


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(873− 293) = 6.85 (2(2(0.04690t 2 ))2

(0.7875) 1.5(0.025)(40.4925)⎛⎝⎜

⎞⎠⎟

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t ≈ 64.1s

The sprinkler activated at 63.7 seconds. Apartment 104 Window A Open

Window B Open

Doorway Open

Room contents 2 standard sofas, the first placed along the center of the left wall and the seconds along the center of the right wall.

For Input File, See Appendix IV

ΔTg = 6.85

!Q2

Av HvhkAt

⎛

⎝⎜⎞

⎠⎟

13

Av = Av1 + Av2 + Av3 = 2(1.05m ×1.5m)+ (1.1m ×1.95m) = 5.295m2

At = 41.28m2 − 5.295m2 = 35.985m2

Hv =(Av1Hv1

+ Av2Hv2+ Av3Hv3

)Av

= 8.907755.295

= 1.68m

Hv has to be weighted. Assume that hk=0.025kW/m2

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(873− 293) = 6.85 (2(2(0.04690t 2 ))2

(5.295) 1.68(0.025)(35.985)⎛⎝⎜

⎞⎠⎟

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t ≈101.6s

The sprinkler activated at 74.4 seconds Apartment 105 Window A Open

Window B Closed

Doorway Closed

Room contents 1 sofa in the center of the room. NIST has determined that this sofa was overstuffed and made of highly flammable material. It is modeled as an ultrafast growth rate fire with a peak HRR of 3000 kW and the material as urethane insulation.

For Input File, See Appendix V

ΔTg = 6.85

!Q2

Av HvhkAt

⎛

⎝⎜⎞

⎠⎟

13

Av = 1.05m ×1.5m = 1.575m2

At = 41.28m2 −1.575m2 = 39.705m2


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(873− 293) = 6.85 (0.1876t 2 )2

(1.575) 1.5(0.025)(39.705)⎛⎝⎜

⎞⎠⎟

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t ≈ 75.81s

The sprinkler activated at 21.8 seconds.

Results We determined that none of the rooms reached flashover. The main reason for the lack of flashover was the presence of a sprinkler in each room. The sprinkler was activated well before the conditions in the room reached a level where flashover would occur. We assumed that flashover would occur at an upper layer temperature of 600o C. We were able to determine flashover did not occur in any of the rooms because none of the upper layers reached 600o C.

Although none of the five fires reached flashover, they are different in terms of severity.

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Since the layer height of all the apartments decreases to below 1.5m (below people’s average height) very quickly, therefore we can look at the gas concentrations in the upper layer because that is most likely to be what people would breath in. These comparison graphs clearly show that in Apartment 101, the concentrations of CO2 and CO increase to a significant level. These gases, in high concentrations, are dangerous to humans. In Apartment 101, we can also see a significant drop of O2 concentration. Lack of oxygen can greatly impair a person’s ability to escape from the fire. Furthermore, we can see that the temperature in Apartment 101 is very high during the fire. Although, the fire in Apartment 101 did not reach flashover, exposure to that much heat can cause serious injuries to anyone inside this apartment.

Conclusion These simulation models show that ventilation plays a major role in the severity of any compartment fire. The data from these simulations show that even if the sprinkler system inside the compartment activate as planned, the fire can still be extremely harmful due to its toxicity. However, it must be acknowledged that these simulations were done using a computer program. The computer program used to create these models relies heavily on various assumptions such as the ambient temperature, wind, humidity, and the simplicity of the furniture inside the compartments. Therefore these results only provide a certain level of accuracy, which is acceptable for a small investigation such as this one. This simulation data should be combined with real-‐world experimental data in order to obtain a more accurate result.

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APPENDIX I – Apartment 101 Input File VERSN,6,Apartment 101 !! !!Scenario Configuration Keywords !! TIMES,500,-30,10,10 EAMB,293.15,101300,0 TAMB,293.15,101300,0,50 CJET,WALLS WIND,0,10,0.16 !! !!Material Properties !! MATL,GYPSUM,0.16,900,790,0.016,0.9,Gypsum Board (5/8 in) MATL,URETHANE,0.026,1045,70,0.013,0.9,"Urethane Insulation, Two-Part Mixture, Rigid Foam (1/2 in)" !! !!Compartment keywords !! COMPA,Apartment 101,3.6,2,2.4,0,0,0,GYPSUM,OFF,GYPSUM !! !!Vent keywords !! HVENT,1,2,1,1.1,1.95,0,1,0.65,0.65,1,0 HVENT,1,2,2,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,0.5,0.5,3,0 HVENT,1,2,3,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,2.05,2.05,3,0 !! !!Fire keywords !! GLOBA,10,393.15 !!sofa FIRE,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !!sofa FIRE,1,3.6,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !! !!Target and detector keywords !! DETECT,2,1,341.15,1.8,1,2.376,100,1,7E-05

APPENDIX II – Apartment 102 Input File VERSN,6,Apartment 102 !! !!Scenario Configuration Keywords

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!! TIMES,500,-30,10,10 EAMB,293.15,101300,0 TAMB,293.15,101300,0,50 CJET,WALLS WIND,0,10,0.16 !! !!Material Properties !! MATL,GYPSUM,0.16,900,790,0.016,0.9,Gypsum Board (5/8 in) MATL,URETHANE,0.026,1045,70,0.013,0.9,"Urethane Insulation, Two-Part Mixture, Rigid Foam (1/2 in)" !! !!Compartment keywords !! COMPA,Apartment 102,3.6,2,2.4,0,0,0,GYPSUM,OFF,GYPSUM !! !!Vent keywords !! HVENT,1,2,1,1.1,1.95,0,1,0.65,0.65,1,0 HVENT,1,2,2,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,0.5,0.5,3,1 HVENT,1,2,3,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,2.05,2.05,3,0 !! !!Fire keywords !! GLOBA,10,393.15 !!sofa FIRE,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !!sofa FIRE,1,3.6,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !! !!Target and detector keywords !! DETECT,2,1,341.15,1.8,1,2.376,100,1,7E-05

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APPENDIX III – Apartment 103 Input File VERSN,6,Apartment 103 !! !!Scenario Configuration Keywords !! TIMES,500,-30,10,10 EAMB,293.15,101300,0 TAMB,293.15,101300,0,50 CJET,WALLS WIND,0,10,0.16 !! !!Material Properties !! MATL,GYPSUM,0.16,900,790,0.016,0.9,Gypsum Board (5/8 in) MATL,URETHANE,0.026,1045,70,0.013,0.9,"Urethane Insulation, Two-Part Mixture, Rigid Foam (1/2 in)" !! !!Compartment keywords !! COMPA,Apartment 103,3.6,2,2.4,0,0,0,GYPSUM,OFF,GYPSUM !! !!Vent keywords !! HVENT,1,2,1,1.1,1.95,0,1,0.65,0.65,1,0 HVENT,1,2,2,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,0.5,0.5,3,0.5 HVENT,1,2,3,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,2.05,2.05,3,0 !! !!Fire keywords !! GLOBA,10,393.15 !!sofa FIRE,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !!sofa FIRE,1,3.6,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !! !!Target and detector keywords !! DETECT,2,1,341.15,1.8,1,2.376,100,1,7E-05

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APPENDIX IV – Apartment 104 Input File VERSN,6,Apartment 104 !! !!Scenario Configuration Keywords !! TIMES,500,-30,10,10 EAMB,293.15,101300,0 TAMB,293.15,101300,0,50 CJET,WALLS WIND,0,10,0.16 !! !!Material Properties !! MATL,GYPSUM,0.16,900,790,0.016,0.9,Gypsum Board (5/8 in) MATL,URETHANE,0.026,1045,70,0.013,0.9,"Urethane Insulation, Two-Part Mixture, Rigid Foam (1/2 in)" !! !!Compartment keywords !! COMPA,Apartment 104,3.6,2,2.4,0,0,0,GYPSUM,OFF,GYPSUM !! !!Vent keywords !! HVENT,1,2,1,1.1,1.95,0,1,0.65,0.65,1,1 HVENT,1,2,2,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,0.5,0.5,3,1 HVENT,1,2,3,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,2.05,2.05,3,1 !! !!Fire keywords !! GLOBA,10,393.15 !!sofa FIRE,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !!sofa FIRE,1,3.6,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,sofa CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.33,1.89E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100 HRR,0,135900,953900,1864000,3447000,1667000,531700,539300,415900,317400,240800,216600 SOOT,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333,0.129333 CO,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667,0.018667 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5,0.5 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !! !!Target and detector keywords !! DETECT,2,1,341.15,1.8,1,2.376,100,1,7E-05

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APPENDIX V – Apartment 105 Input File VERSN,6,Apartment 105 !! !!Scenario Configuration Keywords !! TIMES,500,-30,10,10 EAMB,293.15,101300,0 TAMB,293.15,101300,0,50 CJET,WALLS WIND,0,10,0.16 !! !!Material Properties !! MATL,GYPSUM,0.16,900,790,0.016,0.9,Gypsum Board (5/8 in) MATL,URETHANE,0.026,1045,70,0.013,0.9,"Urethane Insulation, Two-Part Mixture, Rigid Foam (1/2 in)" !! !!Compartment keywords !! COMPA,Apartment 105,3.6,2,2.4,0,0,0,GYPSUM,OFF,GYPSUM !! !!Vent keywords !! HVENT,1,2,1,1.1,1.95,0,1,0.65,0.65,1,0 HVENT,1,2,2,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,0.5,0.5,3,1 HVENT,1,2,3,1.05,1.95,0.45,1,2.05,2.05,3,0 !! !!Fire keywords !! GLOBA,10,393.15 !!New Fire FIRE,1,1.8,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,New Fire CHEMI,1,4,0,0,0,0.3,5E+07,URETHANE TIME,0,7.5,15,22.5,30,37.5,45,52.5,60,67.5,75,375,382.5,390,397.5,405,412.5,420,427.5,435,442.5,450,460 HRR,0,30000,120000,270000,480000,750000,1080000,1470000,1920000,2430000,3000000,3000000,2430000,1920000,1470000,1080000,750000,480 000,270000,120000,30000,0,0 SOOT,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01 CO,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01 TRACE,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 AREA,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 HEIGH,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 !! !!Target and detector keywords !! DETECT,2,1,341.15,1.8,1,2.376,100,1,7E-05

CFAST Project Report

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