SE-14-C050 -- Design Fires for Smoke Control Systems PDF

Proper design of many smoke control systems requires that specific fire scenarios including design fires need to be analyzed taking into account the characteristics of each project. Often a project will need to consider a number of design fires. Design fires can be steady or unsteady, of various sizes and growth rates, and may involve different materials. The most important property of a design fire is normally the heat release rate (HRR), but other properties such as toxic gases and reduced visibility may need to be considered. The HRR and other characteristics of burning objects can be measured by oxygen consumption calorimetry. The design fire decision tree, that includes sprinklered fires, unsprinklered fires, shielded fires, normally occurring fuels and transient fuels, can be used to help engineers select appropriate design fires for their specific projects.