NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS SPECIAL PUBLICATION 411, Fire Safety Research, Proceedings of a Symposium Held at NBS, Gaithersburg, Md., August 22, 1973, (Issued November 1974) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RANN PROGRAM Ralph H. Long, Jr. National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. The fire research effort at NSF is part of the Research be mentioned. Key words: Fire programs; fire research; National Science The fire research effort of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is part of the Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) Program which was initiated early in 1971. It involves problem-oriented research rather than just meritorious research in a field of science or engineering. 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Without citing available data, a quotation from the National Fire Protection Association summarizes well the national situation: "In a word, the fire problem is that too many people die or are injured by fire and that the social and economic losses are an unnecessary burden on the American people." The general objectives of the Fire Research Program, within the Division of Advanced Technology Applications, are to reduce deaths, injuries and property damage due to unwanted fires and also to reduce the costs and improve the effectiveness of fire control. Research is supported which develops understanding of mechanisms of ignition, fire spread and extinguishment sufficient to improve significantly fire safety in homes and urban areas, including special problems of tall structures. Some backup research is supported to complement efforts of the U.S. Forest Service on forest fires. 3. STRATEGY The fire problem has several components; in effect, it consists of a series of interrelated problems. The spectrum covers public ignorance and apathy, combustibility of environment, building deficiencies, effectiveness and cost of fire protection and adequacy of fire statistics. The proper NSF role in fire research is dependent on and complementary to the activities and interest of mission agencies, particularly the National Bureau of Standards, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the General Services Administration and the Forest Service. The research needs outstrip the abilities and interests of any one agency, so a coordinated Federal approach is required. The research emphasis of the program is directed at the fire problems of cities, where the losses occur, although some funds go to research that complements that of the Forest Service on forest fires. The general thrust addresses problems connected with the means to provide adequate fire protection for buildings. The research will lead to safer buildings through the improvement of design practices and of the test methods and standards for materials. The research efforts focus on the understanding of the ignition of various materials, the fire spread mechanisms and extinguishing methods. Included are the modeling of fire propagation, effectiveness of fire fighting systems and the deleterious effects of smoke. Research that will improve the detection and suppression of fires will be supported. The NSF effort provides the research base that can be effectively addressed primarily by university researchers in many critical areas of importance to other Federal agencies and the fire protection community. As the research base is improved and new technology developed, it will continue to be necessary to devise methods to make the fire protection community aware of the progress and induce cooperative experimentation in order to upgrade the system. Greater efforts will be exerted to initiate projects related to the direct needs of the fire services, including fire equipment technology where there is sufficient economic incentive. The Foundation's research effort provides support for four comprehensive (multidisciplinary) fire research groups on projects where special competence is needed and for a larger number of smaller research grants. 4. ADVICE The goals and strategy reflect advice from several qualified organizations and individuals, including the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Committee on Fire Research. Recommendations from meetings and workshops which were concerned with specialized areas are also considered. Research proposals form the vehicle for implementation of the program. The advice of several experts is sought for each proposal and forms the basis for a decision. 5. SIZE OF FIRE RESEARCH PROGRAM The RANN Fire Research obligations for fiscal year (FY) 1972 and FY 1973 are given in table 1. When RANN was formed early in 1971, nine existing grants (totaling $670,000 on an annual basis) were administratively transferred to the new Fire Research Program, two from the former Office of Interdisciplinary Research on Problems of Our Society and seven from the Engineering Division. Currently there are 24 active grants. Four multidisciplinary groups (Harvard-Factory Mutual Research Corporation; Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University; University of California, Berkeley; and University of Utah) have major support, which ranges from $247,000 to $399,500 per year. There are 16 other research grants which average about $36,000 for a year and four special grants. 6. AREAS OF FIRE RESEARCH Seven sub-program areas will be briefly described. Some projects include more than one area and at times the classification of a particular grant may be a bit arbitrary. 6.1. Structure and Solid Materials Flammability In order to improve fire safety, a fuller understanding must be developed of the conditions needed for ignition to occur on solid materials and structural components, including the effects of flame retardants. Results will be used to improve design practices and fire tests. Empirical studies have been conducted for some time and have provided some knowledge of ignition, however, proper scientific understanding is lacking. Research that is being supported will lead to the use of materials and design of structures in a manner to provide improved fire protection. Moreover, improved bases for the setting of realistic ignition tests are being pursued. Both chemical and engineering research efforts on pyrolysis of cellulose, wood and polymers are under way. 6.2. Fluid and Fuel Flammability This area deals with the development of the knowledge base concerning the fire potential and propagating characteristics of fuels and volatile fluids. The ongoing effort consists of an experimental and analytical effort at Princeton and a complementary analytical program at Cornell University. A detailed understanding of the mechanism of flame spreading across liquid fuel is being sought. The research has advanced to the point where both gas phase and heat transfer aspects can be included simultaneously in the analysis. 6.3. Fabric Flammability Research is being conducted in fabric flammability and the associated hazards for use by the National Bureau of Standards in setting flammability standards. A two-year coordinated program with NBS has been completed. The effort included NSF funded research at Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and projects at Gillette Research Institute and Factory Mutual Research Corporation with funds from three industrial associations. A Government-Industry Research Committee on Fabric Flammability was formed to monitor the group of projects. The MIT project terminated during FY 1973 as did the ones at Gillette and Factory Mutual. Additional research was funded at Georgia Tech on the ignition of composite systems. The purpose of the analytical and experimental work is to relate the hazard from burning garments to laboratory test methods on fabrics for use in setting reasonable fabric flammability standards. The work is designed to lead to the prediction of the probability of garment ignition under given exposure. A grant was recently made to the Textile Research Institute (TRI) to establish, in rigorous quantitative terms, the thermal and flammability characteristics of multicomponent fibrous polymer-systems. The research is complementary to the applied research normally done by TRI and funded by industry. The goal is to provide quidelines for the development of textile materials that will minimize the flammability hazards to the ultimate consumer. 6.4. Chemical and Physical Properties of Flame Propagation A fuller understanding of the mechanism of flame spread, including chemical and physical properties, is needed in order to lead to improvements in building design and methods for combating fires. Results will also be used to improve flame spread tests. The movement of gases within structures is also included, as it is important in connection with fire safety and detection. This area includes research on fire spread in materials and systems, the role of radiation and the fluid mechanics of combustion products. Brown University is conducting an experimental and analytical study of flame spreading over cylinders (round and rectangular cross-sections made of wood and plastic). A major long-range objective of the research being conducted at Harvard is to develop the capability to predict the history of fire progression from an assumed ignition point in a house. Under a subcontract from Harvard, the Factory Mutual Research Corp. is determining the range of application for a pressure method of modeling building fires and for approximate atmospheric pressure methods for modeling fires. Complementary research at Berkeley is directed at understanding a standard wall furnace fire endurance test. Another task is the prediction of the structural response to fire for reinforced concrete frames. A two-dimensional model has been developed which gives a realistic prediction of the stress history under different fire conditions. The convective flows of combustion products in building fires are being studied at California Institute of Technology. A recent grant to the University of Notre Dame has the primary objective to provide the foundation for the development and use of theoretical predictions for describing fire and smoke spread in corridors. The analyses will be coupled with small-scale experiments at Notre Dame and with data from the NBS corridor facility. 6.5. Fire Fighting Systems and Human Behavior Here the aim is to develop knowledge that will contribute to controlling fires more effectively and that will reflect the human response to a fire situation. Studies on the extinguishment of fires include the behavior of water droplets in a fire plume and the action of metal powders on flames. A project at the University of Washington, with participation from the University of California, San Diego and Washington State University, and in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, is directed at determining a rational understanding of wildland fire response to fire suppression measures for use in the development of proper equipment, attack strategies and management techniques that will minimize costs. Research at the University of California, Riverside is directed at some statistical problems connected with the development of a basic simulation model, for forest fire control, by the Forest Fire Laboratory of the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station of the U.S. Forest Service. At Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory, the development has proceeded on an economical and practical tactics case for use by fire departments. It is being tested at the Hillandale, Maryland Volunteer Fire Department, and several improvements have resulted. The case was a major element in the NSF/RANN Fire Research exhibit at the May 1973 Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association in St. Louis. Plans call for further testing in several fire departments in the next few months. Efforts will be made to locate an organization for the manufacture and distribution of the case if an adequate potential market emerges. At the University of California, Berkeley, part of the project is directed at the development of a computer simulation model of the unwanted fire process for use as a design tool for fire protection and fire control. In conjunction with this, field studies have obtained fire incident and human response data applicable to the simulation model. Using engineering psychology approaches, analyses and experimental studies of human response in fire situations will be made. The data obtained will be useful in practical fire safety and control design. 6.6. Smoke Effects The effects of smoke on people are being studied so that attention can be concentrated on the most critical points that offer a payoff in the reduction of deaths and injuries. Little information is available on the exact cause of death of fire victims, except in cases where severe burns, heart attacks or fractures have occurred. The clinical and pathological mechanisms are not understood when a person dies from the effects of by-product agents of a fire. Under a grant at the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, a cooperative program has been initiated with the Baltimore City Medical Examiner's Office and the School of Hygiene and Public Health of Johns Hopkins University. The project includes the post-mortem examination of fire victims in Maryland, chemical analyses of the lung tissues and fluids, and investigation of the fire scene in order to determine the sequence of events leading to death. In addition, the effects of the fire environments on fire fighters are being studied. A related program at the Flammability Research Center of the University of Utah is directed at the physiological and toxicological aspects of smoke produced during the combustion of polymeric materials. The research team includes medical staff members at the University of Utah. The Salt Lake City Fire Department, the Fire Marshal of the State of Utah and the National Bureau of Standards are cooperating with the university group. The program is concerned with the problems connected with the burning of polymeric materials such as fabrics, elastomers and cellular plastics. Laboratory studies of the effect of smoke on rats are included. The research will provide the fundamental information necessary to develop improved materials and to devise better testing procedures to evaluate material hazards under realistic conditions. There is also a need to develop greater facility for the transfer of fire research knowledge between various sectors concerned with fire protection and control. There are special problems in getting fire research knowledge into a form that will ensure use by the fire services community. Through increased communication and education, the process of updating fire codes and standards can be accelerated and the public can become more aware of fire safety. For An information dissemination plan is part of each research proposal. a large grant, an advisory committee, including potential users, is formed to assure coupling to the user communities. Specialized meetings and workshops are arranged to facilitate information transfer, often in cooperation with other groups such as NBS. For example, a conference was held July 18-20, 1973, on "Firesafety for Buildings, Research-Practice-Needs" involving most RANN grantees and organized jointly by NSF, NBS, GSA, and HUD. Contact has been established with several associations, such as the National Fire Protection Association, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI). SPI is providing funds to supplement the NSF grant at the University of Utah on the toxicology of smoke from polymers. |