Review On Heat Release Rate For Fires
Review On Heat Release Rate For Fires
Review On Heat Release Rate For Fires
W. K. CHOW
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
ABSTRACT
There are many retail shops in Hong Kong. Fire safety for those of small size
and located in crowded shopping malls should be considered carefully. This
applies also to the retail shops in terminal buildings and public transport
interchanges. To answer the question “how large is a fire?” in a retail shop, the
heat release rates of possible fires should be estimated. Combustibles include
commodities and products stored, decoration materials, and furnishings. The
heat release rates of these combustibles as appearing in the literature were
used to estimate the rate of heat released by burning those materials. The
likelihood of flashover in a retail shop was investigated. The effects of
reducing the heat release rate by a sprinkler for a number of scenarios were
also estimated.
INTRODUCTION
There are many small retail shops in Hong Kong located in crowded shopping
malls and areas such as terminals and public transport interchanges. Because
of the high price of land, in the order of US$400 to US$800 per square foot,
and rental price US$8 to US$10 per square foot in districts with many
shopping centers like Mongkok, most of the shops are small in size and fully
packed with goods to be sold. Fire safety in these areas needs to be considered
carefully.
*This project is supported by the PolyU Area of Strategic Development in Advanced Buildings
Technology in a Dense Urban Environment.
157
2001, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
158 / CHOW
Note that there might be an incubation period before Q is reached in the above
equation.
– tg is 600 s for a slow t2-fire.
– tg is 300 s for a medium t2-fire which is similar to a fire resulting from burning
cotton/polyester innerspring mattresses, full mail bags, pallet stacks of 1 m
high, counters or office furniture distributed horizontally.
– tg is 150 s for a fast t2-fire such as fires due to wood pallets 1.5 m high,
cartons of 4 m high with various contents, displays, and padded work-station
partitioning.
– tg is 75 s for an ultra t2-fire such as burning plywood wardrobes, upholstered
furniture, light-weight furnishing, and non-fire retarded plastic foam storage.
C Further, some data on the maximum heat release rate reported by different
research workers are quoted in NFPA 92B [6]:
– Wastepaper baskets of mass 0.73 to 1.04 kg: 4 to 18 kW
– Curtains with velvet/cotton of mass 1.9 kg: 160 to 240 kW
– Curtains with acrylics/cotton of mass 1.4 kg: 130 to 150 kW
– TV sets of mass 27 to 33 kg: 120 to 290 kW
– Chair mock up of mass 1.36 kg: 63 to 66 kW
– Sofa mock up of mass 2.8 kg: 130 kW
– Arm chair of mass 26 kg: 160 kW
The best way to develop these values is through use of an “industry calorimeter”
[7, 8] to burn an actual retail shop similar to that used to study how much heat was
released in burning an office workstation [9]. This is far too expensive, though
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 159
Qburn/kW tburn/s
Soft toy mountain fires, Garrad and Smith [12] 1000 800
C1 4000 250
3000 300
2000 450
1000 750
C2 5000 250
4000 300
3000 500
2000 600
1000 650
C3 4000 500
3000 550
2000 600
1000 650
C4 6000 180
5000 200
4000 240
3000 260
2000 300
1000 360
C5 5000 420
4000 450
3000 480
2000 640
1000 700
C6 5000 80
4000 200
3000 360
2000 420
1000 750
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 163
Table 1. (Cont’d.)
Qburn/kW tburn/s
C7 3000 100
2000 180
1000 400
C8 6000 260
5000 300
4000 330
3000 480
2000 420
1000 450
heat release rate with sprinkler QAT (kW); the maximum one-minute average of
the convective heat release rate QAC (kW); and the water delivered density WDD
(mm·min–1) for each test measured by Persson [14] are shown in Table 2.
Typical total and convective heat release curves at different WDD are shown in
Figures 3 and 4.
C Another type of fire might occur during festivals where spaces are decorated. An
example is burning Christmas trees in a shopping mall. Studies on Scotch Pine
Christmas tree fires under the main exhaust hood [8] were reported by Stroup
et al. [18] in the Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST). Weights of the trees were from 9.5 kg to 28.1 kg, with
heights of 2.3 m to 3.1 m, widths (between widest points) from 1.1 m to 1.7 m,
and moisture contents of 25 percent to 36 percent. Peak heat release rates ranged
from 1.6 MW to 5.2 MW with an example shown in Figure 5.
C Extensive studies on upholstered furniture have been carried out over the past
ten years. Earlier studies included the exponential model as reviewed in the
literature [19]. Based on the results from a furniture calorimeter, the heat release
rate of a single item of burning furniture can be described by a curve of
triangular shape with the peak heat release rate QP (in kW) modeled by either
generic material identification; or based on bench-scale measurements. One
of the recent studies on the subject is the project on Combustion Behaviour of
Upholstered Furniture (CBUF) in Europe [20, 21]. The heat release rate of
upholstered furniture can be predicted by testing the composite samples in a
164 / CHOW
Figure 1. Heat release rate curves reported by Garrad and Smith [12].
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 165
Figure 2. Heat release curves with sprinkler reported by Garrad and Smith [12].
166 / CHOW
where Qfo is 2500 kW, kfl is 0.4 min–2 and tfl is 3 min for domestic upholstered
furniture; and Qfo is 1500 kW, kfl is 0.2 min–2, and tfl is 4 min for contract (public)
upholstered furniture.
USE OF RESULTS
As pointed out by Lei et al. [23] in studying karaoke fires experimentally, the
small size of a karaoke box might lead to a higher fire risk. A possible explanation
is due to the likelihood of flashover as reported by Babrauskas and Walton [19] in
their study of heat release rate for upholstered furniture fires. An equation on the
minimum heat release rate Qmf (in kW) causing flashover proposed by Thomas
[24] can be used for a small shop of length L (in m), width W (in m), and height H
(in m); and for an opening of area Av (in m2) and height Hv (in m):
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 167
Figure 3. Total heat release rate reported by Persson [14].
168 / CHOW
Figure 4. Convective heat release rate reported by Persson [14].
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 169
Figure 5. Scotch pine Christmas tree fires reported by Stroup et al. [18].
170 / CHOW
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 171
Figure 6. Theoretical calculation of heat reduction by sprinkler for soft toy mountain fire.
172 / CHOW
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 173
CONCLUSION
The possible heat release rates of burning stored combustibles in local retail
shop fires were estimated. Possible fire scenarios in small retail shops were
discussed with the design fire calculated using a method similar to that used by
Höglander and Sundström [22]. The likelihood of flashover in the shop was
studied. Results indicate that poor selection of surface lining materials might give
a high heat release rate. Partitioning a retail shop into different areas for larger
shops should be considered carefully. Materials used should be treated with fire
retardant as shown in scenario 1 shop fire.
Research [34, 35] on the flame spreading of partition materials, and the require-
ments and specification for choosing them should be carried out as soon as
possible. Results would be useful in modifying the existing building fire safety
codes [e.g., 36-39] to the new generation of engineering performance-based
fire codes [40].
The points of concern are:
• Likelihood of flashover [24, 25] in the fire shop and consequences of occur-
rence should be watched. The heat release rates of combustibles stored in the
shop are key factors [10]. Storing products of heat release rate higher than Qmf
given by equation (3) should be monitored carefully.
• Effectiveness of operating sprinkler system [26-30] in controlling a fire
should be considered and water mist system be used if necessary.
• Fire safety management programs [41-43], including training of the store-
keepers and the building management staff, are to be worked out carefully.
For example, keeping a fire to be smaller than the design fires for sizing the
sprinkler and smoke extraction systems should be ensured.
All points should be analyzed carefully to provide total fire safety. Both fire
simulations and full-scale burning tests on selected designs of the shop should be
performed so that key issues on fire safety can be identified. It is difficult to work
out fire safety regulations, and recommend good fire safety management without
in-depth studies.
REFERENCES
1. R. D. Peacock, R. W. Bukowski, W. W. Jones, P. A. Reneke, V. Babrauskas, and J. E.
Brown, Fire Safety of Passenger Trains: A Review of Current Approaches and of
New concepts, NIST Technical Note 1406, National Institution of Standards and
Technology, Maryland, 1994.
2. M. L. Janssens, Heat Release Rate HRR, NISTIR 6527, Measurement Needs for Fire
Safety: Proceedings of an International Workshop, T. J. Ohlemiller, E. L. Johnsson,
and R. G. Gann (eds.), Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 2000.
176 / CHOW
3. V. Babrauskas, Burning Item Sub-Models, NISTIR 6527, Measurement Needs for Fire
Safety: Proceedings of an International Workshop, T. J. Ohlemiller, E. L. Johnsson,
and R. G. Gann (eds.), Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 2000.
4. H. P. Morgan and J. P. Gardner, Design Principles for Smoke Ventilation in Enclosed
Shopping Centres, Building Research Establishment Report, Fire Research Station,
Borehamwood, United Kingdom, 1999.
5. H. P. Morgan and G. O. Hansell, Fire Sizes and Sprinkler Effectiveness in Offices—
Implications for Smoke Control Design, Fire Safety Journal, 8, pp. 187-198, 1984/95.
6. NFPA 92B, Guide for Smoke Management Systems in Malls, Atria, and Large
Areas, 1995 Edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts,
1995.
7. M. Månsson, M. Dahlberg, P. Blomqvist, and A. Ryderman, Combustion of Chemical
Substances: Fire Characteristics and Smoke Gas Components in Large-Scale Experi-
ments, Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, Fire Technology and
Chemical Analysis, SP Report 1994:28, Boras, Sweden, 1994.
8. D. W. Stroup, L. DeLauter, J. Lee, and G. Roadarmel, Large Fire Research Facility
(Building 205) Exhaust Hood Heat Release Rate Measurement System, NISTIR 6509,
National Institute of Standards and Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 2000.
9. D. Madrzykowski, Office Work Station Heat Release Rate Study: Full Scale vs Bench
Scale, Interflam ’96, Proceedings of 7th International Interflam Conference, March
26-28, 1996, Cambridge, England, pp. 47-55, 1996.
10. B. Hume, Sprinkler for Life Safety in Shops: Survey of Shops, Research Report
Number 70, Fire Protection Association, Home Office Fire Research and Develop-
ment Group, United Kingdom, 1997.
11. Fire Tests of Building Materials and Structure, Part 7: Method of Test to Determine the
Classification of the Surface Spread of Flame of Products, BS476: Part 7: 1997, British
Standards Institution, London, United Kingdom, 1997.
12. G. Garrad and D. A. Smith, The Characterisation of Fires for Design, Interflam ’99,
Proceedings of 8th International Fire Science & Engineering Conference, June 29-July
1, Edinburgh Conference Centre, Scotland, 1, pp. 555-566, 1999.
13. B. K. Ghosh, Fires in Real Scenarios, International Symposium on Fire Science and
Technology, New Trends of Fire Technology towards the 21st Century, November
12-14, 1997, Seoul Education & Culture Center, Seoul, Korea, organized by Korean
Institute of Fire Science & Engineering.
14. H. Persson, Commodity Classification—A More Objective and Applicable Method-
ology, SP Sveriges Provnings—och Forskningsinstitut, Brandteknik, SP RAPPORT
1993:70, Boras, Sweden, 1998.
15. General Storage, NFPA 231, 1990 Edition.
16. Commodity Classification, Loss Prevention Data, Factory Mutual System, 8-OS,
March 1991.
17. Approval Standard for Commodity Classification of Plastic Pallets, Factory Mutual
Research Corporation, Class No. 4995, October 1991—Draft.
18. D. W. Stroup, L. DeLauter, J. Lee, and G. Roadarmel, Scotch Pine Christmas Tree Fire
Tests, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Report of Test FR 4010, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 1999.
HEAT RELEASE RATE FOR FIRES IN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS / 177
35. C. W. Leung and W. K. Chow, Review on Four Standard Tests on Flame Spreading,
International Journal on Engineering Performance-Based Fire Codes, 3:2, pp. 67-86,
2001.
36. Code of Practice for Fire Resisting Construction, Buildings Department, Hong Kong,
1996.
37. Code of Practice for the Provision of Means of Escape in Case of Fire, Buildings
Department, Hong Kong, 1996.
38. Code of Practice for Provisions of Means of Access for Firefighting and Rescue
Purposes, Buildings Department, Hong Kong, 1995.
39. Codes of Practice for Minimum Fire Service Installations and Equipment and
Inspection and Testing of Installations and Equipment, Fire Services Department,
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 1998.
40. Practice Note for Authorized Persons and Registered Structural Engineers: Guide
to Fire Engineering Approach, Guide BD GP/BREG/P/36, Buildings Department,
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, March 1998.
41. H. L. Malhotra, Fire Safety in Buildings, Building Research Establishment Report,
Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Fire Research
Station, Borehamwood, Herts, WD6 2BL, United Kingdom, 1987.
42. W. Dailey, A Guide to Fire Safety Management, Perpetuity Press, United Kingdom,
2000.
43. D. E. Della-Giustina, The Fire Safety Management Handbook (2nd Edition), American
Society of Safety Engineers, Des Plaines, Illinois, 1999.