Reaction-to-fire testing and modeling for wood products

Abstract

In this review we primarily discuss our use of the oxygen consumption calorimeter (ASTM E1354 for cone calorimeter and ISO9705 for room/corner tests) and fire growth modeling to evaluate treated wood products. With recent development towards performance-based building codes, new methodology requires engineering calculations of various fire growth scenarios. The initial fire growth scenarios considered are those observed in 25-foot tunnel tests (ASTM E84) and room/corner tests to ensure continuity with existing building codes. We conducted specialized tests with the cone calorimeter to resolve fundamental inadequacies in modeling fire growth in wood products. These are noted as (1) effect of backing material on mass, heat, and smoke release rates and (2) effect of radiant flux on surface ignition, heat release rates, and smoke production rate. We demonstrated with analytical predictions of flame spread the complexities involved in modeling the initial fire growth scenarios, particularly for untreated and treated wood products. Despite these problems, it was possible to provide treatment guidelines in the form of desired time to ignition, peak heat release rate (HRR), and total heat release (THR) in cone calorimeter tests that will result in improved fire performance in the E84 or room/corner testing.

Citation

Dietenberger, Mark A.; White, Robert H. 2001. Reaction-to-fire testing and modeling for wood products. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual BCC Conference on Flame Retardancy. Stamford, CT. Norwalk, CT: Business Communications Co. Inc.: 54-69.