CIVN 4000

Fire protection and dust explosions

Presented by Esina T Ndoro

Source:http://praag.org

Source:https://www.arrivealive.co.za/Safety-from- Source:http://corsafetydemo.corsafety.ca
Fire-at-our-Homes
 Fire
• There is a natural balance between combustible materials and
oxygen in the environment. Fire protection involves all aspects
of the design in order to ensure
– a reasonable degree of protection of human life and infrastructure
from fire and its products of combustion.
– The reduction of potential loss from fire (i.e. human life and personal
property, information, organizational operations etc.).

• Planning for fire protection in/around a building involves

knowing the potential sources of fire (natural, manmade,
wildfire etc.) and taking an integrated approach to the design
through a thorough analysis of a building's components.

Source: https://www.arrivealive.co.za/Safety-from-Fire-at-our-Homes
 Fire
• Fire is the rapid oxidation of a
material through the exothermic
chemical process of combustion,
releasing heat, light, gases and
various reaction products.
– Other slower oxidative processes
include rusting or digestion.

• Fires are, and always have been,

a part of the South African Source:http://corsafetydemo.corsafety.ca

landscape:
– Fires commonly occur during the
dry summer months in the Western
Cape, and the dry winter months in
the rest of the country.
– Approximately 3.2 percent (1 600
000) of the country’s population
suffers from burn injuries each
year.
 Fire
• Most of the fires that occur in buildings are generally small
and can be easily extinguished.
– Fires are started by small high temperature sources such as sparks
from defective electrical equipment and wiring; welding operations;
matches; cigarettes etc. igniting easily combustible materials.

• There are 3 different stages in fire development.

– The first stage is ignition, the lighting of the fire (flame, heat and
smoke are produced)
• Materials with good fire resistance properties provide no fuel for the fire.
– Flash over point- is a point during a fire when there is a rapid increase
temperature (to ≤ 200 °C) as a result of the ignition of smoke or fumes
from surrounding objects resulting in the rapid spread of fire through
the air.
– Second stage is the flame stage, flames are more visible, more heat is
produced, often less or no smoke is produced.
• The fire resistance of surrounding structures plays an important role in preventing
the spread of fire. The duration of the stage is dependant on the availability of
combustible materials.
– Third stage is the cooling stage, and occurs when all the combustible
materials are burnt and the fire dies down.
 Fire
Development of Fire

Flash over
point

Source:http://www.paroc.com/knowhow/fire/general-information-about-fire
 Fire
• The duration and intensity of a fire are dependant on the
type and quantity of combustible material present.
– Combustible materials are substances that readily ignite, burn,
support combustion, or release flammable vapours.
– Non-combustible materials are substances that will not ignite, burn,
support combustion, or release flammable vapours when subject to
fire or heat, in the form in which they are used and under conditions
anticipated.
• It is assessed through standard test methods e.g. ASTM E-136, Standard
Test Method for Behaviour of Materials, materials are placed in a Vertical
Tube Furnace at 750 degree C.
– Energy/Heat release rates from combustion depend on the nature of
the burning material, the size of the fire, and the amount of air
available.
– The calorific value or heat of combustion (MJ/kg) is the amount of
heat released following the complete combustion of a unit mass of a
substance.
• calorific value of timber is 18 MJ/kg, coal 27-31MJ/kg, natural gas (NTP)
38.1MJ/kg and plastic 40MJ/kg.
 Fire Protection
• Construction materials are chosen based on their application,
engineering properties, quality, cost etc., and in some cases the
materials must meet set fire resistant criteria.

• Fire resistance, containment, and prevention are important aspects

of building and structural design.
– Fire-resistant refers to the capability of a material or assembly of materials
to contain a fire within a compartment or a building, or continue to
provide a structural function in the event of an (internal) fire.
– The ability of a loaded structural material to retain its strength can provide
additional valuable time for building evacuation.

• Fire tests are conducted on construction material to assess their

resistance or resilience to fire determining their suitability for
intended applications.
– Fire tests are means of determining whether fire protection products
meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other
applicable legislation.
 Fire Protection
• Fire loading – is a measure of all combustible materials in a
building i.e. furnishings, equipment and all combustible
construction components.
– It is the heat output per unit floor area, often in kJ/m², calculated from
the calorific value of the materials present.
– The fire load is usually expressed in terms of “wood-equivalent”
weight of combustible building contents per unit floor area.
• The wood-equivalent weight is based on the estimated potential heat
generated following combustion of a material normalized to the potential heat
produced by wood.
• Alternatively, the fire load could be expressed in terms of the potential heat
produced by the contents of a building per unit floor area .
– e.g. an empty room with cement floor, ceiling, concrete walls, and no
flammable materials would have approximately zero fire loading; any fire
entering such a room from elsewhere will find nothing to feed on. However,
the presence of combustible materials i.e. furniture, electrical appliances,
computer equipment, wood panelling, carpeting, curtains etc. can feed the
fire increasing the fire loading.
 Fire Protection
• Fire load in buildings is expressed as Fire Load Energy Density
(FLED) per floor area.
Fire load energy density= FLED = E/Af
E is the energy load /KJ
Af is the floor area of the room / m2

Calculate the Fire load energy density in an office 5 m x 3 m containing 150 kg of

dry wood and paper and 75 kg of plastic materials. Assume calorific values of 16
MJ/kg and 30 MJ/kg respectively.
Mass of wood = 150 kg; Calorific value ∆Hc,wood = 16 MJ/kg; Energy contained
in the wood = M ∆Hc = 150 x 16 = 2400 MJ
Mass of plastic Mplastic = 75 kg; Calorific value ∆Hc, plastic = 30 MJ/kg; Energy
contained in plastic = M ∆Hc = 75 X 30 = 2250 MJ
Total energy in fuel E = Ewood + Eplastic = 2400 + 2250 = 4650 MJ
Floor area Af = 5 x 3 = 15 m2
Fire load energy density = E/Af = 4650/15 = 310 MJ/m2
 Fire Protection
• Steel, copper and aluminium are metallic construction materials
and their resilience to fire is dependant on their melting point.
– Aluminium and copper experience strength reductions at temperatures of
100°C , at 204°C, the tensile strength of copper decreases to about 25%
and that of aluminium decreases by about 60%.
– At about temperatures of 500°C the tensile strength of carbon steel
decreases by about 30%.
• Melting point of steel is 1370 °C, copper is 1,085 °C and aluminium is
660.3 °C

• Natural wood/timber is considered as a natural composite material

and its behaviour and resistance depends on physico-chemical
properties and chemical treatment.
– Timber is a combustible material, however, when a member burns it forms
sooth which serves as insulation protecting the rest of the member form
burning further.
 Fire Protection
• Concrete is composite material consisting of aggregates,
water and a cementing material.

• Exposure to above ambient temperatures does not result in

combustion but changes its physical and chemical
microstructure.
– The principal effects of fire on concrete are loss of compressive
strength, and spalling i.e. flacking or chipping.
– Some of effects of fire on concrete are reversible upon cooling, but
others are non-reversible e.g. water begins to vaporise when the
temperatures exceed 100°C, and at temperatures of about 400°C, the
calcium hydroxide in the cement will begin to dehydrate.
 Fire Protection
Effect of fire on concrete

Source:www.promat-tunnel.com Source: www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

 Fire Protection
• In South Africa the fire protection of buildings is guided by
SANS 104000 which gives guidelines on buildings design,
construction and installation of equipment so that in the
event of fire:
– the occupants or people using the building will be protected –
including persons with disabilities;
– the spread and intensity of any fire within buildings, and the spread of
fire to any other buildings, will be minimized;
– sufficient stability will be retained to ensure that such building will not
endanger any other building: provided that in the case of any multi-
storey building no major failure of the structural system shall occur;
– the generation and spread of smoke will be minimized or controlled to
the greatest extent reasonably practicable; and
– adequate means of access, and equipment for detecting, fighting,
controlling and extinguishing such fire, is provided.
 Fire Protection
• The Standard is made up of a vast number of different
“requirements” that relate to buildings (dwellings, hospitals,
offices etc.) and includes
– regulations related to safety distances,
– fire performance of construction materials,
– escape routes,
– fire detection and fighting equipment etc., and
– access for fire fighting and rescue purposes.

• Passive fire protection materials can be used to insulate

construction materials e.g.
– intumescent coatings are inert at low temperatures but provide
insulation by swelling to provide a charred layer with a low
conductivity to heat.
 Fire Protection
• Passive fire protection materials can be used to insulate
construction materials e.g.
– intumescent coatings are inert at low temperatures but when heated
swell up and have a layer of char providing insulation of the coated
material
• The char layer is low heat conductivity material when heated and it is non-combustible.
• The increase in volume of the materials provides for a thicker layer of insulation.
– There are two types of intumescents i.e.
• Soft char intumescents produce a light char layer when heated that acts as an
insulator due to its poor heat conduction characteristics.
– In addition, hydrates in some of the products liberate water vapour in the presence
of heat, producing a cooling effect. Expansion pressures associated with these
products are low, and soft char intumescents are best suited for use as coating
material.
• Hard char intumescents typically contain sodium silicates or graphite, which
create a heavy char with substantial expansion pressure associated with
volume increase. Often, these materials are used in making fire resistant
components of building materials.
Fire Protection
 Dust explosions
• Dust explosions are the rapid combustion of combustible dust
particles suspended in the air in an enclosed area.
– They can occur when high concentrations of powdered combustible
material in an enclosed area is ignited.
• mode of ignition of a dust explosion includes hot surfaces, electrical or frictional
sparks etc.
• An explosion is a rapid release of a large quantity of energy resulting in a rapid
increase in pressure.

• Many materials can fuel dust explosions such as dust from

manufacturing processes and by-products. Materials prone to
dust explosions include coal dust, dye vapour, grain dust,
textile dust etc.