Undergraduate Course: Fire Dynamics Laboratory 5 (CIVE11023)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Engineering |
College |
College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
10 |
| Home subject area |
Civil |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None
|
Taught in Gaelic? |
No |
| Course description |
This module consists of a series of laboratory sessions that will introduce the student to a variety of different experimental techniques used in fire safety engineering. Each session will be introduced with a guide to relevant theory with the aim of providing the students with the fundamental knowledge to support understanding and interpretation of the experiments, as well as a safety briefing and guide to risk assessment. The use of standard tests and the application of the results to design will be emphasized. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| King's Buildings | Laboratory | | 1-11 | | 14:00 - 17:00 | | | | | King's Buildings | Laboratory | | 1-11 | | | 10:00 - 10:50 | | |
| First Class |
Week 1, Tuesday, 14:00 - 17:00, Zone: King's Buildings. Fire Lab |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course the student should be able to demonstrate
* advanced understanding of ignition (solid and liquid/gaseous)
* advanced understanding of burning rate and flame spread
* understanding of oxygen consumption calorimetry
* advanced understanding of fire dynamics, including fire plumes and compartment fires
|
Assessment Information
| The assessment will based on coursework submissions (100%). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Labs: Titles & Contents
Ignition (4 hours)
- Two laboratory demonstrations will be conducted to illustrate the different processes leading to ignition of combustible materials. The first demonstration is intended to provide insight on ignition and the second one to illustrate the use of ignition to establish flammability criteria.
- First Laboratory
- Application of ignition theory
- Piloted, Auto and Spontaneous ignition
- Second Laboratory
- Flash point/fire point
- Physical processes and Standard tests
Flame Spread (2 hours)
- The physical mechanisms controlling flame spread will be described on the basis of a laboratory demonstration. The demonstration will emphasize the following aspects:
- Materials properties: influence of a material thermal and chemical properties on the rate of spread (liquid:solid, high density:low density, charring: non-charring, melting:non-melting)
- Orientation: upward, downward, horizontal, lateral.
- External heat flux
- Fuel thickness: thick:thin matrials.
Burning Rate (4 hours)
- The evolution of the burning rate as a function of different parameters will be established. Emphasis will be given to pool fires. Empirical and analytical formulations will be validated. The concept of the mass transfer number will be studied. The relationship between burning rate and the following parameters will be emphasized:
- Fire Size
- Flame Height
- Entrainment Rate
- The effect of wind
Extinction (2 hours)
- Four mechanisms of extinction will be studied: chemical (cup-burner test), strain (counter-flow burner), temperature reduction (quenching experiments) and mass transfer number (gas burner).
Oxygen Consumption Calorimetry (2 hours)
- The principles of oxygen consumption calorimetry will be illustrated through demonstrations using:
- The Cone Calorimeter
- The Intermediate Scale Calorimeter
Compartment Fires (2hours)
- The influence of a compartment on the burning characteristics of different materials will be studied by means of a small-scale compartment fire demonstration. Calculations related to the following elements will be conducted and compared with the experiments:
- Smoke Layers
- Vents
- Flashover
- Backdraught
- Fully developed fires
Detection (Smoke Box Experiments) (2 hours)
- The performance of different smoke detector technologies will be evaluated in a smoke box and using different fuels and burning modes.
|
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Introduction to Fire Dynamics, (Second Edition)
Dougal Drysdale
John Wiley and Sons, 1998
|
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords |
Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Stephen Welch
Tel: (0131 6)50 5734
Email: S.Welch@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mrs Laura Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 5690
Email: laura.smith@ed.ac.uk |
|
copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh -
31 January 2011 7:28 am
|
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