Undergraduate Course: Fire Safety Engineering 5 (CIVE11055)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course provides a training in engineering approaches to applied problems. The student is introduced to the principles of design for the fire safety engineering of various infrastructures, with an emphasis in the built environment. A variety of different aspects of design are discussed (including: flammability, detection & alarm, smoke management, fire suppression, fire resistance, egress, etc.), with particular attention to systems of classification and design applications. The course distinguishes 'prescriptive' and 'performance-based' approaches to design, with an emphasis on understanding the philosophy of design guidance; references are made to more advanced methods and opportunities to use fire science knowledge and engineering analysis approaches, as well as the interface with structural engineering. The overall aim is to build confidence in tackling simple fire safety engineering design with due consideration to any limitations, uncertainties or conservatisms which may be present. |
| Course description |
Lecture 1 Introduction to Fire Safety Engineering (wks1, 2)
Principles of regulations for fire safety, lessons from failures, intro to prescriptive and performance-based design methodologies
Lecture 2 Flammability (wk3)
Concept of 'Flammability' and associated principles of hazard classification
Lecture 3 Fire Detection and Alarm (wk4)
Design of fire detection and alarm systems, including technologies
Lecture 4 Smoke Control (wk5)
Concept and application of 'stairwell pressurisation'
Lectures 5a,b Fire Suppression (wks6, 7)
Principles and design of water and gaseous suppression
Lectures 6a,b Fire Resistance (wks8, 9)
Concept and application of 'Fire Resistance'
Lecture 7 Egress (wk10)
Human factors including escape route design
Lecture 8 Revision (wk11)
There is a single assessed tutorial encompassing one or more of the above topics. A formative tutorial will also be completed, with feedback provided before the assessed tutorial.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
73 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam %: 80
Practical Exam %: 0
Coursework %: 20
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Fire Safety Engineering 5 | 2:120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Appreciate the role and importance of fire safety engineering in the design of modern infrastructures
- Describe the range of approaches adopted, with an awareness of distinctions and limitations
- Justify fire design specifications with reference to appropriate guidance and standards, with appropriate consideration of information that may be incomplete or uncertain
- Demonstrate awareness of potentially conflicting demands, i.e. commercial, safety, environmental, ethical, etc
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Reading List
| All required materials are provided in course VLE on Learn, i.e. guidance and standards (including some technical papers) and various items for "course reading" (papers by Brannigan and Woodrow, plus Milliken carpet factory case study); two publicly available videos are also used, Buncefield (Domoney) and BRE's "No Smoke with Fire"; useful pre-course reading would be Prof Rasbash inaugural lecture, providing some historical context: https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/5574 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Fire Safety Engineering,Prescriptive Design,Performance based design,Design guidance,Standards |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Stephen Welch
Tel: (0131 6)50 5734
Email: S.Welch@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Tom Lawford-Groves
Tel: (0131 6)50 5687
Email: t.lawford-groves@ed.ac.uk |
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