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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Engineering : Civil

Undergraduate Course: Fire Science and Engineering 2 (CIVE08024)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course provides a multidisciplinary introduction to fire dynamics covering fundamentals applicable to fire safety engineering in the built environment, manufacturing and process industries, and the natural environment. It considers the processes that govern how fires are ignited and how they burn and how they can be controlled through engineering design.
The course covers fundamental fire science including thermochemistry, transient heat transfer, material flammability, smoke and fire plumes, and basic fire models; as well as the principles of fire safety engineering, including regulation relevant to the built environment and process industries.
The course is structured around taught material, and a mix of tutorials based on group-based discussion and problem solving.
Course description Introduction
- Great Fires of. . .

Fires and flames
- Fuel, oxidiser, heat
- Examination of how a candle burns

Materials and how they burn
- Combustion chemistry
- Ignition: flammability limits (gas, liquids)

Fire hazards
- Smoke correlations
- Heat transfer: steady state conduction and lumped mass

Buildings fires
- Compartment fire dynamics
- Material flammability (solids)

Industrial fire hazards
- Jet flames
- Pool fires

Wildfires
- Fire spread
- Social aspects

Useful fires
- Combustion
- Emissions

Fire models
- Zone model
- CFD

Fire engineering
- Detection
- Suppression
- Compartmentation
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 65 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam: 70%
Coursework: 30%

The School has a 40% Rule for this course, whereby you must achieve a minimum of 40% in coursework and 40% in written exam components, as well as an overall mark of 40% to pass a course. If you fail a course you will be required to resit it. You are only required to resit components which have been failed.
Feedback Opportunities through discussions in lectures, and tutorial sessions for direct feedback; feedback on each coursework submission
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Discuss the role of fire science and engineering in the design of engineering systems;
  2. Manipulate concepts related to the quantification of fire hazards and processes;
  3. Perform basic fire engineering calculations, recognising the associated limits of applicability;
  4. Critically appraise simple fire engineering designs.
Reading List
Required reading:
Drysdale, D., An Introduction to Fire Dynamics, Wiley, 2011.

Further reading:
Quintere, J., Fundamentals of Fire Phenomena, Wiley, 2006.
SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, NFPA 2016.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsFire Safety,Process Safety,Fire Safety Engineering
Contacts
Course organiserDr Rory Hadden
Tel: (0131 6)50 5944
Email: R.Hadden@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Jennifer Reilly
Tel: (01316) 517073
Email: jreilly4@ed.ac.uk
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