Citation

Thompson SL, Apostolakis GE. Fire Safety J. 1994; 22(1): 1-24.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This work investigates the initial stages of a residential fire scenario: specifically the peak heat release rate (kW/m2) from an item ignited by exposure to a radiant heat source. Parameters which may define a scenario include the material properties of the furniture and the ignition source. The emphasis is on the uncertainties in these parameters and their impact on the peak heat release rate (kW/m2). A response surface analysis is performed to determine the equivalent bench-scale heat release as a function of fabric, padding, oxygen concentration, and imposed radiant heat flux. A response surface is a polynomial which approximates the computer code and it may be used to predict heat release values, as well as the uncertainties in these values due to uncertainties in the model input variables.