Early Warning Capabilities for Firefighters: Testing of Collapse Prediction Technologies.
Early Warning Capabilities for Firefighters: Testing of
Collapse Prediction Technologies.
(1710 K)
Duron, Z. H.
NIST GCR 03-846; 39 p. February 2003.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD
Keywords:
fire fighters; warning systems; building collapse;
training; field tests; warehouses; structural collapse;
structures
Abstract:
This report details a two-year effort to develop and
evaluate an early warning capability for firefighters to
detect structural collapse in a burning structure. The
methodology developed is based on monitoring vibrations
in the structure induced by the fire and using these
measurements to define indices that provide warning of
impending collapse. Field test procedures and
instrumentation were developed and shown to be effective
in measuring structural vibrations during full-scale
burn tests on wood and steel frame structures. Attempts
to correlate measured responses with changes in
structural behavior during burn have shown that trends
in response magnitude, response statistics and in
changing system parameters can all be used to track
changing structural conditions leading to collapse.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899