Smoke Component Yields From Room-Scale Fire Tests.
Smoke Component Yields From Room-Scale Fire Tests.
(6078 K)
Gann, R. G.; Averill, J. D.; Johnsson, E. L.; Nyden, M.
R.; Peacock, R. D.
NIST TN 1453; 159 p. April 2003.
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Keywords:
smoke yield; fire tests; room fires; fire research;
smoke; toxicity
Abstract:
This report presents the methodology for and results
from a series of room-scale fire tests to produce data
on the yields of toxic products in both pre-flashover
and post-flashover fires. The combustibles examined
were: a sofa made of upholstered cushions on a steel
frame, particleboard bookcases with a laminated finish,
polyvinyl chloride sheet, and household electric cable.
They were burned in a room with a long adjacent
corridor. The yields of CO2, CO, HCl, HCN, and
carbonaceous soot were determined. Other toxicants (NO2,
formaldehyde and acrolein) were not found;
concentrations below the detection limits were shown to
be of limited toxicological importance relative to the
detected toxicants. The toxicant yields from sofa
cushion fires in a closed room were similar to those
from pre-flashover fires of the same cushions in a room
with the door open. The uncertainties in the
post-flashover data are smaller due to the larger
species concentrations and the more fully established
upper layer from which the fire effluent was sampled.
The uncertainty values are comparable to those estimated
for the fractional effective dose calculations used to
calculate the time available for escape from a fire. The
repeatability values should also be sufficient to
determine whether a bench-scale apparatus is producing
results that are similar to or different from the
real-scale results here. The use of Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was shown to be a useful
tool for obtaining concentration data of toxicants.
However, its operation and interpretation is far from
routine. The losses of CO, HCN, and HCl as they flowed
down the corridor were found to be dependent on the
combustible. The downstream to upstream concentration
ratios varied from unity for some fuels to a factor of
five smaller for others. The CO yield from two of the
combustibles was significantly lower than the expected
value of 0.2. The accuracy of the results is verified,
and the source of the difference is unknown.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899