Fire Safety of Passenger Trains. Phase 3. Evaluation of Fire Hazard Analysis Using Full-Scale Passenger Rail Car Tests.
Fire Safety of Passenger Trains. Phase 3. Evaluation
of Fire Hazard Analysis Using Full-Scale Passenger Rail
Car Tests.
(6728 K)
Peacock, R. D.; Averill, J. D.; Madrzykowski, D.;
Stroup, D. W.; Reneke, P. A.; Bukowski, R. W.
NISTIR 6563; 149 p. April 2004.
Keywords:
passenger trains; fire safety; evaluation; fire hazard
analysis; large scale fire tests; cone calorimeters;
egress; fire models; furniture calorimeters; heat
release rate; railroad safety; test methods;
transportation
Abstract:
Fire safety is an area of particular interest for both
conventional intercity and commuter passenger trains,
and new high-speed trains. A systems approach to fire
safety addresses passenger rail car design and
materials, detection and suppression, passenger and
train crew evacuation, and their interactions. The
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is sponsoring a
multi-phase research program directed at providing the
scientific basis for using a systems approach to
evaluate the level of passenger train fire safety
already achieved through the current prescriptive
material requirements. Previously published interim
reports document the research program results to date.
Phase I focused on the evaluation of passenger rail car
interior furnishing materials using data from existing
FRA-cited small-scale test methods and from an
alternative test method using the cone calorimeter (ASTM
International E-1354). In Phase II, full-scale tests
were conducted of selected interior material component
assemblies using a larger scale furniture calorimeter;
fire hazard analyses were then conducted for three types
of intercity passenger rail cars, using data from both
types of tests. This Phase III interim report compares
the results of Phases I and II of the research program,
with a series of full-scale fire tests conducted in an
Amtrak coach rail car. The goal of Phase III was to
evaluate the extent that the results of the small- and
full-scale tests and fire hazard analyses using the
Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke Transport (CFAST)
computer model are predictive of actual passenger rail
car material burning behavior.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899