NASA Fire Detector Study.
NASA Fire Detector Study.
(1584 K)
Davis, W. D.; Notarianni, K. A.
NISTIR 5798; NISTIR 6030; 38 p. March 1996.
U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural
Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 13th Joint
Panel Meeting. Volume 2. March 13-20, 1996,
Gaithersburg, MD, Beall, K. A., Editor(s), 419-422 pp,
1997.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB97-184204
Keywords:
fire detection systems; fire simulation; fluid flow;
heat detection; radiation detection; smoke detection;
ventilation; clean room fires; detection time
Abstract:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
together with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology are in the third year of a five year project
designed to set guidelines for fire protection in high
bay facilities. A high bay facility is defined in this
study as any space with a ceiling height in excess of 18
m. NASA has numerous high bay spaces that are used to
perform a variety of functions. A survey of NASA high
bay spaces was conducted to determine the number of
spaces, the use of the space, fire detection and
suppression present, geometry and presence of forced air
flow or clean room conditions, and special hazards which
would pose substantial fire risks. Based on the survey
results, a modeling program was designed which would
analyze both specific and generic high bay spaces
representative of the NASA inventory. The computation
fluid dynamics model HARWELL-FLOW3D was used for the
modeling. The object of the modeling was to simulate
the response of smoke, fusible link, heat, UV/IR, and
obscuration detectors to several standard fire
scenarios. The modeling was done for both forced air
flow and no air flow present in the space. Results of
the predicted detector activation times are presented as
a function of fire size, ceiling height, and forced air
flow.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899