# Presentation: 580956

## Safety of Threatened Buildings Program

**William Grosshandler  **
- Building and Fire Research Laboratory
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Gaithersburg, MD
- Fire Resistive Materials Workshop
**July 14, 2005**

**Notes:**
Good Morning.  My name is Jack Snell.  I am Director of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 
My purpose this morning is to put today’s meeting in context for you and outline what  we have planned for today and the near future regarding the WTC investigation.
We like most everyone else,  since September 11, have asked, “what can we do, how  can we respond?”  As an element of the National Institute of Standards and Technology our business is measurement and standards. The competencies of my Laboratory relate to building and fire research.  
Why are we doing this? Our goal is to derive lessons to be learned as they relate to practice, standards and codes. 

## Threats to Safety in Public & Commercial Buildings

** ****Traditional fire hazards**
** ****Combined hazards**
** ****Terrorist threats**
** ****Performance envelope of structures**

## Stakeholders and Partners in R&D Program for Safety of Threatened Buildings

**Academics**

**Industry Suppliers**

**Stakeholders and Partners in R&D Program for Safety of Threatened Buildings**

**Reduced **
**Threat**

**Construction Industry**

**Fire Safety Engineering**

**Codes and Standards Organizations**

**Structural Engineering**
**and Design**

**Government Agencies**

**Insurance,**
**Testing labs**

**Public/Groups**

## What is Safety of Threatened Buildings Program?

** ****Part of the NIST post-9/11 response plan**
** ****Extension and enhancement of pre-9/11ongoing R&D **
** ****Objective:**  To provide a technical foundation that supports improvements to codes, standards, and practices that reduce the impact of extreme threats to the safety of buildings, their occupants & emergency responders.
-  **Anticipated ****Major Outcomes:**
** **Increased Structural Integrity
-  Enhanced Fire Resistance
-  Improved Emergency Egress & Access
-  Building & Emergency Equip. Standards & Guidelines

- 3/04

## Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm

**Prevention of Progressive Collapse; ****PI:  H.S. Lew**
- To develop and implement performance criteria for codes and standards, tools,  and practical guidance for prevention of progressive structural collapse.
-   No progressive collapse provisions in current U.S. bldg. codes
-   Lack of design tools
-   NIBS workshop (DTAP)

** **_**Increased Structural Integrity**_

## Definition of Progressive Collapse:  Spread of structural failure by a chain reaction, disproportionate to a localized triggering failure.
Loss of gravity load capacity of structural system
Inability of the structural system to redistribute the load 

Project Goal:  To prevent loss of lives and injuries due to progressive collapse of buildings.
Initiating events
Impact
Explosion
Blast
Fire

- Loss of gravity load capacity of structural system
- Inability of the structural system to redistribute the load
**Project Goal:  **To prevent loss of lives and injuries due to progressive collapse of buildings.
- Initiating events
- Impact
- Explosion
- Blast
- Fire

## Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm

** ****Fire Resistance of Building Partitions****; PI:  Dick Gann**
-  Technical basis for accurate measurement & prediction
-  methodologies for inclusion of fire resistance properties of walls,
-  floors & ceilings in performance-based fire safety design

** ****Fire Protective Coatings for Structural Steel; ****PI:  Dale Bentz**
-  Predictive criteria for selection of fire protective coatings to accelerate
-   development of materials with reduced vulnerability to extreme events.

**Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm**

** ****Fire Resistance of Uncoated Structural Steel; PI:  Frank Gayle**
-  Develop efficient test method for evaluating fire resistance of steel
-  Benefits of FR steel not adequately tested under ASTM E119

_**Enhanced Fire Resistance**_

** ****Fire Safe Building Structures; PI:  John Gross****	**
-  To develop and implement verified and improved standards, tools,
-  methodology and guidance for the fire safety design and retrofit of
-  concrete and steel structures.

## Fire Resistance of Building Partitions:

- Ability to confine a fire for time sufficient to allow occupant evacuation
- Standards successful in reducing fires that have caused loss of life/property - limited value for quantitative design
- Benefit to public safety - putting fire resistance description of partitions on an absolute basis

**Fire Resistance of Building Partitions:**

##  Approach:

- Conduct real scale tests of wall assemblies
- Develop model of time to failure modes --
- Heat, smoke, and flames
- Establish apparatus needed for model input data
- Develop and validate method(s) at minimum scale for obtaining thermal and failure data on assemblies

- Wall Location

## NAFTL Round Robin:

-   Compare behavior of different vertical furnaces** **
-   Data used by labs to assess relative performance of their furnaces
-   Data used by NIST to develop relationship between furnace behavior and
-     actual fires - understand cracking/failure of gypsum boards

- Exposed Face

- Unexposed Face

- 304.8 cm

- 304.8 cm

- 0.9525
- cm

- 0.9525
- cm

- 9 screws (30.5 cm o.c.)

- 92 mm

- 28.5 mm

- 22 gauge

- 60.9 cm

- 182.8 cm

- Vertical Furnace
- UL Northbrook

**Gypsum Non-Load Bearing**
**Wall Partition**

## Global Collaboration on Prediction of Structural Fire Performance:

** ****Objective -** To establish a global collaboration to conduct identified research that addresses outstanding technical issues needed to perform engineering analysis of structural reaction to fire.
** ****Approach - **Establish a consortium of research labs and funding sources who would address the issues in a coordinated program leading to a generally accepted engineering method.  Organization and coordination of the program would be done through CIB W14 as an independent international body.

## Collaboration Partners:

| Task | Lead Organization | Participating Labs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coordination | CIB W14 |  |
| Technical Direction | NIST | all |
| Fire/structure simulation | NIST & BRE | CTICM, SINTEF & NIST |
| Full-scale tests of connections | ABRI | CSIRO |
| High heating rates | CTICM | BRANZ |
| High temp properties | BRI | NRCC, SP & NIST |
| High thermal gradients | CSIRO | SINTEF |
| Cooling phase | SKLFS | BRANZ |
| Symposium | NIST | all |

**Working -****  ****plan awaiting funding**** - no response**

## Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm

**Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm**

** ****Occupant Behavior and Egress **
** ****PI: R. Peacock **
-  Reliable predictions of time to egress

_**Improved Emergency Egress & Access**_

** ****Emergency Use of Elevators;  PI:  R. Bukowski **
-  Technical and procedural means to allow use of elevators during
-  emergencies for evacuation of occupants with disabilities from,
-  and for first responder access to, high rise buildings

## Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm

**Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm**

**Developing, Managing and Disseminating Building Information During Emergencies;****  PIs:  K. Reed,  S. Treado, W. Healy **
-  Services that enable ready access to building systems data by first responders;
-  Managing heterogeneous wireless sensor networks in buildings;
-  Ensuring secure dissemination of building information to emergency responders.

** ****Technologies for Building Operations in CBR Attacks**
** ****PI:  Andy Persily**
-  Analysis tools and guidance for assessment and subsequent
-  reductions in vulnerability of buildings to CBR attacks

** ****Cost-effective Risk Management Tools;  PI:  Bob Chapman **
** **User-friendly tool for building owners/managers to aid in selection of cost-
-  effective strategies for management of terrorist  and environmental risks

_**Building & Emergency Equipment Stds & Guidelines**_

## Implications for Standards

**Test methods for mechanical and thermal properties of fire proofing materials**
**	****gypsum**
**  ****SFRM**
**  ****intumescents**
**Test methods for performance of partitions in fire**
**Test methods for performance of structural materials in fire**
**	****high temperature steels**
**	****high strength concrete**
**  ****composites (organic and inorganic)**
**Test methods for strength of connections at fire temperatures.**

## Issues specific to ASTM E119

_**Time as the Unit of Rating**_
** ****Rating system should be immune to misinterpretation.**
** ****ASTM E119 is a prescriptive standard; units of time **
**  ****imply absolute level of performance which has not **
**  ****been justified by analysis, actual fire tests, nor **
**  ****historical record. **
** ****Express rating on non-dimensional relative scale that is **
**  ****continuous (not discreet) and easily converted to large  **
**  ****data base on fire resistance that already exists****.**

## Issues specific to ASTM E119

_**Resolution and Uncertainty of Rating**_
** ****Account for variability in test method and test specimen **
**  ****that are beyond control of best laboratory practices. **
** ****Different laboratories conducting tests on two specimens **
**  ****designed to be identical will produce a time to failure that  **
**  ****differs by some amount, which should be default value **
**  ****for uncertainty.**
** ****Alternative methods for evaluating resolution and **
**  ****uncertainty could involve replicate tests or historical **
**  ****data. **

## Issues specific to ASTM E119

_**Running Test to Failure**_
** ****Need for improved measurement techniques.**
** ****Collect data on **_**all**_** performance criteria relevant to the **
**  ****application of the construction element:  **
**	****temperatures throughout element**
**	****deflections throughout element**
**	****penetration of flame through element**
** ****Record and make available **_**all**_** results as function of time.**
** ****Establish rating based upon multiple criteria.**

## Need for National Structural Fire Resistance Laboratory

_**Need for National Structural Fire Resistance Laboratory**_
**To enable structural fire resistance to be rigorously evaluated so that safety benefit of improvements to related building fire codes and standards can be demonstrated to all major stakeholders.**