Risk-Informed Performance-Based Design Concepts and Framework

A new framework for a risk-informed performance-based approach to fire safety analysis and design has been proposed. It is structured around a paradigm in which the performance analysis is conducted relative to the performance of a building-occupant system within a broader context of the managing risk of an acute event (e.g., fire) on the chronic state of the system. The role of risk characterization, targets and vulnerabilities, direct and in-direct impacts, and approaches for assessing and mitigating the likelihood of disruptive events on the desired performance of the building-occupant system are addressed. In addition, a test-bed environment, embodied within a web-based platform, has been proposed to facilitate a common location for data and information in support of risk-informed performance-based design. A key benefit will be the ability for practitioners, students and others to interactively use building geometries, data and analysis tools to gain and share experiences in the application of the new process. To support the test-bed environment, data have been collected and made available on heat release rate curves and associated information as part of a database on design fire curves, and a selection of building geometries for use fire effects, evacuation and other modeling and analysis have been compiled. Grant 60NANB10D228 2 Final Report Risk-Informed Performance-Based Design Acknowledgements I would like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under award 60NANB10D228 which facilitated the research and outcomes as described herein. This award was used to support a large number of graduate students in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering who contributed to this effort. I would like to especially acknowledge the significant effort and contributions from my co-author, Dr. Alberto Alvarez-Rodriguez, who through the course of his Ph.D. and post-doctoral studies developed the fundamental frameworks and components as described in this report and associated annexes. Dr. Alvarez­ Rodriguez’s work ultimately has provided a structure that can be used as a foundation for the next generation of risk-informed performance-based design for fire. I would also like to gratefully acknowledge other WPI graduate students who provided research in support of this effort: Manuel Hurtado, William Ivans, Jin-Kyung Kim, Matthew Ferreira, Arthur Gager, Kamal Aljazireh and Shane Cherney. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Cornelius Albrecht, who illustrated during his post-doctoral research at WPI, how a reliability-based approach to risk-informed performance-based design which he developed during his Ph.D. studies fits into the overall framework and path forward for the future. Finally, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the feedback and support of the NIST Technical Officer for this grant, Mr. Richard Peacock, for his guidance, feedback and facilitation of information interchange amongst the research team and researchers at NIST and elsewhere over the course of the project. Brian J. Meacham Project Principal Investigator Disclaimer All research, summaries, opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Institute of Standards and Technology or other sponsors, institutions, agencies or organizations which have supported this research. Grant 60NANB10D228 3 Final Report Risk-Informed Performance-Based Design