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 Engineering Laboratory /                  Fire Research Division
      National Fire Research Laboratory

    
    Breadcrumb
        Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)Structure Separation Experiments Phase 1

            Research Overview
                                These experiments were conducted during the first phase of project designed to assess structure-to-structure fire spread for structures in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). The experiments focused on quantifying thermal exposures from auxiliary structures, e.g., sheds. The effects of shed sizes, construction materials, fuel loading, and separation distance on the ignition of primary structures (residential dwellings) with no wind have been studied and reported. Preliminary structure separation experiments using natural gas burners and an instrumented target structure were conducted to optimize instrumentation and experimental design for shed burn experiments. Full-scale fire experiments were conducted in which various sizes and types of sheds were used to generate typical radiative and convective heat exposures. In addition, indoor shed burn experiments with a target structure were conducted to assess target performance against exposures from varying sheds (construction, size, fuel loading) and separation distances. All experiments were performed without an artificially generated wind field. The exposures quantified in this study demonstrate that any auxiliary structures made from combustible materials can pose a significant fire hazard when placed next to the primary structure. For non-combustible source structures, the shed orientation with respect to the primary structure and the size of the door opening are critical factors. The findings from this study can provide technical input for national, state, and local building codes to alleviate fire spread from auxiliary structures within WUI communities.


                  Maranghides A., Nazare S., Link E., et al.  Structure Separation Experiments: Shed Burns without Wind. NIST Technical Note 2235, Sep 2022
  https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2235
                                        Maranghides A., Nazare S., Link E., et al.  Structure Separation Experiments Phase 1 Preliminary Test Plan. NIST Technical Note 2161, May 2021
  https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2161
  

      

      Experiment Name
                            Plot of Heat Release Rate
                                                  Ignition Photo
                                                  Date/Time
                                                  Specimen
                                                  Fuel TypeSort ascending
                            Test Duration (min)
                            Total Heat Released (MJ)
                            Peak HRR (kW)1B-PCl0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/23/2021 5:37:27 AM EDT
                                                                                        PP Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Polypropylene and Cellulose
                            48.33
                            1,542
                            3,220GasBurner_Flow50kgs_8MW
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/08/2021 9:51:17 AM EDT
                                                                                        Tube Burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            11.25
                            965
                            3,050GasBurner_Flow25kgs_4MW
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/08/2021 11:11:37 AM EDT
                                                                                        Tube Burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            24.08
                            2,048
                            4,440SSEgasBurner0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        01/28/2021 9:44:26 AM EST
                                                                                        box burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            21.00
                            311
                            418SSEgasBurner1
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        01/29/2021 4:26:50 AM EST
                                                                                        box burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            30.90
                            742
                            713SSEgasBurner2
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        01/29/2021 6:46:22 AM EST
                                                                                        box burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            31.20
                            712
                            630SSEgasBurner3
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        02/03/2021 4:53:06 AM EST
                                                                                        box burner
                                                                                        Natural Gas
                            41.12
                            1,268
                            1,019HeptanePoolConfirmationBurn
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        pouring fuel into pans
                                                                                        07/28/2021 7:08:56 AM EDT
                                                                                        Pool Burner
                                                                                        Heptane
                            3.90
                            362
                            2,487HeptanePan1
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        09/15/2021 10:52:14 AM EDT
                                                                                        Pool Burner
                                                                                        Heptane
                            4.72
                            9.00
                            51.3HeptanePan2
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        09/15/2021 11:05:30 AM EDT
                                                                                        Pool Burner
                                                                                        Heptane
                            4.43
                            9.43
                            59.7HeptanePan3
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        09/15/2021 11:18:18 AM EDT
                                                                                        Pool Burner
                                                                                        Heptane
                            4.63
                            9.15
                            50.41B-PVSh0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/21/2021 5:58:09 AM EDT
                                                                                        HDPE Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        HDPE and Cellulose
                            71.30
                            4,197
                            6,0241B-WCh0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/14/2021 6:43:35 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            68.60
                            2,110
                            4,1711B-WCh0-R1
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/20/2021 5:25:26 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            67.58
                            2,064
                            3,9331B-WCh0-R2
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/20/2021 8:54:22 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            67.97
                            2,094
                            3,8741B-WVSh0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/21/2021 9:27:09 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            64.95
                            3,178
                            4,7591B-SVSh0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/22/2021 5:12:45 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            66.02
                            1,997
                            2,2161B-WCl0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/22/2021 7:15:04 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            40.07
                            1,456
                            4,0111B-SCl0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        04/22/2021 9:34:44 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            42.90
                            684
                            9151B-WCl0-0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        05/06/2021 5:39:00 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            12.48
                            688
                            3,3811B-SCl0-0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        05/13/2021 6:04:12 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            23.00
                            601
                            8961B-SCh0-0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        05/13/2021 9:14:30 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            32.10
                            1,170
                            1,4041B-SVSh0-5
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        06/01/2021 5:38:40 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            16.08
                            780
                            2,7111B-SVSh0-5_R1
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        06/16/2021 5:23:19 AM EDT
                                                                                        Steel Shed Wood Cribs
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            15.52
                            956
                            3,1231B-WC00-0
                            Plot of Fire Heat Release Rate with event markers. Uncertainty bar shown at peak value.
                                                                                        Ignition
                                                                                        07/13/2021 6:36:38 AM EDT
                                                                                        Wood Shed
                                                                                        Cellulose
                            28.08
                            772
                            2,784

      Bryant, R. and Bundy, M. The NIST 20 MW Calorimetry Measurement System for Large-Fire Research, Technical Note (NIST TN) 2077, 2019https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2077
        NIST Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)https://doi.org/10.18434/mds2-2314

      Last Updated September 22, 2022
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