An international study of fire modelling was conducted prior to the Dalmarnock Fire Test One in order to assess the state-of-the-art of fire simulations using a round-robin approach. This test forms part of the Dalmarnock Fire Tests, a series of experiments conducted in 2006 in a high-rise building. The philosophy behind the tests was to provide measurements in a realistic fire scenario involving multiple fuel packages and non-trivial fire growth, and with an instrumentation density suitable for comparison with computational fluid dynamics models. Each of the seven round-robin teams independently simulated the test scenario a priori using a common detailed description of the compartment geometry, fuel packages, ignition source and ventilation conditions. The aim of the exercise was to forecast the fire development as accurately as possible and compare the results. The aim was not to provide an engineering analysis with conservative assumptions or safety factors. Comparison of the modelling results shows a large scatter and considerable disparity among the predictions, and between predictions and experimental measurements. The scatter of the simulations is much larger than the error and variability expected in the experiments. The study emphasises on the inherent difficulty of modelling fire dynamics in complex fire scenarios like Dalmarnock, and shows that the accuracy to predict fire growth (i.e. evolution of the heat released rate) is, in general, poor.

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A simplified model of flame spread that includes consideration of fuel burnout is applied to the evaluation of upward flame spread on thin lining materials adhered to noncombustible substrates. A flammability parameter based on characteristic unit heat release rates, flame spread times and burning durations is derived. Methods to evaluate this flammability parameter from small-scale heat release rate measurements in the Cone Calorimeter are developed. Comparisons between predictions and large-scale room/corner fire tests for a number of textile wallcovering materials are presented.

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