No abstract

Petrochemical plants are characterized by various flammable substances and complicated processes. Moreover, flammable fluids are transported through high-temperature and high-pressure pipes. To reduce the potential damage inflicted on adjacent facilities owing to the risk of fire and explosion, it is necessary to consider installing a fire protection wall, which is a physical space partitioning method. Currently, in Korea, the Dangerous Substances Safety Control Act and High-Pressure Gas Safety Act define the technical specifications of fire protection walls. However, there is no performance standard for fire protection walls considering the many possible fire hazards of petrochemical plants. Therefore, the heat release rate based on the size of open pool flames, radiation heat flux, and temperature per distance were measured through an open pool fire test using n-heptane, which is commonly used as a solvent in the production processes at petrochemical plants. The experimental results were evaluated by comparing them with values calculated according to ISO 24678-7, which is the standard for the numerical analysis of radiation heat flux in an open pool fire.

Fire extinguishers are considered essential safety items to be installed in residential spaces to improve the fire safety in buildings. However, they are usually placed in inconspicuous locations owing to design and practical constraints, making their immediate use difficult in a fire scenario. This study identifies problems regarding the application of existing fire extinguishers in residential spaces, and investigates factors influencing user preferences in recognizing fire extinguishers. A draft fire extinguisher design that aims to address the problems associated with existing fire extinguishers in terms of design and practicality was derived. Using this draft, a survey was conducted to analyze the factors influencing user preference while considering the improvement of practical problems with existing fire extinguishers. A life-friendly product design is proposed to ensure its use at all times in daily life; an indoor air quality measurement sensor and fire detection/alarm system are installed. Results of the survey confirmed that aesthetic factors and novelty had the most influence on overall likeability towards preferring a fire extinguisher. This study is expected to contribute to the future development of fire extinguishers by verifying the preference factors for users to be willing to keep fire extinguishers indoors.

Bed mattresses are rated as products to cause a fire hazard because of their very high heat release rate among indoor combustibles. In this study, fire growth rate and flame height were measured through a series of combustion experiments on a full scale in order to provide information regarding mattress fire characteristics. The experiments were conducted in an open space, and bed mattresses as the test samples were installed at different installation heights (0~515 mm). The experiment results revealed that the higher the bed mattress was installed, the higher the fire growth rate, the heat release rate, and the flame height. Additionally, the time of the mattress to reach 1 MW was evaluated as the category “medium” in the NFPA 72 standards. The flame heights showed a good coincidence compared to the existing flame height model equations, proving the applicability of the model to the mattress combustion.

This paper intends to analyze horizontal flame spread effect in fire. For its analysis, bed mattress which generally shows the high HRR in fire was applied as specimen, and several experiments regarding horizontal flame spreading effect according to ISO 12949 were conducted. First, a series of reaction-to-fire behavior's phenomenon such as HRR, flame height, burning area, and temperature were measured the results of reaction-to-fire behavior of bed mattress products to the ISO 12949 method. Then, Calculation model on flame spreading speed was proposed based on opposed-winded flame spread equation of Quintierie. Finally comparing the measured result and the calculation result, mechanism on bed mattress were analyzed. In brief, the mean flame spread speed interpolated from the measured temperature at several points on the bed was consistent with the proposed calculation model.