Reliable and comprehensive measurement data from large-scale fire tests is needed for validation of computer fire models, but is subject to various uncertainties, including radiation errors in temperature measurement. Here, a simple method for post-processing thermocouple data is demonstrated, within the scope of a series of large-scale fire tests, in order to establish a well characterised dataset of physical parameter values which can be used with confidence in model validation. Sensitivity analyses reveal the relationship of the correction uncertainty to the assumed optical properties and the thermocouple distribution. The analysis also facilitates the generation of maps of an equivalent radiative flux within the fire compartment, a quantity which usefully characterises the thermal exposures of structural components. Large spatial and temporal variations are found, with regions of most severe exposures not being collocated with the peak gas temperatures; this picture is at variance with the assumption of uniform heating conditions often adopted for post-flashover fires.

The Dalmarnock Tests comprise a set of fire experiments conducted in a real high-rise building in July 2006. The two main tests took place in identical flats, Test One allowing the fire to develop freely to post-flashover conditions while Test Two incorporated sensorinformed ventilation management. The test compartments were furnished with regular living room/office items and fully instrumented with high sensor densities. The furniture and objects acting as fuel were arranged to provide conditions that favour repeatability. A full description of the set up of the tests, including fire monitoring sensors, is provided. Focus is on the larger Test One fire for which the major events are reported together with a thorough characterisation of the fire using sensor information. The main aim of the experiments was to collect a comprehensive set of data from a realistic fire scenario that had a resolution compatible with the output of field models. The characterisation of Test One provides a platform with potential for analytical and computational fire model validation.

A novel performance-based methodology for the quantitative fire safe design of building assemblies including insulation materials has recently been proposed. This approach is based on the definition of suitable thermal barriers in order to control the fire hazards imposed by the insulation. Under this framework, the concept of "critical temperature" has been used to define an initiating failure criterion for the insulation, so as to ensure there will be no significant contribution to the fire nor generation of hazardous gas effluents. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate this "critical temperature" using as examples some of the most common insulation materials used for buildings in the EU market, i.e. rigid polyisocyanurate foam (PIR), rigid phenolic foam (PF), rigid expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and low density flexible stone wool (SW). A characterisation of these materials, based on a series of ad-hoc Cone Calorimeter and thermo-gravimetric experiments, serves to establish the rationale behind the quantification of the critical temperature. The temperature of the main peak of pyrolysis, obtained from differential thermo-gravimetric analysis (DTG) under a nitrogen atmosphere at low heating rates, is proposed as the "critical temperature" for materials that do not significantly shrink and melt, i.e. charring insulation materials. For materials with shrinking and melting behaviour it is suggested that the melting point could be used as "critical temperature". Conservative values of "critical temperature" proposed are 300 °C for polyisocyanurate, 425 °C for phenolic foam and 240 °C for expanded polystyrene. The concept of a "critical temperature" for the low density stone wool is examined in the same manner and found to be non-applicable due to the inability to promote a flammable mixture. Additionally, thermal inertia values required for the performance-based methodology are obtained for PIR and PF using a novel approach, providing thermal inertia values within the range 4.5-6.5 •10 3 W 2 •s•K-2 •m-4 .

Many studies of the thermal and structural behaviour for large compartments in fire carried out over the past two decades show that fires in such compartments have a great deal of non-uniformity (e.g. Stern-Gottfried et al. [1]), unlike the homogeneous compartment temperature assumption in the current fire safety engineering practice. Furthermore, some large compartment fires may burn locally and tend to move across entire floor plates over a period of time. This kind of fire scenario is beginning to be idealized as travelling fires in the context of performance-based structural and fire safety engineering. This paper presents a literature review of the travelling fire research topic and its state of the art, including both the experimental and theoretical work for the past twenty years. It is found that the main obstacle of developing the travelling fire knowledge is the lack of understanding of the physical mechanisms behind this kind of fire scenario, which requires more reasonable large scale travelling fire experiments to be set up and carried out. The demonstration of the development of a new travelling fire framework is also presented in this paper, to show how current available experimental data hinder the analytical model development, and the urgent need that the new travelling fire experiments should be conducted.

This paper provides a "state-of-the-art" review of research into the effects of high temperature on concrete and concrete structures, extending to a range of forms of construction, including novel developments. The nature of concrete-based structures means that they generally perform very well in fire. However, concrete is fundamentally a complex material and its properties can change dramatically when exposed to high temperatures. The principal effects of fire on concrete are loss of compressive strength, and spalling - the forcible ejection of material from the surface of a member. Though a lot of information has been gathered on both phenomena, there remains a need for more systematic studies of the effects of thermal exposures. The response to realistic fires of whole concrete structures presents yet greater challenges due to the interactions of structural elements, the impact of complex small-scale phenomena at full scale, and the spatial and temporal variations in exposures, including the cooling phase of the fire. Progress has been made on modeling the thermomechanical behavior but the treatment of detailed behaviors, including hygral effects and spalling, remains a challenge. Furthermore, there is still a severe lack of data from real structures for validation, though some valuable insights may also be gained from study of the performance of concrete structures in real fires. .