Determination of critical fallout condition of tempered glass in an enclosure fire

Abstract

Tempered glass is extensively used in modern high-rise buildings. However, in some instances the glass will break and fall out when subjected to a fire which will create a new ventilation condition, drastically changing the enclosure fire dynamics. In this work, eleven tempered glass panels with dimensions of 815×815×6 mm 3 were heated by a pool fire placed in the center of a 1000×1000×1000 mm 3 compartment. Parameters such as glass surface temperature, heat flux, failure time and fallout behavior, were all recorded. Weibull distributions were then employed to investigate the probabilistic characteristics of tempered glass fallout. Failure probability functions, survival probability functions, and probability density functions (derivative of failure probability function) of tempered glazing were obtained and compared with those of clear and coated glazing. The critical temperature difference and critical heat flux, with 5% failure possibility for 6 mm-thick tempered glazing, are 301 °C and 36.17 kW/m 2 , respectively, which could be used as a conservative estimate for the safe design of glass façades in a fire.

[Retracted] Simulation Study on the Influence of Fire Partition on Curtain Wall Temperature in Super High‐Rise Buildings in China

“…Fire Characteristics of Glass Curtain Wall in Super High-Rise Buildings. Tempered glass is extensively used in the curtain wall in modem high-rise buildings [1]. rough the analysis of super high-rise building fire, vertical spread on exterior walls is an important form of fire spread in high-rise building [2].…”

Experimental investigation on thermal performance of water wall systems exposed to fire

“…In an effort to improve building energy efficiency and aesthetic appearance, glazed façades are often employed, especially in modern buildings. 1–3 Generally, glass façades are more susceptible to damage in big fires than other façade materials. 4,5 Breakage of glass, which creates vents for the spread of fire, is an important problem in building fire scenarios.…”