Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The use of computer based fire modeling tools in fire protection has become almost common place. The accessibility to computational power and the development of the necessary base knowledge of the fire phenomenon has led to the use of “performance-based” design and evaluation. The development of technology and the widespread accessibility provide all users the opportunity to participate in performance-based design or evaluation. Using the fire modeling tools requires an appreciation of the environment in which they are being applied as well as an understanding of the limitations of the tools. The industrial environment presents many challenges to the application of fire modeling tools. For example, the fuel load may change frequently based on routine production and maintenance activities or the temperature in one area may vary greatly due to the presence of heated production equipment. Examples of fire modeling applied to industrial cases are used to demonstrate practical application of some fire modeling tools in this environment.