Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The International Fire Sprinkler, Smoke & Heat Vent, Draft Curtain Fire Test Project organized by the National Fire Protection Research Foundation (NFPRF) brought together a group of industrial sponsors to support and plan a series of large scale tests to study the interaction of sprinklers, roof vents and draft curtains of the type found in large warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and warehouse-like retail stores. In conjunction with the large scale tests, NIST developed a numerical model based on large eddy simulation techniques, the Industrial Fire Simulator (IFS) that could be used to plan, analyze and supplement the test results. A series of bench scale experiments was conducted to develop necessary input data for the model. These experiments generated data describing the burning rate and flame spread behavior of the cartoned plastic commodity, thermal response parameters and spray pattern of the sprinkler, and the effect of the water spray on the burning commodity.