Fire Technology

The Institute's fire technology program continues to be a leader in the areas of testing, research, consultation, and listing and labeling. SwRI serves national and international government and commercial clients by providing multidisciplinary technologies in support of the construction, telecommunications, transportation, chemical and petrochemical, utility, and nuclear industries. This year the Institute expanded its range of testing, improved its facilities, and acquired new equipment to enhance its capabilities.

SwRI's intermediate scale calorimeter, shown during calibration, measures heat release in fires larger than 1 megawatt. Heavily upholstered furniture, beddings, computers, telecommunications equipment, and other products that create fires of this size are tested for heat release (fire hazard) to ensure they meet consumer safety standards.

The Institute expanded its 2,720-square-foot permeation facility to accommodate three mini-SHEDs (Sealed Housing for Evaporative Determinations), along with a larger conditioning room. Permeation testing measures fugitive emissions that penetrate the walls of fuel tanks, fuel pipes, and other plastic automotive components containing fuel. The facility enables SwRI to test to more stringent national and state regulations.

Composites used by the transportation industry in cars, aircraft, rail, and marine applications must meet the same structural performance specifications for fire as the materials they replace. Because they often include plastic, composites must also comply with smoke and toxicity restrictions. Responding to additional industry mandates for international product compliance, SwRI has added new static and dynamic test capabilities ranging from sophisticated bench-scale units to full-size calorimetric rooms that meet International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifications. In addition to fire analyses, SwRI tests combustion products for all smoke parameters and can assist manufacturers with product development for international compliance.

SwRI performs consumer product fire testing designed to help protect consumers from fire hazards caused by common household objects such as cookware, candles, and other items. Tests are conducted at the Institute on a statistically significant number of samples to determine an adequate safety level before the products are introduced to the market. For example, the Institute has tested large quantities of candles for quality assurance and to isolate flaws in the manufacturing process. Candles that smoke, have high flames, or flare up when lit can be a fire hazard.

Stricter environmental standards require that tanks and process vessels once allowed to release vapors and fumes into the environment now restrict the release of chemical fumes. Facilities and equipment that prevent release into the environment can help regulate emissions; however, the collection and disposal of flammable and explosive vapor presents a safety issue. The Institute continues to help government and industry clients identify, quantify, and manage the physical hazards that can result from the use of environmental protection equipment.

SwRI records fire tests, rendered to quality digital video, and saves it to a streaming video server. A secure website allows clients to view real-time testing or archived tests.

Staff members use thermal imaging video to noninvasively measure temperatures during testing. For example, the Institute used thermal imaging video for a telecommunications client during Network Equipment Building Systems (NEBS) fire-spread tests. These tests have been simultaneously rendered to quality digital video and saved to a streaming video server for immediate viewing or download. Clients also have been granted access to a secure media website to view real-time testing and high-definition digital photographs on personal computers anywhere in the world. The Institute also offers multi-view videos, which have been filmed at several different angles, on either a split-screen or a quad-screen.

SwRI continues to work with code officials and consultants in developing custom fire performance evaluation tests. Staff engineers develop custom test procedures that replicate hypothetical accident scenarios in office buildings, warehouse facilities, and transportation systems. Sprinkler interaction and the rates of heat release and flame spread during a typical fire event are primary concerns. Fire scenarios are initiated in the test compartments, and SwRI staff members evaluate material behavior and effectiveness of fire suppression methods.

SwRI conducted a series of tests to evaluate the impact of office partitions on the operation of sprinkler systems. An office cubicle, including a worktable, sidewall partitions, and privacy canopy, was installed in a test chamber equipped with an automatic suppression system. Simulated trash can fires were initiated to evaluate the sprinkler activation time. The data helped assess the expected delay in sprinkler actuation in the presence of such obstructions.

SwRI holds accreditation as an independent testing laboratory and quality assurance/inspection agency from organizations that have recognition agreements with accreditation bodies from around the world, enabling Institute reports to be internationally accepted. Among the countries recognizing SwRI's accreditation are Australia, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Over the last year, the Institute's fire technology programs also earned ISO 9002 certification, providing further assurance of an internationally accepted quality assurance program.

SwRI evaluates wheeled and other portable fire extinguishing units that dispense gaseous or liquid suppression agents designed to control fires. Fire tests measure and monitor the amount of agent required to extinguish fires ranging from 2-foot-square to 25-foot-square in area.

The Institute conducts research on the effects of passive fire-resistant boundaries, including walls, windows, doors, floors, ceilings, surface-applied and interior insulation, and through-penetrations such as plumbing and electrical conduit. Both land-based and offshore structures are subjected to full-scale furnace tests to assess integrity and insulating properties. Structural elements in petrochemical facilities are exposed to higher-temperature fires, while office buildings and components are exposed to more typical fire profiles.

Institute engineers use a cone calorimeter to study component reactions to fire. The test data can determine relative fire performance of similar materials or can be used to model fire hazards and risks.

The technical diversity of the Institute often helps clients improve their product beyond their initial goals. For example, after fire testing showed a product to be flammable, the Institute's microencapsulation staff successfully encapsulated the product to make it less flammable while still maintaining its original capabilities. In another example, fire suppressant agents and delivery systems designed to smother flammable vapors were tailored by SwRI environmental science specialists to control other hazards such as air-borne spores or gaseous agents that need to be contained or neutralized.

2001 Annual Report SwRI Home