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Casey C. Grant, Research Director Fire Protection Research Foundation Quincy, Massachusetts USA

Fire Sprinkler International 2014 21 May 2014 London, England. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers. Casey C. Grant, Research Director Fire Protection Research Foundation Quincy, Massachusetts USA.

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Casey C. Grant, Research Director Fire Protection Research Foundation Quincy, Massachusetts USA

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  1. Fire Sprinkler International 2014 21 May 2014 London, England Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Casey C. Grant, Research Director Fire Protection Research Foundation Quincy, Massachusetts USA

  2. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Agenda 1) Overview and Background Timber Building Construction Building Regulations for Timber Timber Fire Performance Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

  3. 1) Overview and Background • Focus of this presentation: • Fire hazards… • Timber buildings… • Tall wood buildings… • Key focus: “Fire Safety Challenges of Tall Wood Buildings” • FPRF Report, Dec 2013 • Report Author: Arup • Phase 1 Study • Available on FPRF Website www.nfpa.org/foundation “Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers”

  4. 1) Overview and Background • Recent architectural trends include design and construction of increasingly tall buildings with structural components • Using components of laminated wood referred to by names such as: • cross laminated timber (CLT), • laminated strand lumber (LSL) • glued laminated timber (Glulam) • Construction currently underway on buildings up to 10 stories in Australia, Austria, Canada and Norway • Motivation includes sustainability and green approach (use of renewable construction materials) • Questions on claims of safety exceeding other construction FPRF Project Background

  5. 1) Overview and Background • Need exists to clarify building performance under credible fire scenarios. • Questions on characteristics (e.g., fire service operations, interior/exterior flame spread, structural stability, fire exposure hazard, etc) • Project funded by PIRG – Property Insurance Research Group • Project contractor was Arup • Project started earlier in 2013 • Phase 1 completed December 2013 FPRF Project Origin and Development

  6. 1) Overview and Background • Focus on buildings 6 stories and greater • Intent is to consider fire protection features that are functioning, or are partially or fully impaired • Objectives (overall): • Characterize the fire performance of tall wooden structures. • Define the necessary design and material requirements to achieve a level of safety and property protection equal to or above steel structures. • Communicate the results to serve as a guide for architects, engineers, and code officials. • Phase 1 Task 1: Literature Review • Phase 1 Task 2: Gap Analysis FPRF Project Scope and Tasks

  7. 1) Overview and Background • 1.1) Phase 1 of the Fire Safety Study • 1.2) Background • 1.3) Context: Visions of Tall Timber • 1.4) Principles of Fire Safety • 1.5) Timber Building Fundamentals • 1.6) Timber Fire Fundamentals Report: Introduction

  8. 1) Overview and Background • 2.1) Overview • 2.2) Testing Data on Timber Structural Components in Fire • 2.3) Ongoing Research Studies • 2.4) Review of Fire Incidents in Timber Structures • 2.5) Review of Existing Design Guidelines • 2.6) Global Case Studies of High-Rise / Tall Timber Framed Buildings Report: Task 1 Literature Review

  9. 1) Overview and Background • 3.1) Overview • 3.2) Structural and Non-Structural Component and Sub-System Fire Tests • 3.3) Compartment Fire Dynamics • 3.4) Environment • 3.5) Economics • 3.6) Society • 3.7) Prioritization Report: Task 2 Gap Analysis

  10. 1) Overview and Background • Report: “High Rise Building Fires” • Fire Stats on U.S. High Rise Buildings • For 2007 through 2011 Supporting Info: Tall Building Fire Protection

  11. 1) Overview and Background • Annual average: 15,400 fires; 46 civilian fatalities; 530 civilian injuries; $219M property damage • Risk is lower in high rise buildings • Reason: higher levels of built-in fire protection (e.g., fire resistive construction, sprinklers) Supporting Info: Tall Building Fire Protection

  12. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Agenda 1) Overview and Background Timber Building Construction Building Regulations for Timber Timber Fire Performance Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

  13. 2) Timber Building Construction • Heavy timber frame products • Engineered wood products Examples of Features and Characteristics Glue laminated wood (Glulam) Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

  14. 2) Timber Building Construction • Heavy timber frame products • Composite wood products Examples of Features and Characteristics Post-tensioned timber Timber-concrete composite

  15. 2) Timber Building Construction • Heavy timber frame construction • Panelized construction Examples of Features and Characteristics

  16. 2) Timber Building Construction • Historical examples Examples of Existing Timber Buildings Yiangxian Pagoda, China, 1056 UrnesStakirke, Norway, 1132 Leckie Building, Vancouver, Canada, 1908

  17. 2) Timber Building Construction • Contemporary examples • Post and beam construction Examples of Existing Timber Buildings Life Cycle Tower One Austria, 2012 Bullitt Center Seattle, WA 2013 Wood Innovation Design Centre Prince George, Canada, 2014

  18. 2) Timber Building Construction • Contemporary examples • Panelized construction Examples of Existing Timber Buildings Stadthaus London, UK 2009 Via Cenni Milan, Italy 2013 Forte Building Melbourne, Australia 2013

  19. 2) Timber Building Construction Feasibility Examples of Tall Timber Buildings 30-story high-rise Michael Green Architecture, 2012 40-story office building CEI Architecture, 2013 Timber Tower SOM, 2013

  20. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Agenda 1) Overview and Background Timber Building Construction Building Regulations for Timber Timber Fire Performance Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

  21. 3) Building Regulations for Timber International Regulations

  22. 3) Building Regulations for Timber U.S. Regulations

  23. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Agenda 1) Overview and Background Timber Building Construction Building Regulations for Timber Timber Fire Performance Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

  24. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Well understood… • Predictable… • ~0.7mm/min (0.03 in/min) Charring

  25. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Timber Frame 2000 (TF 2000) • Cardington, UK, 1999 • Fire resistance mid-rise timber building Examples from Literature Review

  26. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Natural fire testing, Frangi and Fontana, 2005 • CLT structure • Sprinklered vs. non-sprinklered • Exposed wood vs. gypsum lining Examples from Literature Review Gypsum board lining Sprinkler protection Exposed CLT

  27. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Light timber assemblies • Improved fire resistance with gypsum board layers and thickness • Design equations (Just, Schmid and Konig, 2010) Examples from Literature Review

  28. 4) Timber Fire Performance • CLT assemblies (Osborne, Dagenais, Benichou, 2012) • Charring rate consistent with wood (~0.7 mm/min [0.03 in/min]) • Predictable behavior • Improved performance with gypsum board protection Examples from Literature Review

  29. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Timber composite assemblies (O’Neill, 2012) • Fire performance based on testing • Up to 2-hour ratings for assemblies Examples from Literature Review

  30. 4) Timber Fire Performance • Environmental impact of fire protection (Wieczorek, Ditch & Bill 2010) • Tests demonstrate the positive impact of sprinklers: • Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 97.8% • Reduction in water usage between 50% and 91% • Significant improvement in water runoff quality • Reduction in fire-damaged contents Examples from Literature Review

  31. Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers Agenda 1) Overview and Background Timber Building Construction Building Regulations for Timber Timber Fire Performance Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

  32. 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction • System level testing • e.g., with exposed steel • Wood contribution to compartment fire • Composite assemblies • Connections • Delamination • Penetrations & firestopping • Economics • Fire protection • Life cycle costs • Not being questioned at this time: appropriate sprinkler design Topics being considered

  33. 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire testing of new and innovative timber and hybrid solutions; Full-scale / large-scale fire testing of mock up tall timber frames; Natural fire testing in full-scale / large-scale tall timber frames; Economic analysis to quantify construction, operation and costs of tall timber buildings; and Emphasis on effective risk communication and education Recommendations for Future Research

  34. 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction • Additional challenges… Buildings under construction

  35. Contact Information: Casey Grant, P.E. Fire Protection Research Foundation One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA USA 02169-7471 Phone: 617-984-7284 Email: cgrant@nfpa.org FPRF Website: www.nfpa.org/foundation www.NFPA.org/Foundation

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