1. The Northern Virginia Chapter of CSI
November Chapter Meeting
November 9, 2011
Fires in Structures at NIST:
Standards Development
through Modeling and Testing
Dr. Kathryn Butler
Physicist, Fire Research Division
Dr. Jiann Yang
Director, National Fire Research Laboratory
Engineering Laboratory

2. National Bureau of Standards (NBS)
founded 1901
Connecticut Ave. site

3. Historic Conflagrations
The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904

4. The Standard Fire Test…
• Committee P was organized by ASTM in 1905 largely as a
result of the Baltimore fire of the year before
• By 1906, ASTM Committee P (which would later become
C-5 and eventually E-5) proposed a standard specification
for testing floors
 Furnace temperature of 1700 F for all but the first ½ hour
• Thinking at the time:
 Fires were considered to have a single representative
temperature and last for up to 4 hours
 A building assembly passing a test under these conditions
could withstand a fire burnout

5. ASTM Curve vs. Earlier Curves1
1200
2000
1000
1700
Temperature (⁰C)
1600
800
1200
600
800
400
200 1Babrauskas and Williamson (1978) 400
Fire Technology 14:184-194
30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240
Time (min)

6. The Standard Fire Test…
• ASTM E 119 was adopted in 1918 (as ASTM C 19)
as a specification for “Fire Tests of Materials and
Construction”
• Thus, the standard fire curve was prescribed
without knowledge of actual temperatures in
building fires !

7. Early History of Fire Research at NBS
NBS Federal Triangle fire test NBS column furnace, 1920s

8. Temperature of a Burning Building
• The first systematic effort to measure fire temperatures
was begun in 1922 by Simon Ingberg at NBS where he
conducted tests to burnout of typical office furnishings
(furniture and paper) and measured the temperatures.
• Ingberg’s findings include the following:
 that the fires produced temperature histories quite different from the
standard curve
 the integral of a time-temperature curve defines the fire severity
 all fires of the same severity have approximately the same effect on
a structure
 the fuel load was the sole variable governing the time-temperature
relationship of room fires
• Ingberg’s equal area severity hypothesis

9. Ingberg’s equal area severity hypothesis
2400
1200
2000
1000
Standard Fire Curve
Temperature ºC
Temperature, ºF
1500 800
Cooling Curve (2 h)
Test Fire Curve 600
1000
Threshold 400
Temperature
500
200
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Time, h

10. Relationship Between Fire Load and Fire
Severity
Assumed Combustible Equivalent
Fire Load
Load Fire
(lb/ft2) (kg/m2) (Btu/ft2) MJ/m2 Duration
10 48.8 80,000 907.9 1 h 00 min
15 73.2 120,000 1361.9 1 h 30 min
20 97.6 160,000 1815.8 2 h 00 min
30 146.5 240,000 2723.7 3 h 00 min
40 195.3 320,000 3631.7 4 h 30 min
50 244.1 380,000 4312.6 6 h 00 min
60 292.9 432,000 4902.7 7 h 30 min
S.H. Ingberg, “Fire-Resistance Requirements in Building Codes,” Quarterly
of the National Fire Protection Association, Boston, October, 1929

11. Today – NIST Engineering Laboratory (EL)
Strategic Goals:
Measurement Science and Standards for:
• Disaster-Resilient Buildings, Infrastructure, and
Communities
• Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Manufacturing,
Materials, and Infrastructure
• Smart Manufacturing, Construction, and Cyber-
Physical Systems

12. NIST Activities in fire/structure
interaction
• Performance-Based Design for Fire
•
•
•

13. What is the problem?
• Current building codes do not consider fire as a design
condition despite significant damage or collapse due to fire
in major buildings (e.g., First Interstate Bank Building, One
Meridian Plaza, One New York Plaza, WTC 5 and WTC 7).
• Instead, required fire ratings of building members and
assemblies, derived from standard fire endurance tests
(ASTM E119), are specified in building codes. The ASTM
E119 test has changed little since its introduction in 1917.
• At present, there are no science-based, established
measurement tools to evaluate the performance of the
entire structure, including connections, under realistic fire
loads (e.g., uncontrolled fire).

14. Performance of Structures Subject to Fire
Performance-Based Design for Fire
• Identify structural fire safety objectives, functional
requirements and performance criteria
Analysis of Structural Response to Fire
• Determine design fire scenarios and design fires
• Evaluate the thermal response of the structure
• Evaluate the mechanical response of the structure
Reliability-Based Design of Structural Response to Fire
• Identify reliability objectives for each limit state
• Determine load factor for structurally significantto Fire
Experimental Determination of Structural Response fires
• Determine material resistance factor for elevated temperatures
• Evaluate component and system reliability for fire hazard and limit state

15. NIST Activities in fire/structure
interaction
•
• Analysis of Structural Response to Fire
•
•

16. Reliability-Based Design of
Structural Response to Fire
Upper Chord

17. Structural fire performance of
composite floor systems
• Evaluated 4 structural features for their main and interaction effects
on time to damage onset and time to component failures using a 24
factorial design .
Studs on Beam Girder Beam
Girders Conn Type Framing Length
+ Double +
+ Studs +5 m
angle Symmetric
- No - Single - One-
- 15 m
studs shear plate sided

18. Fire Dynamics Simulator

19. Fire Dynamics Simulator

20. Fire Studies
• Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire, South Carolina, 2007
• The Station Nightclub Fire, Rhode Island, 2003
• Cook County Administration High-Rise Office Fire, Illinois, 2003
• World Trade Center Fire, New York, 2001
• Astoria Hardware Store Fire, New York, 2001
• Houston Fast Food Restaurant Fire, Texas, 2000
• Keokuk Duplex Fire, Iowa, 1999
• Cherry Road Townhouse Fire, Washington, D.C., 1999
• Vandalia High-Rise Apartment Fire, New York, 1998
• Happyland Social Club Fire, New York, 1990
• First Interstate Bank Building Fire, California, 1988
• Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire, Puerto Rico, 1986
Reports available from: http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/fire

21. Building Standards
• Sprinklers
• Measurement Methods • Smoke alarms
• Test Methods • Evacuation
• Predictive Tools • Staircases
• Performance Metrics • Elevator
• Services • Cigarettes
• Investigations • Mattresses

22. NIST Activities in fire/structure
interaction
•
•
• Visualization of Fire Dynamics-Thermal
Analysis-Structural Response
•

23. Fire Dynamics, Thermal Analysis,
and Structural Response
Fire Simulation (FDS)
Thermal Analysis
(ABAQUS)
Structural Response
Models run separately, with each (ABAQUS)
providing the boundary conditions for the next …

24. 3-D Visualization
… then the results are
displayed together so
the interaction between
fire and structure can
be understood
Point Probe Cutting Tool

25. NIST Activities in fire/structure
interaction
•
•
•
• National Fire Research Laboratory

26. National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL)
Director
Dr. Jiann C. Yang
Associate Director for Associate Director for
Structures Research Fire Research
Dr. John L. Gross Dr. Matthew Bundy

27. National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL)
• Advance real-scale fire
measurements (fire sizes, material
ignition propensities, fire growth and
spread, tenability, fire suppression
and detection, and fire fighting)
• Enable experimental validation
studies of fire models
• Conduct experiments to support
post-incident disaster and failure
studies
• Advance structural performance in
fires
• Enable advances in fire & building
codes and standards

28. Recent Experiments at NFRL
Bus Fires Wind Effects on Fire World Trade Center Study
Fail Pass
Mattress Fires Compartment fires Fire Brands

29. NFRL Expansion Timeline
• Oct 2003 NIST/SFPE Roadmapping Workshop
• … 2008 Stakeholder Meetings and Workshops
• Oct 2008 15 % Design Completed
• Apr 2009 Selected for ARRA funding
• Feb 2010 Design Complete
• Aug 2010 Construction Contract Awarded
• Nov 2010 Construction “Notice to Proceed”
• Mid- 2012 Construction Complete
• Mid- 2013 Commissioning Complete

30. Design Objectives
• Conduct tests on real-scale structural systems and
components – a building two stories high and two bays
by three bays in plan.
• Apply controlled loads to the test structure to simulate
true service conditions.
• Create realistic fires (up to 20 MW) that grow, spread,
fully-develop and decay.
• Characterize the fires (heat release rates) in real time.
• Measure response of the structural system and
components up to incipient collapse.

31. Expanded Capabilities will allow NIST to:
• Test the performance of real-scale structures under
realistic fire and structural loading under controlled
laboratory conditions.
• Develop an experimental database on the performance
of large-scale structural connections, components,
subassemblies and systems under realistic fire and
loading.
• Validate physics-based models to predict fire resistance
performance of structures.
• Provide the technical basis for performance-based
standards for fire resistance design of structures and
foster innovation in the building design and construction
industry.

32. National Fire Research Laboratory Expansion
Specification Existing Laboratory New Laboratory
Total Floor Area 10,800 sq. ft. 21,400 sq. ft.
1 MW (small hood)
Fire Capacity 3 MW (medium hood) 20 MW
10 MW (large hood)
60 ft. x 90 ft. x 3.5 ft. thick strong floor
Strong Floor/Strong Wall None
and 60 ft. x 30 ft. x 4 ft. thick strong wall.
Reconfigurable hydraulic loading system,
Structural Loading None
55-330 kip actuators; 30 inch stroke

33. NFRL Floor Plan
21,400 sq ft
expansion

34. NFRL Expansion Features
60 ft by 30 ft
Strong Wall
60 ft by 90 ft
Strong Floor
45 ft by 50 ft
ECS Hood

35. Sections through the Building

36. Structural-Fire Test Bay

37. Partnering with the NFRL
• The work of the laboratory is focused on the Engineering Laboratory
mission:
To promote US innovation and industrial competitiveness in areas of
national priority by anticipating and meeting the measurement science and
standards needs for technology-intensive manufacturing and construction
in ways that enhance economic prosperity and improve the quality of life.
• The laboratory is led, managed, and operated as a collaborative facility
through a public-private partnership between NIST and industry, academia,
and other government agencies.
• Scientists and engineers from industry, academia, and government
agencies work side-by-side with NIST researchers to address significant
problems and fill critical knowledge gaps.
• International scientists and engineers partner with NIST in areas of mutual
interest.
• Projects are funded by industry and government, including NIST, on a cost-
shared basis.

38. NFRL Construction Progress
The Original Lab Clear Site
2/15/2011 4/15/2011
Excavate Basement Form and Pour Basement and Shear Walls
6/15/2011 8/5/2011

39. NFRL Construction Progress
Form and Pour Basement and Shear Walls Form and Pour Basement and Shear Walls
9/1/2011 9/15/2011
Form Strong Floor, Set 1218 Anchors Prepare for Pouring Strong Floor
10/10/2011 11/1/2011

40. Pouring of NFRL Strong Floor – Nov 3

41. Fly-Through

42. Visit Us
NIST: www.nist.gov
Engineering Laboratory: www.nist.gov/el
Disaster-Resilient Buildings, Infrastructure, and
Communities: www.nist.gov/el/disresgoal.cfm
Fire.Gov: www.nist.gov/fire
National Fire Research Laboratory:
www.nist.gov/el/fire_research/nfrl.cfm
kathryn.butler@nist.gov
jiann.yang@nist.gov