Postgraduate Course: Fire Science Laboratory (IMFSE) (PGEE11138)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 18 |
ECTS Credits | 9 |
| Summary | This course consists of a series of laboratory sessions that will introduce the student to a variety of different experimental techniques of relevance to fire safety engineering. Each session will be introduced with a guide to relevant theory with the aim of providing the students with the fundamental knowledge to support understanding and interpretation of the experiments, as well as a safety briefing and guide to risk assessment. The use of standard tests and the application of the results to design will be emphasized. |
| Course description |
0. Bomb Calorimeter (3 hours)
The calorific value of various materials will be determined using a bomb calorimeter to provide insight into the relevance of this value for the energy content of a material and its HRR.
1. Liquid fuel ignition (4 hours)
This is the second ignition laboratory demonstrations conducted to illustrate the use of ignition to establish flammability criteria.
- Flash point/fire point
- Physical processes and Standard tests
2. Burning Rate (6 hours)
The evolution of the burning rate and fire dynamics of fire plumes as a function of different parameters will be established, using open pool fires. Empirical and analytical formulations will be validated for various fire sizes with respect to characteristic parameters, i.e.:
- Centreline temperatures
- Entrainment rate
The effects of confining the fire within a compartment will also be examined and interpreted in relation to simple fire models.
3. Reaction-to-fire behaviour of solids (4 hours)
In this laboratory, the cone calorimeter apparatus is used to examine the reaction-to-fire behaviour of solid fuels under different heat exposures, with specific attention to:
- Ignition time
- Subsequent energy release rate
From the measurements, the following parameters will be determined:
- Ignition temperature
- Thermal inertia
4. Flame spread (4 hours)
The physical mechanisms controlling flame spread will be described on the basis of a lateral flame spread test. The demonstration will emphasize the following aspects:
- Materials properties: influence of a material thermal and chemical properties on the rate of spread (liquid:solid, high density:low density, charring: non-charring, melting:non-melting)
- Orientation: upward, downward, horizontal, lateral.
- External heat flux
- Fuel thickness: thick:thin materials.
5. Spontaneous ignition (4 hours)
This is the first of two laboratory demonstrations conducted to illustrate the different processes leading to ignition of combustible materials and is intended to provide insight on the ignition phenomenon.
- Application of ignition theory
- Piloted, Auto and Spontaneous ignition
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Safety boots are needed. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
180
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework: 100% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of ignition (solid and liquid/gaseous).
- Demonstrate understanding of burning rate and fire spread.
- Demonstrate understanding of oxygen consumption calorimetry.
- Demonstrate understanding of fire dynamics, including fire plumes.
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Reading List
Drysdale, D. An Introduction to Fire Dynamics, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2011 (or earlier editions)
SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 4th ed., DiNenno, P.J. ed., NFPA, Quincy, MA, 2009 (or earlier editions) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Fire Safety Engineering |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Stephen Welch
Tel: (0131 6)50 5734
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Margaret Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5565
Email: |
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