Improved Real-Scale Fire Measurements Having Meaningful Uncertainty Limits.
Improved Real-Scale Fire Measurements Having Meaningful
Uncertainty Limits.
(994 K)
Pitts, W. M.; Mulholland, G. W.
NISTIR 6588; November 2000.
U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural
Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 15th Joint
Panel Meeting. Volume 2. Proceedings. March 1-7, 2000,
San Antonio, TX, Bryner, S. L., Editor(s), 413-420 pp,
2000.
Available from:
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Order number: PB2001-101517
Keywords:
fire safety; fire research; fire measurements;
thermocouples; smoke meters; heat release rate;
furniture calorimeters; heat flux
Abstract:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has
undertaken a long-term effort designed to improve our
ability to make experimental measurements having
quantiftable uncertainties in real-scale fire
environments. The adopted approach has two components.
The first focuses on quantifying the uncertainties
associated with existing techniques commonly employed to
characterize real-scale fire environments. Measurements
considered thus far include gas temperature using
thermocouples, smoke mass concentration using optical
extinction, rate of heat release using the NIST
furniture calorimeter, and radiative and total heat
transfer using heat flux gauges. The measurement of
smoke mass concentration is discussed in some detail as
an example of how a measurement approach can be modified
to provide improved information while at the same time
providing reliable estimates of the uncertainty. The
second component is centered on the development of new
approaches for measurements in fire environments which
offer both improved measurement capability and
quantification of uncertainties. An effort to combine
near-infrared laser diode absorption spectroscopy with
fiber optic coupling for local time-resolved
measurements of carbon monoxide concentration in fire
environments is discussed briefly.
