Introduction to BSE532:

Fire Engineering Systems

Subject Lecturers:
Dr Liming Jiang, Dr Gigi C.H. Lui
Subject Lecturers
Dr JIANG Liming Dr Lui Che-heng, Gigi
Assistant Professor Senior Teaching Fellow
Department of BSE Department of BSE
ZS834, Block Z ZS838, Block Z
[email protected] [email protected]

Research Interests: Subject Specialism:

• Fire behaviour • Fire Services
• Fire safety design • Safety Engineering
• Structural behaviour in fire • Building Services Engineering System Design
• Passive fire safety systems
• Computational modelling Research Interests:
• Fire safety provisions
Work opportunities: • Fire safety management
• PhD studentship • Safety engineering
• Research Assistantship
• Post-doctorate Research fellowship https://www.bse.polyu.edu.hk/People/bechlui/index.html

http://www.bse.polyu.edu.hk/People/lmjiang/index.html

http://openseesforfire.github.io/
Teaching Schedule
Sem Week Date Topics Lecturer
L T E

Introduction to Fire Engineering Systems (FES) /

1 9 Jan LMJ/GL 3
Fire detection systems

2 16 Jan Unwanted alarms and false alarms GL 3

23 Jan Lunar New Year Holiday (No Lecture)
3 30 Jan Gas protection systems and clean agents GL 3
4 6 Feb CO2 and Argon gas protection systems GL 3
5 13 Feb Smoke control systems GL 3
6 20 Feb Online test (TBC) GL 3
7 27 Feb Sprinkler systems and thermal sensitivity LMJ 3
8 6 Mar Design and application of sprinkler systems LMJ 3
3
9 13 Mar Water mist system LMJ

LMJ
18 Mar (Sat) Fire Laboratory Demonstration 1 (TBC) 3
CSC

10 20 Mar Fire hydrant/ hose reel system, hydraulic calculation LMJ 3

LMJ
25 Mar (Sat) Fire Laboratory Demonstration 2 (TBC) 3
CSC

11 27 Mar Design and application of fire hydrant/ hose reel system &Drencher system LMJ 3

LMJ
1 Apr (Sat) Fire Laboratory Demonstration 3 (TBC) 3
CSC
12 3 Apr Revision GL/LMJ 3
13 10 Apr Easter Holiday
- Final Exam (Date to be announced by GO) 3
Total 36 3
Subject Assessment
 A: Continuous assessment (40%):
• Assessment A1：Online test (20%), managed by Dr Gigi Lui;

• Assessment A2: Group assignment (20%), managed by Dr Liming JIANG;

 B: Final Examination (60%):

A 3-hour open book written examination, to be held at the end of semester.

 Supplementary materials:
• Laboratory demonstration videos managed by Aatif Khan and Dr Liming Jiang
--FES-F1 Thermal sensitivity of sprinkler heads
--FES-F2 Water mist + Alcohol fire
Online lectures

Course contents:
Lecture slides, reading materials (published papers, codes and standards, book
chapters)

Recorded sessions
Course lectures will be recorded and the links for reviewing will be posted through
Blackboard.

Discussion Board:
An online discussion forum for posting course related questions.
 Online lectures
Synchronous | Online Teaching

15-20 mins Teaching

More Focusing
(PPT + Whiteboard)
(Audio + Video)

5 mins Break
More feedback
(Group chat)
(Online polling)
Group Chat Online Polling
Blackboard Collaborate Blackboard Collaborate
Subject introduction
Threats
Safety of buildings &
built environment
Losses
Fire Safety

Active fire safety measure

Fire Engineering Systems

Engineering is the application of knowledge in the form of science, mathematics, and
empirical evidence, to the innovation, design, construction, operation and maintenance
of structures, machines, materials, software, devices, systems, processes, and
organizations
-Wikipedia

Fire Engineering Systems

SFPE HK Student Chapter
SFPE HK student chapter
 SFPE: Society of Fire Protection Engineers
 HK student chapter was recently founded
in PolyU
 Supported by BSE fire group
 Student President: Shaorun LIN
 Student Vice-President: Zhuojun NAN
Email: [email protected]

Benefits
 Free student membership (student ID)
 Free Online webinar resources
 Platform for discussion and professional
learning
Fire safety objectives
 Life safety
 Property protection
 Continuation of business operations
 Accidental fire
 Nov 1996 Arson fire
 Garley Building
 Death toll : 41 people

 14 June 2017
 Grenfell fire, London  Jan 1997
 Death toll : 72 people  Top One Karaoke arson fire
 Death toll - 17 people
Terrorist attack fire Natural disaster fire

Lightning

Even
Tsunami

 World Trade Centre

Hijacked Flight from Boston crashes into the
south tower of the World Trade Centre on
September 11, 2001
2. Local Regulations on Fire Services
 Fire Services Department (FSD)
- Active control systems
or FSI

 Buildings Department (BD)

- Passive building design (PBD)
or construction
Codes on active fire service installations

 Aims:
- To minimize fire damage, protect life and
property.
- To detect and extinguish fire, give warnings
and ensure safe egress of occupants.

 FSI Codes, FSD, April 2012

 FSD Circular Letters
Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings

• Available from BD website:

htp://www.bd.gov.hk/english/documents/code/fs_code2011.pdf

• Part A – Introduction
• Part B – Means of Escape
• Part C – Fire Resisting Construction
• Part D – Means of Access
• Part E – Fire Properties of Building Elements and Components
• Part F – Fire Safety Management
• Part G – Guidelines on Fire Engineering

• Annex A – Lists of Codes of Practice and Guides issued by

Licensing Authorities for Licensed Premises
 Old codes on passive construction

COP for Fire Resisting

COP for the Provisions Construction
COP for Means of Access
of Means of Escape
for Fire fighting and
In Case of Fire
Rescue
3. Fire safety in buildings in HK
 Changes in building designs
and construction practices
Characteristics:
 New architectural features
 High rise
 Reinforced concrete structure
 High fire load
 Dense population
 Illegal refurbishments
 Large fires arouse concern
Densely located high rise
buildings in HK
Challenges to fire safety

Complicated structural form

(Ali&Moon, 2007)

Large open plan

 What are the fire safety problems
encountered in high rise buildings?
 Availability of ladder of fire brigade?  Do not use lifts in case of fire
 Direct rescue?  Evacuation of occupant through
staircases?
 Water application from building exterior?  Upward access of firemen?
 Availability of water?
 Delivery of equipment through
 Fire fighting techniques staircases or firemen lifts?
(by water applications/ fire ventilation
 Opposite directions of travel
etc.) inside buildings?
for escape and rescue
 Delivery of water?
4. Principles behind fire safety?
 Passive building design (PBD)
 Active fire services installations (FSI)
 Preventive
Fire safety management (FSM)?
- Accidental fire (by fire service provisions)
- Arson fire
- Terrorist attack fire
- Disaster fire
Passive
 Fire safety in buildings is determined by:
- the provisions of means of escape (MoE) in case of fire
- the ability for a building to resist the effects of fire and
to minimize the spread of fire and smoke
- the provision of means of access (MoA) to enable
firefighters to effect rescue and fight fire

21
Active: What are the typical FSI provided in buildings?

• Active systems
– Water based systems
 Automatic sprinkler system
 Hose reels and fire risers
 Fire fighting foam
– Non-water based systems
 Smoke management systems
 Gas protection systems
 Fire detection and alarm systems

22
Preventive
 Fire safety management
 Adopted to minimize fire occurrence.
 Good education of occupants on fire knowledge
 Good housekeeping
 Minimum storage of dangerous goods.
5. What is ‘Fire’?
 a rapid oxidation process with evolution of
- heat
- light
- flames (a glowing mass of gas)
- sound

 an unwanted combustion (not controlled-

combustion as in boiler and internal
combustion engines).
Fuel + Oxygen Combustion Products + Heat
Fire triangle Ventilation Ignition

 3 elements to ignite and burn

 Without any one of them, fire cannot start
Combustibles
Reference: Wikipedia

Fire tetrahedron
 Once a fire has started, the resulting exothermic
chain reaction sustains the fire and allows it to
continue until or unless at least one of the
elements of the fire is blocked.

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6. Enclosure Fire
Temperature (C)
Indoors - a fire suddenly
Indoor/
‘takes off’ due to trapped heat
Enclosure
fires
Outdoors - a fire grows steadily;

Outdoor
WHY indoor fires present
fires
added danger?
Time (s)

 Course of fire in a room is determined by:

 combustible contents, nature of the
surrounding construction and air supply.
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Stages of an enclosure fire
At least 3 stages can be defined:
Temperature (C)
Growth Development Decay
stage/ stage stage
1000 C Pre- Temperature curve
flashover of a fire (Example)
stage
600 C
Flashover

Time (s)
Fire test of different elements of construction :
See various parts of BS476 for example
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7. Fire Extinguishing Mechanisms

• To extinguish a fire:
• limitation or removal of one of the 3 components in the
fire triangle:
• starvation: the limitation of fuel
• smothering: the limitation of oxygen
• cooling: the limitation of temperature (heat)
• or introduction of chemicals: modify the combustion
chemistry of the burning process
• (basically the removal of oxygen radicals such that fuel is
starved)
Use of extinguishing media
• Class ‘A’ Solid materials: water is most effective
• Class ‘B’ Liquid fire: water spray, foam, vaporising liquids, carbon
dioxide and dry chemical powders
• Class ‘C’ Electrical fire: Chemical powders
• fighting an electrical fire (normal procedure):
• shut the power supply off!
• Class ‘D’ Metal Fire:
• The use of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate dry powers may be
hazardous.
• Powdered graphite, soda ash, limestone and dry sand are usually
used
• Special fusing powers which melt and cover the fire are available
for metal fire (esp. for those involving radioactive substances)
Reference reading
 Indicative reading list and references:
• National Fire Protection Association Handbook
• SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering
• Codes of practice, HK fire services department (FSD)
• Relevant papers from ResearchGate
(keyword: sprinkler, fire detection, drencher system, fire hydrant, smoke control, etc.)

 Videos related to fire incidents:

• YouTube videos

 Recorded lectures on Blackboard!

• Exclusive and unlimited times of review