Modeling the Fire Resistance of Wood-Frame Office Buildings

Abstract

A fire safety engineering analysis has been undertaken to deter mine the fire resistance of gypsum protected wood stud walls in six simulated of fice fire scenarios. Each scenario consists of an office-furnishing fire in an unsprinklered compartment with windows shut and doors closed at the initiation of fire. Employing three computer models, CFAST 2.0, BREAK 1, and WALL 2D, temperature throughout the compartment of fire origin, heat transfer from the fire to the walls, and the structural degradation of the walls are calculated. The times to failure of the windows and the doors are also calculated. The fire growth caused by the increased air flow through the windows and doors is determined. It is demonstrated that the three computer models could be employed to deliver performance-based design for fire resistance of wood-frame buildings.