by Angela Guess
An article in R&D Magazine reports, “Through advanced computer modeling of house fires, mechanical engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are giving fire fighters a new suite of tools to investigate and battle dangerous blazes in time for the traditionally high-risk winter months. Beginning with an ignition point, the models can map how fires behave as they grow, accurately predicting their overall temperature and pinpointing dangerous hotspots that responding personnel should avoid. ‘When you’re sending a fire fighter into a dangerous situation you want to have an idea of the temperatures they’re going to face,’ says Debbie Mackay, who recently completed her PhD at UNSW, and was involved in the research project with Fire and Rescue NSW.”
It continues, “The models also detail how fires can respond to sudden bursts of oxygen resulting from a smashed window or an opened door, offering additional information for fire fighters planning their route of attack and evacuation. ‘Venting a room can be a good thing, as it lets smoke and heat out, but if you’re letting too much oxygen in you actually feed the fire, which can lead to explosive events such as backdrafts and flashovers,’ explains Mackay. With winter fast approaching, it’s an important consideration as fire fighters once again prepare for their riskiest season. Of the 4,000-plus residential fires in NSW last year more than 28% occurred during winter. An expert in computational fluid dynamics, Mackay can isolate parts of her computer models to show fire fighters exactly what is happening with smoke, flames, and the direction of air flow.”
