Fire Scenarios and Chemical Analysis of Fire Products

Chemical analysis of fire products

Burned-out car

The evaluation of burn patterns and the resulting fire behaviour reconstructions are based on chemical analyses of fire products. In the project diverse analytic methods are combined to draw conclusions on possible fire behaviour based on solid, liquid and gas fire residues. Evaluation of possible fire behaviour can be very difficult in afterwards reconstruction, therefore numerical simulation is being applied too.

By making use of numerical simulations one can recalculate possible scenarios by simply modifying several parameters, which is an advantage in contrast to large scale fires. Because of these simulations one can e.g. evaluate, whether fire behaviours could take place or could not occur.

This way of proceeding goes beyond the current level of forensic fire investigations.

Project aims

Scorched textiles, on the right with and on the left without fire accelerant

• Holistically analytic observation of fire involved substances, such as solids and liquid fire residues, aerosols, particles, combustion gases and the investigation of real fire scene samples
• Analytic observation of fire scenarios from the beginning of a fire and its developing up to a full fire
• Progressing and constructing a convincing measuring method for burn mark elucidation by coupling/combining analytic procedures with different furnaces
• Analytic research on the influence of fire accelerants
• Investigation/prediction of possible fire behaviours based on numerical simulation

Partners

Railway seat with fire damage

Following divisions of BAM are cooperating in the project Chemical Analysis of Fire Products

Department 1, Division 1.2, Organic Chemical Analysis; Reference Materials
Department 4, Division 4.2, Environmental Material and Product Properties
Department 6, Division 6.3, Durability of Polymers

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