Comparison of Fire Spread in Ventilated Curtain Wall Systems Over Experimental Studies and Real Incidents

Abstract

Fire is a disaster that can affect the building and the users in a short time and cause loss of life, injuries and lots of financial losses. Especially in high-rise building with curtain walls, the rapid spread of fire along the facade in a short time poses a danger to the building and users. In recent years, the fact that most of the facade fires, especially majör fires such as Grenfell Tower (2017) and Lacrosse (2014), occurred on ventilated curtain walls (Rainscreen), reveals thet there are deficiencies in the facade design of building in terms of fire safety and emphasizes the need for more studies. In the study, fire incident occurring in ventilated curtain walls and fire spread tests carried out in academic studies were examined and evaluated within the scope of passive fire safety measures. In this direction, it is porpose to reveal the extent to which the tests and real-time fire incident overlap by comparing the results of the tests performed in the laboratory (in the absence of many environmental factors) with the fire spread dynamics of real-time fires. Within the scope of the study, real-time fires and testes were examined through fire reports and academic studies, and labrotuary testes fire spread dynamics in ventilated curtain walls were analyzed with the data obtained. In the examination made, it was seen that 21 of the 41 facade fires examined between 2010 and 2021 accurred in ventilated curtain walls, and 11 of them did not have any registered facade information. While this represents %51 of all facades, it represents as much as %70 of all known facades. In this direction, the study has been limited to fire incidents in ventilated curtain walls between 2010 and 2021 for the solution of the problem. The study is important in terms of informing researchers, designers, manufacturers and practitioners about the effects of fire dynamics on ventilated curtain walls and emphasizing the precaution thet can take during design.

Keywords

• Ventilated Curtain Wall
• Façade Fire
• Air Gap
• Façade Materials
• Fire Spread

Havalandırmalı Giydirme Cephe (Rainscreen) Sistemlerinde Yangın Yayılımının Deneysel Çalışmalar ve Gerçek Olaylar Üzerinden Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

Yangın yapıyı ve kullanıcıları kısa sürede etkisi altına alıp can kayıpları, yaralanmalar ve büyük maddi kayıplar verebilen bir afettir. Özellikle yüksek katlı ve giydirme cepheli yapılarda yangının cephe boyunca kısa sürede hızla yayılması yapı ve kullanıcılar açısından tehlike oluşturmaktadır. Son yıllarda, Grenfell Tower (2017) ve Lacrosse (2014) gibi büyük yangınlar başta olmak üzere cephe yangınlarının çoğunun havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerde (Rainscreen) meydana gelmesi, binaların cephe tasarımında yangın güvenliği açısından eksiklikler olduğunu ortaya koymakta ve daha fazla çalışmanın gerekliliğini vurgulamaktadır. Bu nedenle çalışmada, pasif yangın güvenlik önlemleri kapsamında havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerde meydana gelmiş olan yangın olayları ve akademik çalışmalar kapsamında yapılan yangın yayılım deneyleri incelenip değerlendirilmiş, laboratuvarlarda çevresel etkenlerin birçoğunun bulunmadığı yalıtımlı ortamlarda gerçekleştirilen deneylerin sonuçları ile gerçek zamanlı yangınların yayılım dinamiğinin karşılaştırılması ve deneyler ile gerçek zamanlı olayların ne derece örtüştüğünün ortaya koyulması amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında, gerçek zamanlı yangınlar ve deneyler yangın raporları ve akademik çalışmalar aracılığı ile incelenmiş, elde edilen veriler ile havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerde yangın yayılım dinamiği analiz edilmiştir. Yapılan incelemelerde 2010 ve 2021 yılları arasında incelenen 41 adet cephe yangınından 21 tanesinin havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerde meydana geldiği, 11 tanesinin ise kayıtlı bir cephe bilgisi olmadığı görülmüştür. Bu durum tüm cephelerin %51’ini temsil ederken, bilinen cephelerin %70’i gibi büyük bir oranı temsil etmektedir. Bu doğrultuda çalışma, 2010 ve 2021 yılları arasında meydana gelen havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerdeki yangın olayları ile sınırlandırılmıştır. Çalışma, yangın dinamiğinin havalandırmalı giydirme cephelerde oluşturduğu etkiler hakkında deneysel verilerin araştırmacılara, tasarımcılara, üreticilere ve uygulayıcılara bilgi vermek ve tasarım sırasında alabilecekleri önlemleri vurgulamak açısından önem taşımaktadır.

Keywords

• Havalandırmalı giydirme cephe
• Cephe yangını
• Hava boşluğu
• Cephe malzemesi
• Yangın yayılımı

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