Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.21022/IJHRB.2018.7.4.363

Flammability and Multi-objective Performance of Building Façades: Towards Optimum Design  

Bonner, Matthew (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London)
Rein, Guillermo (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London)
Publication Information
International Journal of High-Rise Buildings / v.7, no.4, 2018 , pp. 363-374 More about this Journal
Abstract
The façade is an important, complex, and costly part of a building, performing multiple objectives of value to the occupants, like protecting from wind, rain, sunlight, heat, cold, and sound. But the frequency of façade fires in large buildings is alarming, and has multiplied by seven times worldwide over the last three decades, to a current rate of 4.8 fires per year. High-performing polymer based materials allow for a significant improvement across several objectives of a facade (e.g., thermal insulation, weight, and construction time) thereby increasing the quality of a building. However, all polymers are flammable to some degree. If this safety problem is to be tackled effectively, then it is essential to understand how different materials, and the façade as a whole, perform in the event of a fire. This paper discusses the drivers for flammability in facades, the interaction of facade materials, and current gaps in knowledge. In doing so, it aims to provide an introduction to the field of façade fires, and to show that because of the drive for thermal efficiency and sustainability, façade systems have become more complex over time, and they have also become more flammable. We discuss the importance of quantifying the flammability of different façade systems, but highlight that it is currently impossible to do so, which hinders research progress. We finish by putting forward an integral framework of design that uses multi-objective optimization to ensure that flammability is minimized while considering other objectives, such as maximizing thermal performance or minimizing weight.
Keywords
Facade; Fire; High-rise building; Cladding; Design;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Afipeb, Sipev, & Snmi. (2016). "Fire behaviour of EPS ETICS on concrete or masonry facades." MATEC Web of Conferences, 46.
2 Agarwal, G. (2016). "Evaluation of the Fire Performance of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) Assemblies using ANSI/FM4880." FM Global Technical Report.
3 Allianz Risk Consulting. (2015). "Sandwich panels." Tech Talk, Volume 17.
4 An, W., Sun, J., Liew, K., & Zhu, G. (2017). "Effects of building concave structure on flame spread over extruded polystyrene thermal insulation material." Applied Thermal Engineering, 121, pp. 802-809.   DOI
5 Arora, J. (2004). Introduction to Optimum Design (Second). Elsevier Academic Press.
6 Asimakopoulou, E. K., Kolaitis, D. I., & Founti, M. A. (2017). "Assessment of Fire Engineering Design Correlations Used to Describe the Geometry and Thermal Characteristics of Externally Venting Flames." Fire Technology, 53, pp. 709-739.   DOI
7 Babrauskas, V. (2018). "The Grenfell Tower Fire and Fire Safety Materials Testing." Fire Engineering, 171.
8 Bjegovic, D., Pecur, I., Milovanovic, B., Rukavina, M., & Bagaric, M. (2016). "Comparative full-scale fire performance testing of ETICS systems." Journal of the Croatian Association of Civil Engineers, 68, pp. 357-369.   DOI
9 EU. (2010). "Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast)." Official Journal of the European Union, pp. 13-35.
10 Bozsaky, D. (2010). "The historical development of thermal insulation materials." Periodica Polytechnica Architecture, 41, pp. 49.   DOI
11 Chow, W., & Hung, W. (2006). "Effect of cavity depth on smoke spreading of double-skin facade." Building and Environment, 41, pp. 970-979.   DOI
12 BSI. (2015a). BS 8414-1:2015 Fire performance of external cladding systems. Test method for non-loadbearing external cladding systems applied to the masonry facade of a building.
13 BSI. (2015b). BS 8414-2:2015 Fire performance of external cladding systems. Test method for non-loadbearing external cladding systems fixed to and supported by a structural steel frame.
14 Chow, C. (2014). "Spread of smoke and heat along narrow air cavity in double-skin facade fires." Thermal Science, 18, pp. 405-416.   DOI
15 Colwell, S., & Baker, T. (2013). BR135: Fire performance of external thermal insulation for walls of multistorey buildings (Third).
16 Cooke, G. M. E. (2000). "Sandwich panels for external cladding - fire safety issues and implications for the risk assessment process." Report for Eurisol.
17 Crewe, R., Hidalgo, J., Sorensen, M., McLaggan, M., Molyneux, S., Welch, S., … Hull, R. (2018). "Fire Performance of Sandwich Panels in a Modified ISO 13784- 1 Small Room Test: The Influence of Increased Fire Load for Different Insulation Materials." Fire Technology, pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-018-0703-5.   DOI
18 DCLG. (2013). Fire Performance of Green Roofs and Walls.
19 Evins, R., Joyce, S., Pointer, P., Sharma, S., Vaidyanathan, R., & Williams, C. (2012). "Multi - objective design optimisation : getting more for less." ICE Proceedings Civil Engineering, 165.
20 Foley, M., & Drysdale, D. (1995). "Heat transfer from flames between vertical parallel walls." Fire Safety Journal, 24, pp. 53-73.   DOI
21 Herzog, T., Krippner, R., & Lang, W. (2017). Facade Construction Manual (Second). DETAIL Business Information.
22 Foster, A. (2014). Understanding , Predicting and Improving the Performance of Foam Filled Sandwich Panels in Large Scale Fire Resistance Tests. University of Manchester.
23 Guillaume, E., Fateh, T., Schillinger, R., Chiva, R., & Ukleja, S. (2018). "Study of fire behaviour of facade mock-ups equipped with aluminium composite material-based claddings, using intermediate-scale test method." Fire and Materials, pp. 1-17.
24 Hajdukovic, M., Knez, N., & Kolsek, J. (2017). "Fire Performance of External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) Facades with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Insulation and Thin Rendering." Fire Technology, 53, pp. 173-209.   DOI
25 Hidalgo, J. (2015). Performance-based methodology for the fire safe design of insulation materials in energy efficient buildings. University of Edinburgh.
26 Hidalgo, J., Welch, S., & Torero, J. (2015). "Performance criteria for the fire safe use of thermal insulation in buildings." Construction and Building Materials, 100, pp. 285-297.   DOI
27 Hidalgo, J., Welch, S., & Torero, J. (2017). "Experimental Characterisation of the Fire Behaviour of Thermal Insulation Materials for a Performance-Based Design Methodology." Fire Technology, 53, pp. 1201-1232.   DOI
28 HM Government. "Approved Document L - Conservation of fuel and power" (2016).
29 Incopera, F., Dewitt, D., Bergman, T., & Lavine, A. (2013). Foundations of Heat Transfer (Sixth). John Wiley & Sons.
30 International Commitee of the Decorative Laminates Industry. (2009). "Fire behaviour of decorative high pressure laminates (HPL)." Information Data Sheet.
31 Kotthoff, I., Hauswaldt, S., Riese, O., & Riemesch-Speer, J. (2016). "Investigations of the performance of facades made of ETICS with polystyrene under external fire exposure and fire safety measures for their improvement." MATEC Web of Conferences, 46.
32 Ji, J., Li, Y.-F., Shi, W.-X., & Sun, J.-H. (2016). "Numerical studies on smoke spread in the cavity of a double-skin facade." Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 22, pp. 470-479.
33 Kim, J. (2012). "A Methodology for Daylight Optimisation of Facades: An investigation of the opening design strategy with Cellular Automata for an office building." Emerging Technologies for a Smarter World.
34 Kim, J., de Ris, J., & Kroesser, F. (1974). "Laminar burning between parallel fuel surfaces." International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 17, pp. 439-451.   DOI
35 Lacasta, A., Avellaneda, J., Giraldo, M. P., & Burgos, C. (2013). "Computer-simulation study on fire behaviour in the ventilated cavity of ventilated facade systems." MATEC Web of Conferences, 9.
36 Lay, S. (2007). "Fire safety for high-rise facades." The Structural Engineer, pp. 30-33.
37 Livkiss, K., Svensson, S., Husted, B., & van Hees, P. (2018). "Flame Heights and Heat Transfer in Facade System Ventilation Cavities." Fire Technology, 54, pp. 689-713.   DOI
38 Manzello, S., Gann, R., Kukuck, S., Prasad, K., & Jones, W. (2007). "An experimental determination of a real fire performance of a non-load bearing glass wall assembly." Fire Technology, 43, pp. 77-89.   DOI
39 Mazziotti, L., Cancelliere, P., Paduano, G., Setti, P., & Sassi, S. (2016). "Fire risk related to the use of PV systems in building facades." MATEC Web of Conferences, 46.
40 Maria, G., & Thorkild, D. J. (2011). "Roadshow Paris - Forward Looking Statement." Presentation for Rockwool International.
41 Nguyen, T., & Meftah, F. (2012). "Behavior of clay hollowbrick masonry walls during fire. Part 1: Experimental analysis." Fire Safety Journal, 52, pp. 55-64.   DOI
42 Moore, M. G. (2018). "The Contributions of Insulation to the U.S. Economy in 2017." Report for the American Chemistry Council.
43 Nam, J., Jeong, M. G., Ryou, H. S., Kim, J. T., Nam, J. S., Kim, D. J., & Cho, S. W. (2017). "Validation of a numerical model for curtain walls with MVHS during free burning." Fire Safety Journal, 94, pp. 45-53.   DOI
44 NFPA and Arup. (2018). "EFFECT: External Facade Fire Evaluation and Comparison Tool - User's Guide." NFPA's Online Tool Based on Methodology Developed by Arup.
45 Nguyen, T., & Meftah, F. (2014). "Behavior of hollow clay brick masonry walls during fire. Part 2: 3D finite element modeling and spalling assessment." Fire Safety Journal, 66, pp. 35-45.   DOI
46 Oldfield, P., Trabucco, D., & Wood, A. (2009). "Five energy generations of tall buildings: An historical analysis of energy consumption in high-rise buildings." Journal of Architecture, 14, pp. 591-613.   DOI
47 Shearer, D., & Anderson, B. (2008). "International comparison of energy standards in building regulations for non-domestic buildings: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden." Report for BRE Scotland.
48 Rogowski, B. (1985). "Fire Performance of Combustible Insulation in Masonry Cavity Walls." Fire Safety Journal, 8, pp. 119-134.   DOI
49 Russo, S., & Sciarretta, F. (2013). "Masonry exposed to high temperatures: Mechanical behaviour and properties - An overview." Fire Safety Journal, 55, pp. 69-86.   DOI
50 Shan, R. (2014). "Optimization for heating, cooling and lighting load in building facade design." Energy Procedia, 57, pp. 1716-1725.   DOI
51 "The Grenfell Tower Inquiry." (2018). Retrieved May 10, 2018, from https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/
52 Wang, Y., Wang, Q., Shao, G., Chen, H., Su, Y., Sun, J., … Liew, K. M. (2014). "Fracture behavior of a four-point fixed glass curtain wall under fire conditions." Fire Safety Journal, 67, pp. 24-34.   DOI
53 Wade, C. A., & Clampett, J. C. (2000). "Fire Performance of Exterior Claddings." Report from Building Research Association of New Zealand.
54 Wahlquist, C. (2017). "Cladding in London high-rise fire also blamed for 2014 Melbourne blaze." The Guardian.
55 ABI. (2003). "Technical Briefing: Fire Performance of Sandwich Panel Systems."
56 ABI. (2018). "CLADDING APPROVALS: A review and investigation of potential shortcomings of the BS8414 standard for the approval of cladding systems such as those commonly used on tall buildings."
57 Wang, H. Y., Joulain, P., & Most, J. M. (1999). "Modeling on burning of large-scale vertical parallel surfaces with fire-induced flow." Fire Safety Journal, 32, pp. 241-271.   DOI
58 Wang, Q., Chen, H., Wang, Y., Wen, J. X., Dembele, S., Sun, J., & He, L. (2014). "Development of a dynamic model for crack propagation in glazing system under thermal loading." Fire Safety Journal, 63, pp. 113-124.   DOI
59 Wang, Y. C., & Foster, A. (2017). "Experimental and numerical study of temperature developments in PIR core sandwich panels with joint." Fire Safety Journal, 90, pp. 1-14.   DOI
60 Wang, Y., Wang, Q., Su, Y., Sun, J., He, L., & Liew, K. M. (2017). "Experimental study on fire response of double glazed panels in curtain walls." Fire Safety Journal, 92, pp. 53-63.   DOI
61 White, N., & Delichatsios, M. (2013). "Fire Hazards of Exterior Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components: Final Report." MATEC Web of Conferences, 9.
62 Zemella, G., & Faraguna, A. (2014). Evolutionary Optimisation of Facade Design (First). Springer-Verlag London.
63 Torero, J. (2018). "Grenfell Tower: Phase 1 Report." Report for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
64 Zhou, L., Chen, A., Liu, X., & Zhang, F. (2016). "The Effectiveness of Horizontal Barriers in Preventing Fire Spread on Vertical Insulation Panels Made of Polystyrene Foams." Fire Technology, 52, pp. 649-662.   DOI