FDS simulation of fire spread: Comparison of model results with experimental data

This report presents several case studies in which results obtained by a pre-release version 4.0 of Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) (McGrattan et al. 2002, McGrattan et al. 2002b) are compared to experimental data. The objectives of the work are: a) to provide material for the validation of the FDS fire simulation program, especially concerning flame spread modelling; b) to establish eligible material parameter values for engineering use of the FDS and, c) to disentangle needs to direct further development work of the FDS program. The case studies comprise fire experiments of a wide scale ranging from the cone calorimeter (ISO 5660 1 2002) to full-scale fire tests such as the room corner test (ISO 9705 1993). Comparisons are made also between FDS 4 results and data obtained in the SBI euroclassification test method (EN 13823 2002) as well the data obtained in two ad hoc experimental set ups: one is the similar to the room corner test but has only partial linings and the other is the experimental set up used in study of fires in building cavities. In the study concerning upholstered furniture the experimental set ups are the cone calorimeter, furniture calorimeter and the ISO room. In the part concerning modelling of liquid pool fires, comparison is made to data depicting the dependence of the burning rate on the pool size. The burning materials/items include three construction materials, spruce timber, MDF board and PVC, upholstered furniture, cables with plastic sheathing and heptane.