Evaluation of the Fire Stop in Preventing Fire Spread along Cable Trays Using Fire Dynamics Simulator

Abstract of the technical presentation presented at:
The 3rd International Meeting on Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness for the Nuclear Industry
October 27–30, 2019
Ottawa, Ontario

Prepared by:
Abderrazzaq Bounagui
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract

This presentation presents simulation results of the cable fire stopping tests carried out as part of the OECD¹ PRISME²–2 program. The cable fire stopping tests were conducted in an open atmosphere under the large-scale calorimeter of the SATURNE³ facility. The objective of the cable test was to study how effective specially tailored fire barriers are at preventing fire spread along cable trays. The cable fire stopping test involved three 4 metre ladder-type cable trays equipped with three 0.3 m fire barriers. The Fire Dynamics Simulator was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the fire stop in preventing the spread of fire along cable trays. The cable fire stopping test was reproduced as closely as possible in these simulations. The simulation results show that 0.6 m fire stopping barriers are capable of preventing the spread of flames along trays.

Note:
1.  OECD: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
2.  The acronym PRISME comes from the French phrase propagation d’un incendie pour des scénarios multi-locaux élémentaire, which in English can be translated as "fire propagation in elementary multi-room scenarios"
3.  SATURNE facility is a dedicated facility at the French Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN) centre at Cadarache to carry out calorimeter fire tests.

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