Fire Safety Engineering (FSE)

The Fire Engineering Laboratory aims at conducting research and development related to fire retardant, resistance, extinction, modeling and escape with special reference to building and industrial sectors. The lab is provided with unique state-of the art facilities. Fire Engineering Laboratory offers frontend consultancy services to government and private agencies for fire safety analysis, fire safety audits and post-fire investigations and management. The laboratory undertakes technology development.

RESEARCH AREAS

• Passive fire protection systems – Development of Fire Resistant / Retardant of building materials such as concrete, steel, GI duct, PVC cables, textiles, wood & wood substitutes etc.
• Active fire protection systems – Design of Active Protection measures in buildings & industries, development of fire extinguishers for different classes of fire.
• Reaction to Fire – Fire behaviour of building materials, Compartment fire behaviour studies.
• Numerical Fire Simulation Studies – pyrolysis modelling, smoke movement, air flow and temperatures inside enclosures on fire using Computational Fluid Dynamics, egress analysis.
• Quantitative Fire Hazard Assessment – Performance based codes, Fire Safety Audits.
• Post-fire analysis & Restoration

FIRE PERFORMANCE & EVALUATION

Burning behaviour of Materials:

• Non-combustibility (IS:3808, BS 476 Part-4, ISO: 1182)
• Ignitability (BS:476-Part-5, ISO 5657, BS 476 Part 13)
• Fire propagation (BS:476-Part 6)
• Surface spread of flame (BS:476-Part 7)
• Specific optical density of smoke (ASTM, E 662)
• Flammability, Flame Penetration and Rate of Burning of FR Plywood (IS:1734 Part 3 & IS: 5509)
• Flame Proof Materials (Textiles) (BS:3119 &BS:3120)
• Limiting Oxygen Index (as per ASTM D 2863, NCD 714, NES 1410)
• Toxicity Index (As Per NCD 713, NES 1409)

Systems & Components:

• Fire resistance evaluation of building elements (IS-3614:2021).
• Fire resistance evaluation of Dampers (UL-555).
• Fire resistance evaluation of Cable Firestop (UL-1479, IS-14518).
• Fire resistance evaluation of Fire Safe Enclosure (Based on the particular specifications provided by the user).
• Fire resistance evaluation of air-conducting ducts (BS-476 Part 24).
• Water absorption, Ageing, vibration, Impact test on systems & components subjected to Fire Resistance evaluation (As per NTPC Specifications).
• Fire performance of electrical cables (IEC-331.332, IEEE-383).

ONGOING PROJECTS

Industry Funded:

• Vetting of MEPF Drawings of Hospital Block of AIIMS, Rishikesh.

Government Funded:

• Fire Safety Audit of PGIMER, Chandigarh
• Fire Safety Audit of AIIMS, New Delhi.

CSIR Funded:

• Establishment of Advanced Full Scale High Capacity Test Facility for Fire Resistance Performance and Evaluation of Horizontal and Vertical Building Construction Elements in Compliance with Standard Fire, Hydrocarbon Fire and RWS Fire Conditions, FACILITY CREATION PROJECT 2.0.

Lab Projects:

• Design and Development of Infra-red heating panels for surface spread of flame test apparatus.
• Development of eco-friendly pyrotechnic composite for aerosol fire extinguishment system.
  

COMPLETED PROJECTS

• Vetting of HVAC, Plumbing and Fire Drawings of Campus of ECHS Hospital (2023 – 2024)
• Fire Performance Assessment of Horizontal Duct B (2023)
• Review of MEPF Design of proposed Hospital & Teaching block of Dr.Y.S. Parmar Medical College, at Nahan(HP). (2022-2023)
• Reaction to fire characteristic of Aerofiber acoustics softra fabrico board, woody flutes and Aerofiber acoustics woody wool board M/s Aerofiber acoustics (p) ltd, New Delhi (2021-2022)
• Reaction to fire: characterization of Thermaplus fire retardant pipes (2021-2022)
• Vetting of design of Fire Alarm & Detection system in ONGC complex at Dehradun and its testing. (2020-2022)
• Fire Safety Audit of Geopic and ONGC academy, Dehradun. (2021-2022)
• Fire Safety Audit of B. S. Negi, Bhawan, Dehradun (2019 – 2021)
• Structural Stability Issues of Building and Possible Solutions (2019-2020)
• Fire Safety Audit of Lady Harding Medical College (2018-2019)
• Fire Safety Audit of RML Hospital (2017-2019)
• Evaluation & Design of “Fire Fighting Pumping System” of the PGIMER, Chandigarh Campus (2017-2018)
• Burning behaviour of various materials in enclosure Fires-Development of evacuation strategies for fire effected up to four storey row buildings (2015-2018)
• Optimization of water sprays and location of sprinkler in an enclosure fire. (2013-2015)

Last updated on January 31, 2025

For further details, please contact:

Dr. Shorab Jain
Head
Fire Safety Engineering Group
Phone     : +91-1332-283230
Fax         : +91-1332-272272
Email     : shorab122 [at] cbri.res.in