Fire Tests Used for Regulation: Are We Testing the Correct Fire Property?

摘要

Fire tests are used extensively for regulation. The process by which a fire test comes to be referenced in codes and regulation is fairly complex. The choice of which fire test to reference is influenced by many factors, including: 1. Existing available test methods 2. A desire to simulate the fire conditions the regulation is designed to address 3. The limits of currently available technology 4. The cost of the required test equipment 5. The ability to quantify the test results in a manner which will be easily understood by users and regulatory officials As such, the actual fire property being measured in the regulatory fire test may not be intuitive. This paper consists of two parts: Part I will describe the different properties that fire tests can measure and the test methods which measure them. Part II will discuss fire safety regulations and which test methods are referenced, with some historical background of how those tests were chosen.