1. Safety of Threatened Buildings Program
William Grosshandler
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD
Fire Resistive Materials Workshop
July 14, 2005
Good Morning. My name is Jack Snell. I am Director of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
My purpose this morning is to put today’s meeting in context for you and outline what we have planned for today and the near future regarding the WTC investigation.
We like most everyone else, since September 11, have asked, “what can we do, how can we respond?” As an element of the National Institute of Standards and Technology our business is measurement and standards. The competencies of my Laboratory relate to building and fire research.
Why are we doing this? Our goal is to derive lessons to be learned as they relate to practice, standards and codes.

2. Threats to Safety in Public & Commercial Buildings
Traditional fire hazards
Combined hazards
Terrorist threats
Performance envelope of structures

3. Stakeholders and Partners in R&D Program for Safety of Threatened Buildings
Fire & Emergency Service
Construction Industry
Codes and Standards Organizations
Public/Groups
Reduced
Threat
Academics
Government Agencies
Industry Suppliers
Structural Engineering
and Design
Fire Safety Engineering
Insurance,
Testing labs

4. What is Safety of Threatened Buildings Program?
Part of the NIST post-9/11 response plan
Extension and enhancement of pre-9/11ongoing R&D
Objective: To provide a technical foundation that supports improvements to codes, standards, and practices that reduce the impact of extreme threats to the safety of buildings, their occupants & emergency responders.
Anticipated Major Outcomes:
Increased Structural Integrity
Enhanced Fire Resistance
Improved Emergency Egress & Access
Building & Emergency Equip. Standards & Guidelines
3/04

5. Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm
Increased Structural Integrity
Prevention of Progressive Collapse; PI: H.S. Lew
To develop and implement performance criteria for codes and standards, tools, and practical guidance for prevention of progressive structural collapse.
No progressive collapse provisions in current U.S. bldg. codes
Lack of design tools
NIBS workshop (DTAP)

6. Loss of gravity load capacity of structural system
Definition of Progressive Collapse: Spread of structural failure by a chain reaction, disproportionate to a localized triggering failure.
Loss of gravity load capacity of structural system
Inability of the structural system to redistribute the load
Project Goal: To prevent loss of lives and injuries due to progressive collapse of buildings.
Initiating events
Impact
Explosion
Blast
Fire

7. Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm
Enhanced Fire Resistance
Fire Protective Coatings for Structural Steel; PI: Dale Bentz
Predictive criteria for selection of fire protective coatings to accelerate
development of materials with reduced vulnerability to extreme events.
Fire Resistance of Uncoated Structural Steel; PI: Frank Gayle
Develop efficient test method for evaluating fire resistance of steel
Benefits of FR steel not adequately tested under ASTM E119
Fire Resistance of Building Partitions; PI: Dick Gann
Technical basis for accurate measurement & prediction
methodologies for inclusion of fire resistance properties of walls,
floors & ceilings in performance-based fire safety design
Fire Safe Building Structures; PI: John Gross
To develop and implement verified and improved standards, tools,
methodology and guidance for the fire safety design and retrofit of
concrete and steel structures.

8. Fire Resistance of Building Partitions:
Ability to confine a fire for time sufficient to allow occupant evacuation
Standards successful in reducing fires that have caused loss of life/property - limited value for quantitative design
Benefit to public safety - putting fire resistance description of partitions on an absolute basis

9. Approach: Conduct real scale tests of wall assemblies
Develop model of time to failure modes --
Heat, smoke, and flames
Establish apparatus needed for model input data
Develop and validate method(s) at minimum scale for obtaining thermal and failure data on assemblies
Wall Location

10. Gypsum Non-Load Bearing
NAFTL Round Robin:
Compare behavior of different vertical furnaces
Data used by labs to assess relative performance of their furnaces
Data used by NIST to develop relationship between furnace behavior and
actual fires - understand cracking/failure of gypsum boards
Gypsum Non-Load Bearing
Wall Partition
Exposed Face
92 mm
22 gauge
Unexposed Face
28.5 mm
304.8 cm
0.9525 cm
0.9525 cm
9 screws (30.5 cm o.c.)
304.8 cm
182.8 cm
60.9 cm
Vertical Furnace
UL Northbrook

11. Global Collaboration on Prediction of Structural Fire Performance:
Objective - To establish a global collaboration to conduct identified research that addresses outstanding technical issues needed to perform engineering analysis of structural reaction to fire.
Approach - Establish a consortium of research labs and funding sources who would address the issues in a coordinated program leading to a generally accepted engineering method. Organization and coordination of the program would be done through CIB W14 as an independent international body.

12. Collaboration Partners:
Task
Lead Organization
Participating Labs
Coordination
CIB W14
Technical Direction
NIST
all
Fire/structure simulation
NIST & BRE
CTICM, SINTEF & NIST
Full-scale tests of connections
ABRI
CSIRO
High heating rates
CTICM
BRANZ
High temp properties
BRI
NRCC, SP & NIST
High thermal gradients
SINTEF
Cooling phase
SKLFS
Symposium
Working - plan awaiting funding - no response

13. Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm
Improved Emergency Egress & Access
Occupant Behavior and Egress
PI: R. Peacock
Reliable predictions of time to egress
Emergency Use of Elevators; PI: R. Bukowski
Technical and procedural means to allow use of elevators during
emergencies for evacuation of occupants with disabilities from,
and for first responder access to, high rise buildings

14. Components of Safety of Threatened Buildings Prgm
Building & Emergency Equipment Stds & Guidelines
Developing, Managing and Disseminating Building Information During Emergencies; PIs: K. Reed, S. Treado, W. Healy
Services that enable ready access to building systems data by first responders;
Managing heterogeneous wireless sensor networks in buildings;
Ensuring secure dissemination of building information to emergency responders.
Technologies for Building Operations in CBR Attacks
PI: Andy Persily
Analysis tools and guidance for assessment and subsequent
reductions in vulnerability of buildings to CBR attacks
Cost-effective Risk Management Tools; PI: Bob Chapman
User-friendly tool for building owners/managers to aid in selection of cost-
effective strategies for management of terrorist and environmental risks

15. Implications for Standards
Test methods for mechanical and thermal properties of fire proofing materials
gypsum
SFRM
intumescents
Test methods for performance of partitions in fire
Test methods for performance of structural materials in fire
high temperature steels
high strength concrete
composites (organic and inorganic)
Test methods for strength of connections at fire temperatures.

16. Issues specific to ASTM E119
Time as the Unit of Rating
Rating system should be immune to misinterpretation.
ASTM E119 is a prescriptive standard; units of time
imply absolute level of performance which has not
been justified by analysis, actual fire tests, nor
historical record.
Express rating on non-dimensional relative scale that is
continuous (not discreet) and easily converted to large
data base on fire resistance that already exists.

17. Issues specific to ASTM E119
Resolution and Uncertainty of Rating
Account for variability in test method and test specimen
that are beyond control of best laboratory practices.
Different laboratories conducting tests on two specimens
designed to be identical will produce a time to failure that
differs by some amount, which should be default value
for uncertainty.
Alternative methods for evaluating resolution and
uncertainty could involve replicate tests or historical
data.

18. Issues specific to ASTM E119
Running Test to Failure
Need for improved measurement techniques.
Collect data on all performance criteria relevant to the
application of the construction element:
temperatures throughout element
deflections throughout element
penetration of flame through element
Record and make available all results as function of time.
Establish rating based upon multiple criteria.

19. Need for National Structural Fire Resistance Laboratory
To enable structural fire resistance to be rigorously evaluated so that safety benefit of improvements to related building fire codes and standards can be demonstrated to all major stakeholders.