Fire Science Show
167 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsFire Science Show is connecting fire researchers and practitioners with a society of fire engineers, firefighters, architects, designers and all others, who are genuinely interested in creating a fire-safe future. Through interviews with a diverse group of experts, we present the history of our field as well as the most novel advancements. We hope the Fire Science Show becomes your weekly source of fire science knowledge and entertainment. Produced in partnership with the Diamond Sponsor of the show - OFR Consultants
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Episodes
057 - Structural fire engineering with Thomas Gernay
July 06, 2022 03:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBThe subject of structural fire engineering was long overdue in the podcast schedule. But once I finally got it on my agenda, I made sure to interview one of the very best there are - prof Thomas Gernay of John Hopkins University. Not only a structural engineer and researcher, but also one of the developers of SAFIR® - one of most popular structural fire engineering numerical codes out there. In this discussion I get to ask some important questions on the role structural fire engineering pl...
056 - Performance Based Fire Protection Engineer with David Stacy
June 29, 2022 03:00 - 54 minutes - 37.5 MBHow does being a volunteer firefighter improve your abilities to do Performance-Based Design (PBD) and how your knowledge in PBD may translate to firefighting? That is not a question you can ask to every fire protection engineer, but luckily - David Stacy is one who can answer that fully. Tapping into his unique skillset and career path I try to extract answers on how does one translate firefighting experience into improved design. Where does he see the most immediate gain (duh - communicati...
055 - The future is exciting with Arnold Dix (part 2)
June 22, 2022 03:00 - 58 minutes - 40 MBI once said the future looks stupid... but after this discussion with Arnold Dix, I know - future is exciting. And for Fire Safety Engineers and others involved in fire protection - the future seems to be super exciting! In this episode, we let go and try to discuss the future tech in the world of tunnelling. From autonomous vehicles in tiny (and seems a bit dangerous) tunnels, McDonnaldization of TBM's, Hyperloops to city concepts build all the way around humans (and tunnels!). This is a fu...
054 - The sustainability talk, tunnels and fire safety with Arnold Dix (part 1)
June 15, 2022 03:00 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MBA few episodes ago I called for better communication in fire safety. And in this episode, tunnel fire safety legend Prof. Arnold Dix is answering that, by teaching us the ways of the 'sustainability' talk - how to communicate better having the global sustainability goals in mind? But it is not only a way of communication. It is a mindset. And it is a powerful one, leading to a rethink of the concept of safety and how one is delivered. A rejuvenating perspective in which we are mindful of our...
053 - The number one skill to thrive as an FSE I've learnt in 1 year of podcasting
June 08, 2022 03:00 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBIt has been one year since I started this show. I've promised you that we will learn Fire Safety Engineering together, and today comes a great time to reflect on some lessons learnt. In this episode, I will take you on a short journey through some most insightful moments in the show, that allowed me to identify the number one skill needed to thrive as a fire protection engineer. What is that skill? Well press the play button and find it for yourself! The answer is 35 minutes away, and I pro...
404 - Host not found, throat infections suck.
June 01, 2022 03:00 - 3 minutes - 2.78 MBWith this lifestyle, this was inevitable... due to a busy week I had to move the schedule a bit and was pretty sure I will get away with it by recording a solo episode... but my throat has decided otherwise and I kind of cannot record a full episode. I need a week off to heal this up before the 1-year anniversary episode that I care a lot about! In the meantime, please try and enjoy some excellent episodes from the past, which I have recommended in this short apology piece: https://www.fir...
052 - More realism in evacuation modelling with Anne Templeton
May 25, 2022 03:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MBYou have seen these lovely evacuation simulations, the ones with a bunch of agents moving together or clumping at an exit. Ones that we use to determine ASET condition, and which are present in almost every large PBD project... Maybe even you are running such simulations. So, with that experience in mind - have you ever wondered if what you see makes sense. We all feel that humans in groups behave differently than a bunch of units in a crowd. But to what extent that 'different' could be imp...
051 - Fire Science in eyes of a firefighter with Szymon Kokot
May 18, 2022 03:00 - 51 minutes - 35.5 MBIn this show, we often discuss how fire science can help firefighters. Today we drop the UNO reverse card and figure out what firefighters actually need from fire science. And for that, I've got a perfect person to talk to - a firefighter, commander, instructor and a fire scientist. Szymon Kokot of the Nidzica Fire Brigade and CFBT Poland With this talk, I wanted to achieve two answers. How firefighters view fire science (and how to make it more useful to them). And how engineers should vi...
050 - Wind, fire and a surprise
May 11, 2022 03:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MBEpisode 50! Time to celebrate, and for this one we have a surprise. A mysterious host takes over the show to interview a wind and fire modelling celebrity... Ok, this should be enough to not reveal everything once the show notes get auto-posted on all social media :) I am super happy for multiple reasons. You guys were with me 50 times on my way to share fire science with everyone who wants to listen. You have downloaded my content 25.000 times. And finally, I get to share with you some of ...
049 - What burns inside a battery with Francesco Restuccia
May 04, 2022 03:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MBSo we all know batteries burn... but do we know what exactly does burn? What is inside this tiny metal cylinder that scares so many of us? We try to understand it a bit more with Dr Francesco Restuccia of Kings College London, who is an expert in battery fire safety and self-heating. And this combination of skills gave him a unique view of the challenges of fire safety of batteries - especially the ones that are stored in warehouses and not fueling anything. Francesco takes me on a journey i...
048 - Car parks, design fires and the broad world of fire science with Mike Spearpoint
April 27, 2022 03:00 - 1 hour - 51.4 MBDid you know first car parks were built for electric vehicles? Or what clever techniques can be used to model the spread of fire between vehicles? Or what challenges scientists meet burning vehicles, and why pneumatic suspension makes stuff more interesting... These (and much much more) are the things you learn by inviting Mike Spearpoint of the OFR for a lovely chat about design fires in car parks, and car parking infrastructure in general. But wait for it, there is much more. The hidden ...
047 - Effective pressurization of compartments with Grzegorz Sypek
April 20, 2022 03:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MBPressurization is a common strategy for protecting spaces against the infiltration of smoke. However, the solution has a kind-of bad press as "not-working" or "incapable to meet its design goals". We know, that the systems are as good as their design, and in this episode with my guest, Grzegorz Sypek, we try to bust some myths around PDS systems. We touch on the important design points and the properties of modern solutions available in the market. We also discuss the standardization of PDS ...
046 - Fire Code Tech crossover with Gus Gagliardi
April 12, 2022 19:00 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBThis week we do something funny - a crossover episode with the host of the Fire Code Tech podcast - Gus Gagliardi. We end up discussing the paths of fire safety engineers, from school to specialized roles in engineering companies, and the challenges associated with that. We hope you liked this twist to the podcast, and maybe discovered a new show to follow up! If you want to hear a familiar voice, you can start with this episode https://firecodetech.com/research-smoke-control-systems-and-...
045 - Foundations of fire safety with Ruben van Coile and Danny Hopkin
April 06, 2022 03:00 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MBHow does one decide when a building is fire safe? That is a real hell of a question to answer! Is it when no harm can occur? But such a condition can never be fulfilled... there is always a meteor waiting around the corner to fall into your building! So if some situations can occur for which we cannot prepare, when do we decide we are 'safe enough'? This is the tough question we try to decipher together with prof. Ruben van Coile and prof. Danny Hopkin. It is an inspiring journey, and you ...
044 - Improving fire safety of battery systems with Ofodike Ezekoye
March 30, 2022 03:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBSince Episode 6, the fire safety of battery systems was not very much visible in the show - a good time to change that! And we do this with a true legend of fire safety - Ofodike Ezekoye. In the last year, I have learnt a lot about battery systems, which did not make me more afraid. Entirely opposite - the more I know, the more confident I am in fire science and engineers finding solutions for any outstanding issues with this emerging technology. In this episode, we go through the challenge...
043 - Some neglected areas in fire science with Vyto Babrauskas
March 23, 2022 04:00 - 1 hour - 50.1 MBIt is always a pleasure to interview a true legend of fire safety. And when the topic of the interview is their thoughts on neglected areas of our discipline, based on almost five decades of experience? This must end up great! And it did (IMHO). Please join me and prof. Vyto Babrauskas in discovering what are the parts of fire science that are in need of research. What are some obvious solutions, that I think we all acknowledge, but for some reason, we do not have? What are the dead ends a...
042 - Unsafe environment of post fire scenes with Gavin Horn
March 16, 2022 04:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBWe all understand the dangers of smoke inhalation in fires. But what about the site of the fire a few days after it was put out? It looks clean, maybe even lost the smell... Is it something to worry about, or you can rush straight in, wearing your shorts and a t-shirt? Well, I guess I would not be that reckless, but if I can be honest - I don't think I would care that much about protecting myself either... At least that was me before the talk to dr Gavin Horn from UL FSRI. Gavin spent more ...
041 - Sprinkler and safety systems reliability with Arnstein Fedoy
March 09, 2022 04:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MBHow reliable are sprinkler systems? Is it 100%? Is it 95%? Maybe it is 88%... actually, whatever the number is, do we truly understand what does it represent? What does it mean that a sprinkler has succeeded and what does it mean it failed. These are the questions that were behind my today's interview with Arnstein Fedoy. You may remember Arnstein from his short appearance in episode 26 . This time, we've had the whole episode for this discussion, and I must say it was well invested hour on...
040 - Resilient road tunnel infrastructure with Ingo Riess
March 02, 2022 04:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBThis week I've invited a guest, that I was looking to talk to for a good while... Dr Ingo Riess from Riess Ingenieur-GmbH is someone I look up to in the field of tunnel fire safety, in which I am very active in the last few years. In this chat, we had the chance to go through the concept of tunnel resiliency and calculate the risk related to the whole road network, rather than just a tunnel on its own. This is such a refreshing concept, in which the goal - maximizing public safety - is well ...
040 - Resilient road tunnel infrastructure with Ingo Reiss
March 02, 2022 04:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBThis week I've invited a guest, that I was looking to talk to for a good while... Dr Ingo Riess from Riess Ingenieur-GmbH is someone I look up to in the field of tunnel fire safety, in which I am very active in the last few years. In this chat, we had the chance to go through the concept of tunnel resiliency and calculate the risk related to the whole road network, rather than just a tunnel on its own. This is such a refreshing concept, in which the goal - maximizing public safety - is well ...
039 - The (near) future of modelling with a tool developer Bryan Klein
February 23, 2022 04:00 - 55 minutes - 37.9 MBWhat does the future hold? Probably no one knows. But what happens in near future with some of the most popular tools used by the FSE community? That is a great question to a tool developer - Bryan Klein of Thunderhead Engineering, the company that brought us the most popular FDS pre-processor PyroSim and as popular evacuation model Pathfinder. In this talk, we focus on CFD modelling, and the impact pre-and postprocessing tools had on our capabilities to tackle fire problems with our comput...
038 - Fire resistance is not always enough for timber with Daniel Brandon
February 15, 2022 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MBIt is the third time we talk about mass timber and fire in this show, and I hope every time the message gets even more refined. In this episode, it is clear - fire resistance is not always enough. But why? You will learn that from dr Daniel Brandon from RISE who spent last years researching timber in fire. In this episode, we discuss the limitations of the fire resistance approach in testing timber structures, and also venture beyond it - how does exposed timber change the fire dynamics in a...
038 - Fire resistance is not enough for timber with Daniel Brandon
February 15, 2022 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MBIt is the third time we talk about mass timber and fire in this show, and I hope every time the message gets even more refined. In this episode, it is clear - fire resistance is not enough. But why? You will learn that from dr Daniel Brandon from RISE who spent last years researching timber in fire. In this episode, we discuss the limitations of the fire resistance approach in testing timber structures, and also venture beyond it - how does exposed timber change the fire dynamics in a furnac...
037 - Human behavior misconceptions that lead to (mis)modelling with Enrico Ronchi
February 09, 2022 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MBIf you were investigating phenomena and built your whole narrative around a flawed and debunked concept, would that get published? Would that get cited? Would that be recognized? Many of us would say an obvious *no*, but that is not so obvious when we discuss the human behaviour field of science and the concept of panic (the p-word we do not say!). Even though among top evacuation scientists there seems to be a consensus about why this concept is flawed, every year we see more and more paper...
036 - Researching fire with firefighters - UL FSRI: Steve Kerber and Craig Weinschenk
February 02, 2022 04:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBIn this episode I was really happy to host two amazing researchers from UL FSRI - Dr Steve Kerber, the VP of Underwriter Laboratories and Director of UL Fire Safety Research Institute, and Dr Craig Weinschenk, research engineer and a data wizard. Together we venture into the world of fire research carried together with firefighters, with the critical goal of saving firefighter lives and reducing the damage caused by fire. Join us to learn how the largest full-scale fire experiments are perfo...
036 - Researching fire with firefighters - UL FSRI: Steve Kerber and Craig Weinschenk
February 02, 2022 04:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBIn this episode I was really happy to host two amazing researchers from UL FSRI - Dr Steve Kerber, the VP of Underwriter Laboratories and Director of UL Fire Safety Research Institute, and Dr Craig Weinschenk, research engineer and a data wizard. Together we venture into the world of fire research carried together with firefighters, with the critical goal of saving firefighter lives and reducing the damage caused by fire. Join us to learn how the largest full-scale fire experiments are perfo...
035 - Fire safety as cornerstone of sustainability with Margaret McNamee
January 26, 2022 04:00 - 1 hour - 41.9 MBBuilding a fire-safe future is not an easy task. Including sustainability in that build, is even harder. But how hard is it to include fire safety in the discussion, when sustainability itself is a goal? Does sustainability even exist when fire safety is excluded? I think we have learned the hard way that that is not an option. Yet, so often dangerous innovations are introduced without consulting with fire experts. In this episode, we delve into this important and difficult matter with prof....
034 - Fire safety as a human right, not a privilege with Danielle Antonellis
January 19, 2022 04:00 - 53 minutes - 36.9 MBThere are topics in fire science that gain more attention than others. Timber in fire. Batteries. Facades. They are novel, complex, challenging and yet as engineers, we must handle them in our everyday job. But are they important? If we could create an unbiased measure of *importance* of a subject, would they get on top of the list? I'm sure they wouldn't, but I'm pretty sure the subject of today's episode would rank on the very top of that list. Danielle Antonellis is a founder of a non-pr...
033 - Science, theatre or engineering? Polish take on hot smoke test with Piotr Smardz and Janusz Paliszek
January 12, 2022 04:00 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MBHave you ever heard about the hot smoke testing approach? If you had, there is a great chance you have not heard anything positive about it... From our experience, this method is often downplayed as useless, unrealistic and inconclusive. While to some extent you have to agree with the limitations, in Poland we have found a way how to turn this theatrical tool into a powerhouse of engineering. And this episode is all about this. I have invited two FSE's - Janusz Paliszek and Piotr Smardz of ...
032 - Closing the year with a look back on 2021 and forward to the future!
December 22, 2021 04:00 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBWelcome to the final episode of this year! I hope you all had a great year. For me, it was probably the most challenging, and the most rewarding year of my whole professional career. Join me in this episode recollecting the things that have happened in the show, and bringing back some of my favourite episodes of the show. Check out the topical collections at the podcast website: https://www.firescienceshow.com/ For the next two weeks, I'm on a break with my family, so the next episode wil...
031 - Suppressing tunnel fires with water mist with Johny Jessen
December 15, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBCan water mist be used in tunnels? I wondered that for a long time, and with every tunnel project, many questions around this issue were piling in my head. When dealing with large infrastructure projects you really need to work your way around multiple functional aspects of a system - maintenance, water and power consumption, drainage capacity, availability of elements and their certification... You would love to focus purely on the fire safety aspect of the issue, but you cannot. Unfortuna...
030 - Visibility Prediction Framework with Lukas Arnold
December 08, 2021 04:00 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBIf you ever had anything to do with Fire Safety Engineering, you have most likely touched the visibility in smoke. What's an easier way to explain how bad the conditions are inside of a building than saying how much smoke was there? And what's a better way to define smoke than saying how far can you see? It's brilliant. We have agreed (unwillingly, somewhere in the '60s) that if visibility is kept at a good'ish level of 10 m or more, conditions inside are fine. And we know how to calculate ...
029 -Busses, flammability and an unknown force holding good solutions back... with Anja Hofmann-Böllinghaus
December 01, 2021 04:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBThis is not a fun episode. It starts with a tragedy, that fueled a whole field of research. Continues into disbelief, that one aspect of fire safety can be at the same chosen as the sole foundation of fire safety within a branch of engineering, and at the same time at a pretty low, clearly insufficient level... And then comes the true shocker - solutions exist and we just don't use them. Because of, who knows why. An unknown force... Ok, I have spoiled you a bit, but it is absolutely worth ...
028 - Easy entry into the world of AI in fire with MZ Naser
November 24, 2021 04:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBHave you ever been fascinated by the capabilities of AI? Did you wonder how the heck can an algorithm beat humans in repetitive tasks? Or make multi-level correlations that we would never be able to figure out? I was as well. And I felt the urge to learn more about this technology, in a way to not be left out when everyone plays with their new toys... But at the same time, I felt this feeling of overwhelm and confusion about this technology. What exactly is it, where to start... Then the wal...
027 - Travelling fires with Guillermo Rein
November 17, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 45.3 MBIf you have ever learned about the compartment fire dynamics framework, have tried zone modelling or any kind of fire modelling, you have probably noticed that as the compartments get bigger, the less uniform conditions inside are. At some size, the flashover or a "single-zone" model theories just break, MQH equation does not give a reasonable solution and the fire seems not capable of growing to a huge size... But yet, they destroy buildings. Local fire exposure may be damaging to structura...
026 - Field report from IWMA conference in Warsaw
November 10, 2021 04:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBThanks to the courtesy of the International Water Mist Association I have been invited to the recent conference held in Warsaw. The conference was a two-day event focused on water mist technology. In fact, it was the 20th meeting of this kind, and in a way special, as it was the first at which the new European standard EN 14972-1, which is a cornerstone for the future growth of this technology. You can learn more about the standard here. It was a huge pleasure to participate in the conferen...
025 - Structural fire engineering with engineered timber with Felix Wiesner
November 03, 2021 04:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBIn Episode 18 we have touched on the important topic of fire performance of engineered wood and its wide use in the modern built environment. Today, we follow up on this subject with Dr Felix Wiesner from the University of Queensland. We leave the (important) topic of compartment fire dynamics and focus on what happens inside the wood in the fire. And there is much more going on than I have initially thought... The transport of moisture, weakening bonds at the glue line and connections, co...
024 - Who's a Fire Safety Engineer with Jimmy Jönsson
October 27, 2021 03:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBWho is a Fire Safety Engineer? And when do you become one? How do you know the person on the other side of the table at the project meeting has the necessary competencies to judge fire safety solutions of a building you design? That is a problem with (a) the definition of the profession and (b) the definition of the core competencies related to the profession. And both of these issues are close to the heart of my guest, Jimmy Jönsson, Director at JVVA in Spain and a member of SFPE Board of ...
023 - Risk assessment with Maximum Allowable Damage with Jaime Cadena Gomez and David Lange
October 20, 2021 03:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBRisk as a concept is well established in modern Performance-Based Design in Fire Safety Engineering. However, it comes in many flavours - from a simple calculation of consequences vs probability, through indexing methods and using some arbitrary measures (number of fatalities, cost of damage etc.). Most of these methods focus on the value or threshold of the risk... while my today's guests seem to focus much more on the process itself. Today I'm happy to host Dr Jaime Cadena Gomez (UQ, Tran...
022 - Combustion, fluid mechanics and fire safety engineering with Michael Gollner
October 13, 2021 00:00 - 54 minutes - 37.5 MBhttps://firelab.berkeley.edu/ this is the place you need to go! Ignition at different slope angles. Firebrand spotting. Fire whirls. What does connect these various fire phenomena? They are all driven by fluid dynamics and can happen only in very particular flow conditions. To define and understand these conditions... well that is a bit longer story that I will unravel with Prof. Michael J. Gollner of the University of California, Berkeley. In Episode 14 we have gone on a journey through s...
021 - Resilient design for firefighter safety with Ali Ashrafi
October 05, 2021 20:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBIt is hard for us, fire safety engineers, to talk to firefighters on how to do their job... Probably we even shouldn't, as we have no idea how it is to truly go there into the heat and battle fire to save lives. But it does not mean we should not care. Firefighters are important actors in the fire safe world, and we cannot design buildings as if they were not. In the end, the probability of you being in a fire is fairly low, while for a firefighter this P = 1. Our decisions shape the buildin...
020 - Fire Safety Engineering as a socio-technical system with Brian Meacham
September 29, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 50.3 MBDo you sometimes feel that fire safety engineering is not making a footprint as it should? With all our knowledge, models, technology...why do huge fires exist? Why fire is such a threat to billions of humans? In today's episode, I'm hosting a guest who spent three decades researching what performance-based fire safety engineering is, and what it could be. And I'm not completely sure if I like the answers I got from this talk. However, based on my experience of 17 interviews with world-class...
019 - Modelling human behaviour in wildfire evacuation with Erica Kuligowski
September 21, 2021 21:00 - 57 minutes - 39.8 MBThere is plenty of fire engineers who think they are modelling human behaviour... Some claim they can do it... And there is very, very few who actually did and succeeded with it. One of them is today's guest, Dr Erica Kuligowski of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. After two decades of groundbreaking research at NIST, Erica has moved to Australia to seek new challenges related primarily to the mass evacuation of people during bushfire events. She presents her unique views on modellin...
018 - Engineered timber with Danny Hopkin
September 15, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 41.9 MBEngineered timber is on a trajectory to become the construction material of the future. However, on that pathway there stands the fire issue. Wood burns, it is inevitable. This is something we must accept, and learn to work around. Common approach – determination of a char profile and the “healthy” section has its limitations, especially when applied to CLT products in which one could expect the glue line failure. And all of this is the topic of my todays discussion with Dr Danny Hopkin of O...
017 - Pyrolife - from fire resistance to fire resilience with Cathelijne Stoof
September 08, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBWhen you think about battling wildfires, what is the image you see in front of your eyes? Probably an air tanker (at least that was what I saw...). After this interview, your optics will change about 180 degrees. Dr Cathelijne Stoof explained to me why strategies focused ultimately on fire resistance and suppression are deemed to fail, and why we need to learn to manage the risks in our forests. Through a combination of landscape management, efficient ground firefighting, aerial support and ...
016 - The future of evacuation modelling with Enrico Ronchi and Ruggiero Lovreglio
September 01, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 51.1 MBEvacuation modelling is paramount in accounting for the human aspect in our fire modelling. But how is it developing? Where are we with our tools, and where are we heading with them? What are the most profound challenges related to the evacuation modelling? To answer these questions I have invited two renowned experts on evacuation modelling. Professor Enrico Ronchi from Lund University in Sweden and Professor Ruggiero 'Rino' Lovreglio from Massey University in New Zealand. Together we tr...
015 - Global view on the fire safety from a starchitect perpective with Benjamin Ralph
August 25, 2021 04:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBHave you ever wondered who truly has the most power over the fire safety of a building? In my opinion, the answer is very simple - the Architect. This is due to two reasons. First is that the architect can affect the building shape, size, compartmentation, location of the openings in the building - things that are fundamental to the compartment fire dynamics. The second reason is that they make the decisions at the most infant stage of the building construction. When everything is reversible...
014 - A joyrney through the scales of fire phenomena with Sara McAllister
August 18, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 42.3 MBHave you ever wondered how is a fire of a match or candle different from a wildfire? Or maybe rather, why is it different? What is it, that makes the fires at different scales behave in such a different manner? What are the phenomena that drive these fires, and are these the same phenomena across the scales? These are the questions I had in mind when starting the interview with a rising star of Wildfire Science – Dr Sara McAllister of the USDA Forest Service. Together with Sara we go int...
013 - On the use and abuse of CFD in fire engineering with Wolfram Jahn
August 11, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBWe are living in a kind of weird time, where the most complex tool we have is at the same time the most commonly used (and abused one). The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling has brought us amazing capabilities in solving the flows within fires. But this power comes at a price - knowledge, resources, time... Sometimes we lack some of these (or all) and we turn the power tool into a generator of beautiful images that are hardly any representation of the physics of the fire... In th...
012 - Science, Industry, Legislators. How do we make them work together on a fire safe world? - Kees Both
August 04, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 51.2 MBIn this episode, I had the pleasure and privilege to host dr Kees Both, the Technical Manager of Standards & Regulations in Etexgroup. Kees wanted to become a suspension bridge engineer, but his route went through a fire lab, and as he said - once you go into a fire lab, there is no way out. From a scientist, he has "evolved" into a research manager, project manager and someone, who has a significant impact on the shape of the standards and legislation in Europe. Kees is also the former Pre...