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Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241

The 5th Conference on Performance-based Fire and Fire Protection Engineering

Estimation of Fire Detection Time

LI Qianga,b,*
a
Department of Fire Protection Engineering, Chinese People’s Armed Police Forced Academy, Langfang 065000, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China

Abstract

Estimating the fire detection time is one of the important contents of performance-based fire protection design, which can be used
to compute required safety egress time (RSET) and to determine the time of aerosol extractors start-up. In spite of that, the
computing methods of fire detection time do not exist in current codes of China. Engineers often set a fixed fire detection time
depend on their experience. In this thesis, a review is present demonstrating the detection time estimation methods of fire
detectors, include fixed temperature heat detectors, rate of rise temperature heat detectors, light-scattering type smoke detectors,
ionization-type smoke detectors, beam unit smoke detectors and radiant energy fire detectors.

© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Keywords: performance-based fire protection design; fire detector; fire detection time;

Nomenclature

A surface area of the detector’s element, m2

c detector element’s specific heat, kJ/(kgć)
cp specific heat of air, kJ/(kgć)
d distance between the fire and the detector, m
Dm mass optical density, m2/g
H ceiling height or height above fire, m
Hc convective heat transfer coefficient for the detector, kW/(m2ć)
g gravitational constant, 9.18m/s

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+86-316-206-8513; fax: +86-316-206-8513.

E-mail address: sterops@mail.ustc.edu.cn .

1877–7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.04.652
234 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241

m mass, g
m s smoke fraction per unit time, kg/(kg s)
Ta ambient temperature, ć
Td temperature rating, or set point, of the detector, ć
Tg temperature of fire gases at the detector, ć
OD the optical density per meter, m-1

Q heat release rate, kW

Q ′′ heat release rate per unit area, kW/m2

Q conv convective heat transfer, kW

Q total total heat transfer to a detector, kW

r radial distance from fire plume axis, m
RTI the response time index, m1/2s1/2
S radiant power reaching the detector, W
t time, s
u velocity of fire gases, m/s
*
up dimensionless fire gases velocity
Į power law fire growth coefficient, kW/sn
ǻH heat of combustion, kJ/g
ǻT increase above ambient in temperature of gas surrounding a detector (=T g -T a ), ć
*
ǻT p dimensionless smoke temperature
ȗ extinction coefficient of air at detector operating wavelengths
ț proportionality constant for the detector
ȡ density of ambient air, kg/m3
IJ detector time constant, s
 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241 235

1. Introduction

On the basis of fire safety engineering, performance-based fire protection design is a new way for building fire
safety design [1]. Estimating the fire detection time is one of the important contents for performance-based fire
protection design, which can be used to compute required safety egress time (RSET) and to determine the time of
aerosol extractors start-up. In spite of that, the compute methods of fire detection time do not exist in current codes
of China. Engineers often set a fixed fire detection time depend on their experience. The fixed detection time is lack
necessary theoretical support and also reduces the credibility of performance-based fire safety design. Consequently,
it is necessary to give the way to estimate the fire detection time. This paper addresses the methods to calculate the
fire detection time.

2. Fire detectors

A key aspect of fire protection is to identify a developing fire emergency in a timely manner, and to alert the
building's occupants and fire emergency organizations. This is the role of fire detectors, which are often used in
buildings, such as heat-sensing fire detectors, smoke-sensing fire detectors, radiant energy-sensing fire detectors,
and so on.

2.1. Heat-sensing fire detectors

Heat-sensing detectors are designed to respond when the ambient temperature or rate-of-rise of temperature
exceeds a predetermined value [2]. Heat-sensing detectors are not effective early-warning devices because they must
be very close to a fire to be set off. However, they are useful in places where smoke detectors have a high rate of
nuisance alarms, such as a kitchen. They are also useful in areas of the home where smoke detectors cannot function
effectively because it is too hot or cold.
Rate-of-rise (ROR) heat-sensing detectors react to the sudden change or rise in ambient temperature from a
normal baseline condition [3]. Any sudden temperature increase that matches the predetermined alarm criteria will
cause an alarm. This type of heat detector can react to a lower threshold condition than would be possible if the
threshold were fixed. A typical alarm may sound when the rate of temperature rise exceeds 6.7ć to 8.3ć per
minute. Fixed temperature heat detectors react when the ambient temperature reaches a fixed point [3]. The most
common fixed temperature point is 58ć. Recent technological developments have enabled the perfection of
detectors that activate at a temperature of 47ć, providing increased time to escape.

2.2. Smoke-sensing fire detectors

Smoke detectors are designed to identify a fire while in its smoldering or early flame stages. The most common
smoke detectors are spot type units, such as ionization smoke detector and scattering smoke detector, which are
placed along ceilings or high on walls in a manner similar to spot thermal units [4]. They operate on either an
ionization or photoelectric principle, with each type having advantages in different applications. For large open
spaces such as galleries and atria, a frequently used smoke detector is a projected beam unit [4]. This detector
consists of two components, a light transmitter and a receiver, that are mounted at some distance apart. As smoke
migrates between the two components, the transmitted light beam becomes obstructed and the receiver is no longer
able to see the full beam intensity. This is interpreted as a smoke condition, and the alarm activation signal is
transmitted to the fire alarm panel.
An air-sampling smoke detector is capable of detecting microscopic particles of smoke [5]. Air samples are
drawn through a network of small-bore pipes and past a sensitive optical device, often a solid-state laser, tuned to
detect the extremely small particles of combustion. Most air-sampling smoke detection systems are capable of a
higher sensitivity than spot type smoke detectors. This provides earlier notification of a developing fire allowing
manual intervention or activation of automatic suppression systems before a fire has developed beyond the
smoldering stage, thereby increasing the time available for evacuation and minimizing fire damage.

2.3. Radiant energy-sensing fire detectors

236 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241

Radiant energy-sensing fire detectors are line of sight devices that operate on either an infrared, ultraviolet or
combination principle [4]. As radiant energy in the approximate 4,000 to 7,700 angstroms range occurs, as
indicative of a flaming condition, their sensing equipment recognizes the fire signature and sends a signal to the fire
alarm panel.
The advantage of flame detection is that it is extremely reliable in a hostile environment. They are usually used in
high value energy and transportation applications where other detectors would be subject to spurious activation.
Common uses include locomotive and aircraft maintenance facilities, refineries and fuel loading platforms, and
mines.

3. Method of fire detection time

In this section, we address 6 calculation methods of fire detection time, which are recommended by NFPA 72 [6].

3.1. Method for estimating the detection time of heat fire detectors

Detection typically occurs during the initial stages of a fire, so we can neglect the radiant heat transfer. On the
other hand, the heat-sensing elements of most of the heat detectors are thermally isolated from the rest of the
detection unit, as well as from the ceiling, so we can assume that the conductive portion of the heat release rate can
be considered negligible, especially when compared to the convective heat transfer rate. Because the majority of the
heat transfer to the detection element is via convection, the total heat transfer on the detectors can be written as:

Q total = Q conv = H c A (Tg − Td ) (1)

For a mass (m) of the detection element, the change in temperature over time can be expressed as follows:

dTd H c A (Tg − Td )
= (2)
dt mc

The use of a time constant (IJ) was proposed by Heskestad and Smith [7] in order to define the convective heat
transfer to a specific detector’s heat-sensing element. This time constant is a function of the mass, specific heat,
convective heat transfer coefficient, and area of the element and can be expressed as follows:

τ = mc ( H c A ) (3)

Literature [8] shown that the convective heat transfer coefficient for heat detection elements is similar to that of
spheres, cylinders, and so forth, and is thus approximately proportional to the square root of the velocity of the gases
passing the detector. As the mass, thermal capacity and area of the detection element remain constant, the following
relationship can be expressed as the response time index (RTI) for an individual detector:

RTI = τ u1/ 2 (4)

 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241 237

Substituted Eqs.(3) and (4) into Eq.(2), the following equation can therefore be used to calculate the heat transfer
to the detection element and thus determine its temperature from its local fire-induced environment:

dTd u
=
1/ 2
(T g − Td )
(5)
dt RTI

On the assumption that fires grow according to the following power law relationship:

Q = α t n (6)

Relationships have been developed by Heskestad and Delichatsios [9] for temperature and velocity of fire gases
in a ceiling jet. These have been expressed as follows [10]:

u § r ·
u *p = 1/ ( 3 + p ) 1/ ( 3 + p ) ( p −1) / ( 3 + p )
= f ¨ t *p , ¸ (7)
A u H © H¹

ΔT § r ·
ΔTp* = 2/ ( 3 + p )
= g ¨ t *p , ¸ (8)
A (Ta / g ) α 2/ ( 3 + p )
H − ( 5− p ) / ( 3+ p )
© H¹

where
t
t *p = (9)
A −1/ (3 + p )
α −1/ (3 + p )
H 4/ (3+ p )
A = g ( c pTa ρ ) (10)

Using the preceding correlations, Heskestad and Delichatsios [11], and with later updates from another paper by
Heskestad [12], the following correlations were presented for fires that had heat release rates that grew according to
the power law equation, with p = 2. These fires are therefore referred to as t-squared fires.

­ 0 t2* ≤ t2* f
°
° 4/3
ΔT2* = ®§ t2* − t2* f · (11)
°¨¨ ¸¸ t2* > t2* f
°¯© D ¹

u2* ­°3.87 / ( 9.115 )1/ 2 r / H ≤ 0.3

=® (12)
( ΔT ) 2
* 1/ 2
°̄0.59 ( r / H )
−0.63
r / H > 0.3

where
t2* = A1/5α 1/5 H −4/5t (13)

t2* f = 0.861(1 + r / H ) (14)

D = 0.146 + 0.242r / H (15)

238 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241

Substituting Eqs.(11)-(15) into Eq.(5) and integrated, Beyler[13] given the solution for the preceding temperature
of thermosensitive element:

§ 4 · § ΔT ·
* ¸(
ΔT2* ) (1 − e −Y )
1/ 4
¨ ¸¨
dTd ( t ) © 3 ¹ © ΔT2 ¹
= (16)
dt (t / t ) D
*
2

§ ΔT · * ª1 − (1 − e ) º
−Y

Td ( t ) = Td ( 0 ) + ¨ * ¸
ΔT2
« » (17)
© ΔT2 ¹ «¬ Y »¼

where
1/ 2
1/ 2 ª º
3§ u · « u2 »
*
§ ΔT2* · § t ·
Y= ¨ *¸ ¨ ¸¨ * ¸ D (18)
4 © u2 ¹ « ( ΔT * )1/ 2 » © RTI ¹ © t2 ¹
¬ 2 ¼

Consequently, we can estimate the detection time of rate-of-rise heat fire detectors by Eq.(16). Similarly,
rearrange and integrate Eq.(17), the detection time estimation method of fixed temperature heat fire detectors is
presented.

3.2. Methods for estimating the detection time of smoke fire detectors

3.2.1 Optical density versus temperature rise method

Work by Evans and Stroup [14] on a large, flat ceiling compartment, the ratio of temperature rise in a fire driven
flow to smoke concentration can be expressed as follows:

OD ΔT = 3330 ρ c p m s Q ′′ (19)

So, the temperatures rise to response of a smoke detector for many materials are list in Table 1.

Table 1. Temperature rise for spot type smoke detector response [6]
 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241 239

Material Ionization-Temperature Rise (ć) Scattering-Temperature Rise (ć)

Wood 13.9 41.7
Cotton 1.7 27.8
Polyurethane 7.2 7.2
PVC 7.2 7.2
Average 7.8 21.1

Identifying the fires grow processing, then the fire detection time can be estimated using Eq.(8).
3.2.2 Mass optical density method
This method can be used to estimate the fire detection time of beam type smoke detectors. Modeling the smoke
layer as a cylindrical volume centered about the fire plume having a depth (h) equivalent to the ceiling jet thickness
or some multiple of it. Therefore, by the optical density in the room produced by the burning material can be
calculated from the following equation [15]:

OD = Dm m (π r 2 h ) (20)

In the case of the smoke detectors respond at an optical density of D A , we can write the relation:

m = DAπ r 2 h / Dm (21)

Since Q(t) = mǻH c and Q(t) = (Įt3)/3, we can write the relation:

m = α t 3 ( 3ΔH ) (22)

Substituted Eq.(22) into Eq.(21) and integrated, formula is obtained for estimating the fire detection time.

1/3
t = ª¬3DAπ r 2 hΔH c / (α Dm ) º¼ (23)

3.2.3 Critical velocity method

Research by Brozovski [16] shows that a minimum critical velocity is necessary before smoke can enter the
sensing chamber of the smoke detector. This method assumes that, if the critical velocity has been attained,
sufficient smoke concentration is in the ceiling jet gas flow to produce an alarm signal. Brozovski [16] suggests that
the critical flow velocity at the detector is approximately equal 0.15 m/s. In the UL smoke box test, the velocity is
0.152 m/s.
Ceiling jet velocity correlations exist for steady-state fires, not t-square fires. However, a t-square fire can be
modeled as a succession of steady-state fires for slow and medium growth rate fires. So, the flow velocity at a
certain distance between the fire plume centerline and the detector expressed by Eq.(7) change as

u = u2* A1/5α 1/5 H 1/5 (24)

240 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241

For t 2 *•t 2f *, which means the smoke reached ceiling, and began spread under the ceiling. Substituted Eqs.(11)-
(15) into Eq.(24) yields

­ ª 1/5 1/5 H 1/5t − 0.861( H + r ) º

2/3
1/5 A α
°3.87 / ( 9.115 ) A α H «
1/ 2 1/5 1/5
» r / H ≤ 0.3
°° ¬« 0.146 H + 0.242r ¼»
u=® 2/3
(25)
° ª 1/5 1/5 H 1/5t − 0.861( H + r ) º
1/5 A α
°0.59 ( r / H )
−0.63
A α H «
1/5 1/5
» r / H > 0.3
¯° ¬« 0.146 H + 0.242r ¼»

and thus, the fire detection time can be expressed as:

­ ( 9.115 )3/ 4 uc3/ 2 ( 0.146 H + 0.242r ) 0.861( H + r )

° + r / H ≤ 0.3
( 3.87 ) ( Aα H ) ( Aα H )
3/ 2 1/ 2 1/5
°
t=® (26)
3/ 2 0.945
° uc (r / H ) (0.146 H + 0.242r ) 0.861( H + r )
° + r / H ≤ 0.3
0.593/ 2 ( Aα H ) ( Aα H )
1/ 2 1/5
¯
for a certain critical flow velocity, u c .

3.3. Method for estimating the detection time of radiant energy -sensing fire detectors

Work by Robert [10], the response of flame detectors as shown in the following equation:

S = κ Pe−ζ d d 2 (27)

Determine the minimum anticipated flame area width. Where flammable or combustible liquids are the fuel load
and are unconfined, model the fuel as a circular pool. Compute the radiating area (A r ) using the following equation:

Ar = 0.5h f w f (28)
 2/5
where w f is flame width, m; h f is flame height ( = 0.182(kQ ) ), m; k is wall effect factor (no nearby walls, k=1;
fuel package is near a wall, k=2; fuel package is in a corner, k=4).

The radiant power output of the fire to the detector (P) can be approximated as being proportional to the radiating
area of the flame:

P = ca Ar (29)
where c a is power per unit area proportionality constant.

For t-square fire, the fire detection time is then estimated as:

5/ 4
ª 0.364Sd 2 eζ d º
t=« » (30)
«¬ κ cW f ( kα ) »¼
2/5
 LI Qiang / Procedia Engineering 11 (2011) 233–241 241

4. Summary

Estimate a reasonable fire detection time is not only the condition of performance-based safety evacuation design,
but also the basis of aerosol extractors start-up time determine for numerical simulation. In view of fire position
environmental characteristics and fire detector characteristics, it is able to utilize fire dynamics models to estimate
fire detection time. Fire detector methods today have been comparatively mature through long-term research and
practice. Several special application computer models, such as Argos, DETACT-QS, DETACT-T2, LAVENT, JET,
and so on, are available to assist in the design.

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