Measurement & Computation of Fire Phenomena (MaCFP Working Group)

Background and Motivation

Background and Motivation

The general objective of the “IAFSS Working Group on Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena” (abbreviated as the “MaCFP Working Group”) is to establish a structured effort in the fire research community to make significant and systematic progress in fire modeling, based on a fundamental understanding of fire phenomena. This is to be achieved as a joint effort between experimentalists and modelers, identifying key research topics of interest as well as knowledge gaps, and thereby establishing a common framework for fire modeling research. The MaCFP Working Group is intended as an open, community-wide, international collaboration between fire scientists. It is also intended to be a regular series of workshops. The first MaCFP workshop was held (in person) on June 10–11 2017 as a pre-event to the 12th IAFSS Symposium in Lund, Sweden; the second MaCFP workshop was held (online) on April 22-23 2021, as a pre-event to the 13th IAFSS Symposium. Details on the content and outcomes of the first and second MaCFP workshops are presented below (see the sections entitled “First MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-1)” and “Second MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-2)”). The MaCFP Working Group is endorsed and supported by the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS, http://www.iafss.org).

The MaCFP initiative was started following discussions that took place in February 2014 at the 11th IAFSS Symposium (http://www.iafss.org/symposium/11th-symposium/), in particular during a pre-Symposium workshop entitled “Benchmarking/Data Sharing” with the participation of Prof. Assaad Masri (University of Sydney, Australia, and co-founding member of the TNF Workshop) as guest speaker. These discussions led to the formation of a Task Group of fire researchers (both modelers and experimentalists) on the topic of the experimental validation of CFD-based fire models. The Task Group produced a white paper (click here) and subsequently received the endorsement of IAFSS in March 2015. This was followed by a planning meeting in May 2015 during which a list of target experimental databases was produced, deemed suitable for validation of fire models. This list brought structure and focus to the MaCFP effort and essentially defined the bulk of the program of the first MaCFP workshop.

Objectives

Objectives

The central objective of the MaCFP Working Group is to develop a fundamental understanding of fire phenomena and to advance predictive fire modeling. The strategy is based on the study of elementary academic problems and a gradual move towards complexity and realism by following a building block approach to model development. The new MaCFP workshop series is intended to be complementary to both the existing Verification and Validation guides developed in support of the FDS fire modeling software (https://pages.nist.gov/fds-smv/) and the FM Global Open Source Fire Modeling Workshop series (https://fmgloballaunchpad.spigit.com/firemodelingworkshop/).

The specific objectives of the MaCFP Working Group are to:

  • Develop a digital archive of well-documented fire experiments that can be used as targets for CFD model validation;
  • Develop a digital archive of well-documented CFD-based numerical simulations corresponding to the selected target experiments;
  • Develop protocols for detailed comparisons between computational results and experimental measurements;
  • Identify key research topics and knowledge gaps in computational and experimental fire research;
  • Develop best practices in both computational and experimental fire research (including quality control and quantification of uncertainties);
  • Establish a network between fire researchers and provide a community-wide forum for discussion and exchange of information.

The initial list of target experiments identified by the MaCFP Working Group includes five categories:

  • Category 1: Turbulent buoyant plumes;
  • Category 2: Turbulent pool fires with gaseous fuel;
  • Category 3: Turbulent pool fires with liquid fuel;
  • Category 4: Turbulent wall fires;
  • Category 5: Flame extinction.

These target experiments correspond to basic configurations (building blocks) with carefully-controlled conditions and quality instrumentation and diagnostics. They also correspond to available open databases. This list will be enhanced as the MaCFP Working Group makes progress and moves towards greater complexity and realism.

MaCFP Repository

MaCFP Repository

The MaCFP repository is hosted on GitHub (https://github.com/MaCFP). The repository contains:

  • A description of each selected target experiment (organized according to the categories (1)-(5) mentioned above), including a description of the experimental configuration and a description of measured quantities and measurement uncertainties (if known);
  • An electronic copy of experimental data organized in simple comma-delimited ASCII files;
  • An electronic copy of computational results submitted by the different modeling groups that participated to the MaCFP-1 and MaCFP-2 workshops, also organized in simple comma-delimited ASCII files;
  • Protocols to perform comparisons between experimental data and simulation results based on (provided) MATLAB- or Python-based post-processing tools.

The repository was created and is managed by Dr. Randy McDermott (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA).

Condensed Phase Phenomena Subgroup

Condensed Phase Phenomena Subgroup

Historically, the fire modeling community has organized into two distinct groups:  those who study combustion and heat transport in the gas phase, and those who study thermal decomposition and pyrolysis in the condensed phase. The early discussions of the MaCFP Working Group have focused on gas phase phenomena, but quantitatively predicting fire growth requires coupled modeling and simulation of both gas and condensed phase processes. Following discussions that took place in April of 2016, it was proposed that the MaCFP be expanded to include a subgroup dedicated to the predictive modeling of condensed phase phenomena. A committee was formed to produce a white paper and organize a planning meeting during the first MaCFP workshop. The purpose of the Condensed Phase Phenomena subgroup is to facilitate data sharing and model development to improve computational predictions of thermal decomposition and pyrolysis in fire scenarios. Specific objectives of the subgroup are to:

  • Develop standard data set formats for experimental data on pyrolysis;
  • Develop requirements for data set quality and establishing a data review committee;
  • Incorporate compliant data into the existing MaCFP data repository;
  • Create a database of pyrolysis property sets;
  • Develop minimum requirements for numerical pyrolysis models;
  • Organize a pyrolysis modeling discussion group.

First MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-1, June 2017)

First MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-1, June 2017)

The first MaCFP workshop was held (in person) June 10–11 2017 as a pre-event to the 12th IAFSS Symposium. The workshop included a general discussion on the MaCFP effort as well as presentations of a first suite of experimental-computational comparisons corresponding to the initial list of target experiments. The workshop was structured into two sessions: a session organized by the “gas phase subgroup” of the MaCFP Working Group and focused on CFD model validation (June 10), and a session organized by the “condensed phase subgroup” and focused on a review of the main issues associated with pyrolysis measurements and modeling for fire applications (June 11). The workshop served as a first technical meeting for the gas phase subgroup and a planning meeting for the condensed phase subgroup. The program of the workshop as well as copies of the presentations can be found at First MaCFP Workshop – International Association for Fire Safety Science (iafss.org) and https://github.com/MaCFP/macfp-db/releases/tag/macfp-1.0 ; the proceedings that report on the content and main outcomes of the workshop were published in the Fire Safety Journal and can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379711218301814.

Second MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-2, April 2021)

Second MaCFP Workshop (MaCFP-2, April 2021)

The second MaCFP workshop was held (online) on April 22-23 2021 as a pre-event to the 13th IAFSS Symposium. The workshop included presentations of a suite of experimental-computational comparisons corresponding to Cases 1, 3 and 5 from the current list of target experiments (corresponding to a Helium plume experiment, three methanol pool fire experiments, and an ethylene-oxygen-nitrogen buoyant diffusion flame experiment). The workshop was structured into two sessions: a session organized by the “gas phase subgroup” of the MaCFP Working Group and focused on CFD model validation (April 22), and a session organized by the “condensed phase subgroup” and focused on pyrolysis measurements and modeling for fire applications (April 23). The program of the workshop as well as copies of the presentations can be found at https://github.com/MaCFP/macfp-db/releases/tag/macfp-2.0; the proceedings that report on the content and main outcomes of the workshop will be published soon.

Members of the MaCFP Working Group

Members of the MaCFP Working Group

The organizing committee of the Gas Phase Phenomena Subgroup is composed of:

  • Alexander Brown (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)
  • Andres Fuentes (Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile)
  • Michael Gollner (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
  • Anthony Hamins (National Institute of Standars and Technology, USA)
  • John Hewson (Sandia National Laboratories, USA)
  • Naian Liu (University of Science and Technology of China, China)
  • Randy McDermott (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA)
  • Bart Merci (Co-Chair) (Ghent University, Belgium)
  • Arnaud Trouvé (Co-Chair) (University of Maryland, USA)
  • Yi Wang (FM Global, USA)
  • Beth Weckman (University of Waterloo, Canada)

The organizing committee of the Condensed Phase Phenomena subgroup is composed of:

  • Benjamin Batiot (University of Poitiers, France)
  • Morgan Bruns (Virginia Military Institute, USA)
  • Simo Hostikka (Aalto University, Finland)
  • Isaac Leventon (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA)
  • Yuji Nakamura (Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan)
  • Pedro Reszka (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile)
  • Thomas Rogaume (University of Poitiers, France)
  • Stanislav Stoliarov (University of Maryland, USA)

The target audience of the MaCFP Working Group is the experimental and computational fire research community. The workshops are fully open and participation is encouraged through proper advertisement, for instance by communicating in reputable outlets like the IAFSS Newsletter, Fire Safety Journal and Fire Technology.

Call for Participation

Call for Participation

The MaCFP Working Group is inviting the members of the entire fire research community to participate in the planning of the third workshop (MaCFP-3). The third MaCFP workshop will be held in October 2023 as a pre-event to the 14th IAFSS Symposium in Tsukuba, Japan. Suggestions on the selection of new target experiments for MaCFP-3 and/or suggestions on possible extensions of the domain of activities of MaCFP are welcome anytime.

Contact Information

Contact Information

For more information and/or to take a first step to get involved, please contact one of the IAFSS MaCFP Working Group Co-Chairs:

Additional Information

Additional Information

Initial MaCFP white paper (August 2014): click here

Call for Participation in the second MaCFP workshop, published in Fire Safety Journal (Click Here) and Fire Technology (Click Here).

MaCFP repository on GitHub: https://github.com/MaCFP

Information on MaCFP-1: Program and Presentations (First MaCFP Workshop – International Association for Fire Safety Science (iafss.org) and https://github.com/MaCFP/macfp-db/releases/tag/macfp-1.0); Proceedings (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379711218301814).

Information on MaCFP-2: Program and Presentations (https://github.com/MaCFP/macfp-db/releases/tag/macfp-2.0).

How to Join

  • Become working group members
    Please sign up for this working group – sign up here. Subgroup leaders will contact you for the activity. We look forward to working with you.
  • Join the workshop
    Just show up at any of our workshop and give us your feedback on our presentations. Any feedback is appreciated. You may join working group later!

Contact information

If you have any questions or comments, please contact leaders!