High Fidelity Multi-Dimensional Fire Modeling and Simulation for Composite Structure Response

The overall goal of this effort is to quantify the system-level response of structure/shelters to fires. Proposed is a physics-based, multi-dimensional simulation software to quantify the system-level response during fires and to reduce the amount of full-system experimental testing required to ensure personnel safety. An existing REI-developed user interface designed to offer a full suite of tools to facilitate the process of performing fire simulation studies will be expanded and enhanced. A computational framework, jointly developed by REI and UB for over 10 years, will be utilized to perform the fire modeling. The framework is uniquely positioned to address the stated problem and fully capture the required physics of conjugate heat & mass transfer, accurate & fast combustion chemistry, response of composite materials, and complex geometry to accurately predict the time dependent flame propagation, heat release, smoke generation, etc. The proposed Phase I work effort will set the stage for a more advanced fire modeling and simulation software package, where the final deliverable from this proposed SBIR effort will be a state-of-the-art multi-dimensional framework specifically targeted to enhance the modeling and simulation of fire scenarios involving military shelters.