Arup's "Guide for Fire Safe Design of Mass Timber Buildings" offers comprehensive guidelines for ensuring the消防安全 of structures built with mass timber. The document outlines the necessity of such a guide given the increasing use of mass timber in construction, aiming to provide a structured approach to fire safety design. It covers the objectives related to evacuation, fire containment, structural integrity, and fire spread prevention.
Key aspects of the guide include:
- Glossary: Definitions of specialized terms relevant to mass timber construction and fire safety.
- Fire Safe Design Principles: Focuses on achieving fire safety goals such as safe evacuation, controlling fire growth, ensuring adequate structural fire resistance, limiting fire spread beyond the fire compartment, and supporting firefighting access.
- Design Guidance: Offers strategies for different types of occupancy and building uses, emphasizing a risk-based methodology.
- Worked Examples: Provides detailed case studies for office buildings and apartment blocks, illustrating the application of the design principles.
- Background and Goals: Discusses the rationale behind the guide and its coverage of essential fire safety elements for mass timber buildings.
- Experimental Data: Summarizes findings from large-scale compartment experiments conducted by Arup, highlighting critical insights into the behavior of mass timber under fire conditions.
The guide is designed to be accessible to a wide range of professionals involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of mass timber buildings. It serves as a resource for understanding the unique challenges and opportunities presented by mass timber in fire safety, providing a structured approach to ensure compliance with safety standards while leveraging the benefits of sustainable and efficient mass timber construction.
