TY - JOUR A1 - Geoerg, Paul A1 - Schumann, Jette A1 - Holl, Stefan A1 - Holl, Maik A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja T1 - The influence of individual impairments in crowd dynamics N2 - The importance of empirical relations to quantify the movement of pedestrians through a facility has increased during the last decades since performance-based design methods became more common. Bottlenecks are of special interest because of their importance for egress routes and as they result in a reduced capacity. The empirical relations as the density-dependent movement speed or flow rate were derived by studies under laboratory conditions, which were usually conducted with populations of homogeneous characteristics forbetter control of influencing variables. If individual characteristics of a crowd become more heterogeneous, individuals were forced to adapt their individual movement and control individual manoeuvring. These unintended interactions lead to a different shape of the fundamental empirical relations. Here, we present results from a movement study under well-controlled boundary conditions in which participants with and without different characteristics of disabilities participated. To consider the effect of different heterogeneities on the capacity of a facility, fundamental diagrams are generated using the Voronoi method. If participants with visible disabilities (such as using assistive devices) are part of a crowd, significant differences relating to the shape of the empirical Relations and the capacities are found. This indicates that the heterogeneity of a Population leads to an increased interpersonal interaction which results in influenced movement characteristics. KW - Engineering egress data KW - Heterogeneity KW - Human behaviour KW - Movement characteristics KW - Pedestrian dynamics PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-508943 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.2789 SN - 0308-0501 VL - 45 IS - 4 SP - 529 EP - 542 PB - Wiley Online Libary CY - New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-50894 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nandish, Ranjith A1 - Knaust, Christian A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Gnutzmann, Tanja A1 - Zehfuß, Jochen T1 - Simulation of wood pyrolysis with component-based mechanism N2 - This paper presents a comprehensive fire simulation study that models the pyrolysis process of beech wood using kinetic parameters with the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The kinetic methodology is based on the application of these kinetic parameters to govern the underlying pyrolysis reactions. The primary objective was to numerically model the pyrolysis process for beech wood using both single-component (single-step, single reaction scheme) and multi-component (single-step, multi-reaction scheme) kinetic reaction schemes. The accuracy of the numerical model was validated by comparing FDS simulation results with experimental data obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and cone calorimeter tests. This approach aids in identifying reliable kinetic reaction input parameters for modelling wood fires. A case study was included to demonstrate the implementation of the kinetic reaction schemes. Numerical results from the TGA simulations for the small-scale pure cellulose test using the single-component approach exhibit consistency with the experimental data. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the multi-component approach more accurately replicates the shape of the experimental curve for beech wood compared to the single-component approach. However, discrepancies in the tail regions of the curves obtained from the FDS simulations showed the need for further improvement in the modelling approach, particularly regarding the exclusion of char oxidation reactions, which needs to be investigated further. KW - Simulation KW - Wood PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639272 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-025-03571-7 SN - 0947-7411 VL - 61 IS - 6 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-63927 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Piechnik, Kira A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Klippel, Andrea T1 - Self‐ignition of forest soil samples demonstrated through hot storage tests N2 - AbstractThe increasing threat of forest fires on a global scale is not only a matter of concern due to the potential harm they may cause to both human and animal life but also due to their significant role in exacerbating climate change. In light of these circumstances, one might inquire as to whether forest soil can self‐ignite and, if so, under what conditions and at what temperatures this phenomenon may occur. This question is being addressed in the German pilot “Fire science of wildfires and safety measures” of the EU project TREEADS, and the first results are presented below. The importance of basic research into the self‐ignition of forest soil cannot be underestimated, as it provides crucial knowledge to prevent forest fires and protect human and animal health. Furthermore, mitigating the occurrence of forest fires can also play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global efforts to combat climate change. The procedure of the hot storage test is an effective means of determining whether a material can self‐ignite. During the investigation of six soil samples, it was found that five of them were indeed capable of self‐ignition. In addition to determining whether the material ignites, the modified hot storage test also analyzed the resulting smoke gases and measured their concentration. The research question of whether regional forest soil is capable of self‐ignition can be answered with yes based on these initial tests. Further experiments are needed to determine if self‐ignition causes forest fires. KW - FTIR KW - Hot storage KW - Ignition KW - Soil KW - Wildfire PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-594617 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.3198 SN - 1099-1018 VL - 48 IS - 4 SP - 495 EP - 507 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY AN - OPUS4-59461 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klippel, A. A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Gnutzmann, Tanja A1 - Piechnik, K. T1 - Reaction-to-fire testing of bus interior materials: Assessing burning behaviour and smoke gas toxicity N2 - Although fire safety regulations for buses have been adapted in recent years regarding, for example, fire detection and engine fire suppression systems, the changes in regulations for bus interior materials are minimal. A comparison of fire safety regulations for interior materials in other transport sectors for trains, ships or aircraft reveals a much lower level of requirements for bus materials. Although repeated bus accidents as well as fire statistics show the danger a bus fire can pose to passengers. In particular, the combination of a fire incident and passengers with reduced mobility led to severe disasters in Germany and other European countries. To enhance the fire safety for passengers, the interior bus materials are crucial as the fire development in the bus cabin determines whether escape and rescue is possible. Against this background, bus interior materials were tested in different fire test scenarios. Measurement of a wide variety of parameters, for example, the mass loss, ignition time, smoke gas composition, heat release rate among others were carried out. Tested materials complied to the newest set of requirements. For this purpose, interior materials and their components had to be identified according to their chemical structure. Parts of the tests were funded by BASt (Federal Highway Research Institute) in the project 82.0723/2018. Experimental results show reaction-to-fire behaviour which lead to very limited times for escape and rescue in case of fire in a bus cabin. Based on the studies on fire behaviour and toxicity assessment, recommendations for improved fire safety regulations for interior materials could be made. KW - Burning behaviour KW - Bus interior materials KW - Cone calorimeter KW - DIN tube furnace KW - FTIR spectroscopy KW - Reference values KW - Smoke toxicity PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-576085 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.3108 SN - 1099-1018 VL - 47 IS - 5 SP - 665 EP - 680 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY AN - OPUS4-57608 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Klippel, Andrea A1 - Gnutzmann, Tanja A1 - Kaudelka, Sven A1 - Rabe, Frederik T1 - Influence of modern plastic furniture on the fire development in fires in homes: large-scale fire tests in living rooms N2 - About 80% of all fire fatalities in Germany occur because of fires in homes. It has been known for some time that modern materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of synthetic polymers) tend to burn differently from older materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of fibrous cellulosic substances) and it has been acknowledged that the amount of combustible plastics in homes has increased significantly over the last decades. To investigate the influence of modern furniture and ventilation conditions of fires in homes, a series of four large-scale tests in two Living rooms (LRs) with adjacent rooms (ARs) was performed by BAM and the Frankfurt fire service. Two LRs, one with older furniture and one with modern furniture, were tested twice each. Each test started with the ignition of a paper cushion on an upholstered chair. The influence of modern materials on the fire development was investigated, as well as the influence of the ventilation on the fire development. In all settings, an upholstered chair was the first burning item. Results of the test series show that fires in rooms with modern furniture develop faster than fires in rooms with older furniture. This is true for temperature development in the rooms as well as for smoke production. KW - Room fire KW - Furniture KW - Modern KW - Gas analysis KW - Smoke PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-527568 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.2934 VL - 45 IS - 1 SP - 155 EP - 166 PB - Wiley CY - London AN - OPUS4-52756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hahn, Sarah‐K. A1 - Gnutzmann, Tanja A1 - Meinert, Marion A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Oberhagemann, Dirk A1 - Krause, Ulrich T1 - Incipient Fires—Definition, Detection and Extinguishment by Laypersons N2 - The earlier a fire is noticed, the less developed it is and the easier it can be prevented respectively stopped, even by laypersons. Within the research project ‘TEBRAS’ the incipient phase of fires was investigated in detail. In the course of the project, it became apparent that the definition of what exactly the incipient phase of a fire encompasses is not definite and depends on the disciplines dealing with the subject ‘fire’. Based on the results of a literature review, an inquiry under experts and laypersons as well as practical fire tests a definition for the phenomenon of the incipient fire was developed which divides it into four phases. Driving key factors for each phase are identified considering the main parameters to detect and extinguish the fire. KW - Developing fires KW - Development of fires PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-649310 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.70025 SN - 0308-0501 VL - 50 IS - 1 SP - 3 EP - 10 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-64931 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Festag, Sebastian A1 - Esser, Jonas A1 - Maiworm, Björn A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja T1 - Herausforderungen des modernen Holzbaus: Erste statistische Erkenntnisse aus realen Gebäudebränden in Holzbauweise N2 - Hinsichtlich des Brandschutzes zeigt der durch die Bundesregierung geförderte Holzbau Herausforderungen gegenüber Massivbauweisen. Diese spiegeln sich in Erfahrungen von Feuerwehren wider, aber nun auch in statistischen Untersuchungen der Brandschadenstatistik der Vereinigung zur Förderung des deutschen Brandschutzes sowie der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Leiterinnen und Leiter der Berufsfeuerwehren (AGBF) und des Deutschen Feuerwehrverbands (DFV). Im Zeitraum von 2013 bis 2017 wurden in der vfdb-Brandschadenstatistik Daten zu 5016 Alarmierungen bei Gebäudebränden in Deutschland systematisch mit einem einheitlichen Erfassungsbogen erfasst und seit 2016 „bemerkenswerte Brandeinsätze“ durch einen Evaluierungsbogen zu Maßnahmen des vorbeugenden Brand- und Gefahrenschutzes von AGBF/DFV. Grundlage des vorliegenden Beitrags sind die Auswertung und der Vergleich beider statistischer Datensätze hinsichtlich der Brände in Gebäuden in Holzbauweise. Es zeigt sich, dass der Holzbau mit brandschutztechnischen Herausforderungen verbunden ist. KW - Brandschutz KW - Brandstatistik PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/bate.202400078 SN - 1437-0999 VL - 2025 IS - 102 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-63000 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - El Houssami, M. A1 - Försth, M. A1 - Fredriksson, H. A1 - Drean, V. A1 - Guillaume, E. A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Sandinge, A. T1 - Fire safety of interior materials of buses N2 - This study provides an analysis on the fire safety of passengers and the fire protection of coaches and buses. A brief review of major bus fire incidents, an overview of current regulations in Europe, and their limitations are presented. The study finds that the current small-scale fire test methods described in UN ECE Reg No. 118 need to be replaced by test methods that can assess the reaction to fire of materials when exposed to ignition sources of varying sizes. To address these shortcomings, the study proposed an expert recommendation to update the material fire safety requirements and testing for buses. Additional measures are proposed, derived from objectives and strategies applied in other transport sectors, and can be tested through existing European and international standards, which are widely used by several industries. These measures aim to extend the time with tenable conditions for a safe evacuation in case of fire, reduce the degree of damage to buses, reduce the risk for fast and excessive thermal exposure on modern energy carriers needed for a more sustainable transport sector. KW - Fire KW - Bus interior materials KW - Rregulations PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575700 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.3134 SN - 1099-1018 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Wiley CY - London AN - OPUS4-57570 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Anderson, J. A1 - Boström, L. A1 - Chiva, R. A1 - Guillaume, E. A1 - Colwell, S. A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Toth, P. T1 - European approach to assess the fire performance of façades N2 - Several attempts have been made in the past to develop a European harmonized testing and assessment method for façades before the European commission decided to publish a call for tender on the topic. A project consortium from five countries (Sweden, UK, France, Germany and Hungary) applied to the call for tender and was contracted to develop a European approach to assess the fire performance of façades. 24 sub-contractors and 14 stakeholder entities were part of the project. The objective of the European project was to address a request from the Standing Committee of Construction (SCC) to provide EC Member States regulators with a means to regulate the fire performance of façade systems based on a European Approach agreed by SCC. The initial stages of this Project were focused on establishing a Register of the regulatory requirements in all Member States in relation to the fire Performance of façade systems, and to identify those Member States who have regulatory requirements for the fire performance façade systems which go beyond the current EN 13501 (reaction to fire and fire resistance) classification systems and to collate the details of these additional requirements. After having confirmed the regulatory needs a testing and classification methodology based on BS 8414 and DIN 4102-20 was developed to address the identified key performance and classification characteristics. This paper is a short overview of results the two-year development work, which Final Report published by the European Commission in 2018. KW - Facade KW - Regulation KW - Testing PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-530501 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.2878 SN - 1099-1018 VL - 45(5) IS - Special issue: Facade fire safety SP - 598 EP - 608 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-53050 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann-Böllinghaus, Anja A1 - Anderson, J. T1 - Editorial: Special issue facades N2 - Facade fires are of growing concern worldwide. Severe facade fires in different parts of the world as well as activities in many countries regarding the testing of facades show the urgency of the fire safety challenges in façade fires. The need for knowledge and a wide Archive of work in this area has become evident after recent incidents which involved extensive facade fires. These include the tragic fires in Dubai and Grenfell Tower in 2017 in the United Kingdom. In many cases, the widespread live news coverage of the events and size of These fires has emphasized the need for progress in the understanding of the processes involved in these fires and put pressure upon the fire safety engineering community to find effective solutions. KW - Facade fire PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.3001 SN - 0308-0501 SN - 1099-1018 VL - 45(5) IS - Special issue: Facade fire safety SP - 585 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-53093 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -