An Analysis of Vehicle Fires and Potential Methods to Reduce Their Severity Through More Stringent Material Standards

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dc.contributor.advisorMowrer, Fredericken_US
dc.contributor.authorPatronik, Evanen_US
dc.contributor.departmentFire Protection Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2008-10-25T05:30:13Z
dc.date.available2008-10-25T05:30:13Z
dc.date.issued2008-06-17en_US
dc.description.abstractIn the United States, more than 1 in every 12 fire fatalities occurs in a passenger road vehicle; vehicle fires claim roughly 1200 injuries, $1.3 billion in property loss, and 490 lives annually. Very little progress has been made over the last several decades to confront the hazards of vehicle fires, but recently researchers and standards organizations have begun addressing these challenges. A literature review of the progress made and methods of reducing fire severity through technologies and standards was conducted. NFPA 556 is one proposed standard aimed at mitigating the hazards to occupants of vehicle fires; it was used to analyze the fire retardancy of a new, fire-resistant acoustic insulation material through small, bench, and large-scale testing. The feasibility of the use of this material in new vehicles for the reduction of losses was assessed through a cost-benefit analysis. Upon review of the results, it was determined that the new insulation did not pass all the requirements of NFPA 556. However, the standard does include stringent requirements, so the improved performance of the material should not be underappreciated. Based on the literature search and experiments, this standard, in combination with other fire protection technologies, provides a basis for improved vehicle fire safety.en_US
dc.format.extent11852660 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8653
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEngineering, Generalen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledvehicleen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledfireen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledstandarden_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledmaterialen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledtestingen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledprotectionen_US
dc.titleAn Analysis of Vehicle Fires and Potential Methods to Reduce Their Severity Through More Stringent Material Standardsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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