Juan Patricio Hidalgo Medina
- From: Valencia, Spain
- Qualifications:
- MSc./MEng. Industrial Construction and Facilities, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain 2011
- BSc. (5-years degree) Industrial Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain 2009
- MSc./MEng. Industrial Construction and Facilities, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain 2011
- Supervisors: Prof. Jose L. Torero & Dr. Stephen Welch
- Postgraduate study: Started 2011
PhD Project:
The role of thermal insulation products in the fire behaviour of energy efficient buildings - fire growth and smoke movement
In order to minimize energy consumption in buildings, the thermal performance of the buildings must be improved by adding thermal insulation to the external fabric of the building. The use of modern methods of construction takes us away from a traditional approach where the fire performance can be anticipated, towards a new set of criteria where the fire performance is likely to be changed. Moreover, lightweight divisions are used with insulated panels in various combinations, which have a direct impact on the fire growth criteria provided by FSE (Fire Safety Engineering) models. Therefore, sudden changes in fire behaviour can be expected.To quantify the role that both combustible and non-combustible thermal insulation products may play in the fire behaviour of energy efficient buildings, certain evaluations should be carried out. It is required an assessment of the potential contribution of the increased level of insulation products to the internal and external growth - as well as the influence of the thermal properties of the construction materials on the expected fire behaviour of the building. For this purpose, the potential for unexpected changes in internal and external fire growth has to be examined, and recommendations for such changes have to be included and considered in FSE proposals.
Project funded by Rockwool International A/S
Previous project:
A comparison between computational fire simulation models and the Spanish Standard methods on smoke and heat control systems design. (Master's Thesis)See also our page on the Edinburgh Research Archive.
