Fire-safety of bio-based buildings

DBI Strategic Research

DBI will make it easier to design fire-safe buildings with bio-based construction products by developing new knowledge and tools for architects and engineers. This will pave the way for them to be able to market new services that contribute to the expansion of sustainable construction and the green transition, locally and internationally.

Bio-based construction products are necessary to achieve more sustainable buildings and promote the green transition in the construction industry. However, their use requires a more complicated design process, as the fire safety properties of bio-based products are very different to those of conventional mineral-based construction products. If the use of bio-based construction products is to be disseminated, it is therefore necessary to take a new approach to both fire-safety engineering (FSE) and the overall process of building design.

By strengthening competence and tools within FSE, DBI makes it possible to determine the fire safety of a building with bio-based construction products using models. This enables performance-based design (PBD), where validated simulations of the building’s fire safety can be used to integrate innovative solutions in order to ensure the right level of fire safety in the finished building early in the design process. DBI will also demonstrate how PBD can be used to optimise life cycle analyses (LCA) and cost analyses (LLC). If fire is an active design parameter early in the process, the number of design options will also increase considerably.

To achieve this, architects, engineers, consultants and others who work with building design must use new knowledge, tools and guides, and DBI will develop them. The aim is to strengthen their international competitiveness and to ensure that the new tools are compatible with the existing internationally widely used tools. This will make it possible for the target group to launch services that can also be introduced to the global market, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable construction and the green transition, both in Denmark and internationally.

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Projektansvarlig

Anders Dragsted

Head of Building Design
+45 51 80 01 39
and@dbigroup.dk

LCA tools for carbon optimized fire safety strategies in biobased buildings

This project develops a tool for optimizing fire safety in sustainable biobased buildings. It integrates life cycle assessments (LCA) early in the design process to reduce carbon emissions. The tool provides architects and fire safety engineers with guidelines and generic designs to achieve LCA-optimized fire safety. Overall, it aims to transform the industry towards more holistic and sustainable building design approaches.

Project lead
Mansoure Dormohamadi
PhD student

Phone: +45 50 80 96 39
E-mail: mdo@dbigroup.dk

The project runs from April 2023 to March 2026 Read more

Enabling use of sustainable building facades through fire performance assessment

This project enables the use of sustainable building facades to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption. However, combustible materials and energy-saving solutions in these facades pose fire risks. The project introduces a reliable method for approving wood cladding facades, with fire models and assessments to predict fire behavior.

Project lead
Guoxiang Zhao
Postdoc

Phone: +45 50 80 96 36
E-mail: gzh@dbigroup.dk

The project runs from March 2023 to February 2026 Read more

Participation in COST Action on ‘Holistic design of taller timber buildings (HELEN)’

As part of DBI’s efforts to promote the fire-safe design of bio-based buildings, several members of the Advanced Fire Engineering (Buildings) team are participating in the European COST Action CA20139 ‘Holistic design of taller timber buildings (HELEN)’, which runs until October 2025.

Project lead
Ian Pope
Research Consultant, PhD

Phone: +45 50 80 78 27
E-mail: ipo@dbigroup.dk

The projects runs until October 2025 Read more

Safe Biobased Buildings through Evacuation Training

The project promotes renewable materials in construction, especially timber buildings. It seeks to develop fire safety methods and evacuation strategies for occupants. DBI is the leading partner and will enhance fire safety consultancy services globally. As a result, guidelines and consultancy services will benefit the industry, reduce emissions, and promote sustainable building design.

Project lead
Leo Willem Menzemer
PhD student

Phone: +45 31 35 00 46
E-mail: lwm@dbigroup.dk

The project runs from September 2022 to September 2025 Read more

Experimental and modelling investigations of hybrid steel-timber construction details in fire

This project aims to make construction more climate-friendly using sustainable materials like timber and steel. We will optimize fire safety by researching hybrid steel-timber connections, resulting in a validated model internationally and a fire safety design service for constructors, engineers, and architects.

Project lead
Ankit Agrawal
Postdoc

Phone: +45 50 80 65 55
E-mail: ana@dbigroup.dk

The project runs from March 2023 to February 2025 Read more

Assessment of design fires for timber buildings

The construction industry wants sustainable materials such as timber in constructions but lacks design methods. The use of bio-based materials and the exposure of timber surfaces require fire technical documentation, which makes validated techniques to assess the risks associated with flammable surfaces needed. This project develops assessment methods to predict fire development in buildings with exposed timber surfaces.

Project lead
Ahmed Ali Awadallah Ahmed
PhD student

Phone: +45 50 80 74 43
E-mail: aaa@dbigroup.dk

The project runs from March 2022 to February 2025 Read more

Completed

Thermal behavior of engineered timber structures under natural fires

With the purpose of broadening the use of timber-based buildings, this project seeks to develop and validate a heat-transfer model to predict how temperature and moisture profiles in timber elements change during fire exposure. This will enhance sustainable and commercially attractive buildings into the market due to timber-based element’s contribution to CO2 reduction.