Fire testing is a necessary step in preparing any fire-related case for trial or potential settlement. Only through in-depth testing in a laboratory environment can the theories, opinions, and conclusions relating to any fire ignition scenario be proven in a litigation setting. Only after intensive fire testing is an attorney able to effectively evaluate the viability of a claim and, overall, decide if any additional investigation is required.
Personnel at Western Fire Center, Inc., have years of experience with all kinds of litigation testing, including full-scale re-creations like the one pictured above. There are no limits to the types of testing that we can do to assist you with your fire-related case.
When WFCi handles a case, our opinions are not presented to the jury using complicated reports or confusing technical jargon. Our research and test data is typically presented using professionally produced DVDs, graphical data, and animated models. These presentations show the activity of the fire reproduction in precise detail and make the subject easy to understand for everyone who watches.
We are equipped with all of the latest, cutting-edge technology in the field of fire modeling and animation. With the data gained from our lab tests, we can re-create the entire ignition scenario, in great detail and from any angle, to shed light on what really happened at the scene.
Many expert witnesses exist in the area of fire research who have no laboratory with which to run the tests necessary to back up their claims. Similarly, there are a number of fire testing laboratories that lack an expert witness with extensive litigation experience. Western Fire Center Inc. is proud to be one of the very few organizations to offer both litigation necessities in the same package.
Fire TestingLitigation Services at WFCi
Fire Modeling and Animation
Capabilities Include:
3D CAD Drawings
CFAST
Heat Transfer Calculations and Burn Modeling
Fire Dynamics Simulator, FDS
Western Fire Center has the latest state-of-the-art computer hardware and software to perform complex computer fire modeling and animation.
The fire models are created using a combination of the following:
Customized CAD software which enables rapid geometry development
In-House material properties testing. (ICAL)
Empirical data from full-scale fire testing. (Calorimeter Hood)
High Performance, Linux OS, Computational Cluster
The latest release of the Fire Dynamics Simulator(FDS), from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies(NIST)
The results of these computer simulations come back from the clusters in various formats.
Raw data is returned in text file (CSV) format. This data can be used for graphing such things as Heat Release Rate, Temperature, Oxygen, CO, CO2, etc. over time. These data sets are compared to data acquired during real-world fire testing, to provide validation of the simulation's results.
The models also provide, as standard output, a 3D animated model that can let the fire scientist examine the simulation from any angle. Many variables such as surface temperatures can be visualized in the model and examined by fire experts. These animations and still images can then saved to many formats such as DVD or VHS tape for easy presentation.
These animated video productions are very effective in the courtroom, providing the jury with easy to understand fire scene scenarios. Providing the expert a valuable tool in communicating his opinion and results.
Computer modeling can predict a fire's behavior under the specific conditions entered in the computer. The results of these complex models can then be animated for accurate simulations of a fire.
Here is a page on the PSSC website about using the powerful modeling clusters like WFCi's fr computational fluid dynamics, the heart of FDS.
3D CAD Drawings
CFAST
Heat Transfer Calculations and Burn Modeling
Fire Dynamics Simulator, FDS
Western Fire Center has the latest state-of-the-art computer hardware and software to perform complex computer fire modeling and animation.
The fire models are created using a combination of the following:
Customized CAD software which enables rapid geometry development
In-House material properties testing. (ICAL)
Empirical data from full-scale fire testing. (Calorimeter Hood)
High Performance, Linux OS, Computational Cluster
The latest release of the Fire Dynamics Simulator(FDS), from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies(NIST)
The results of these computer simulations come back from the clusters in various formats.
Raw data is returned in text file (CSV) format. This data can be used for graphing such things as Heat Release Rate, Temperature, Oxygen, CO, CO2, etc. over time. These data sets are compared to data acquired during real-world fire testing, to provide validation of the simulation's results.
The models also provide, as standard output, a 3D animated model that can let the fire scientist examine the simulation from any angle. Many variables such as surface temperatures can be visualized in the model and examined by fire experts. These animations and still images can then saved to many formats such as DVD or VHS tape for easy presentation.
These animated video productions are very effective in the courtroom, providing the jury with easy to understand fire scene scenarios. Providing the expert a valuable tool in communicating his opinion and results.
Computer modeling can predict a fire's behavior under the specific conditions entered in the computer. The results of these complex models can then be animated for accurate simulations of a fire.
Here is a page on the PSSC website about using the powerful modeling clusters like WFCi's fr computational fluid dynamics, the heart of FDS.