Fire dynamics

Fire dynamics includes the study of the basic chemical, physical, and thermodynamic phenomena involved in fire development, behaviour, propagation and suppression. Concepts from chemistry and physics, coupled with the fundamentals of heat and mass transfer, are used to understand how structures and components will react under fire conditions, as well as to characterize ignition, fire growth and spread, and fire severity in various environments. Research also involves the study of the interactions between a fire and its environment, including aspects of fire ventilation, suppression, heat transfer from fires and transition from fire to explosion.