Student Name: Ehab Taleb

Student No. N1086312 Assessment, Assignment - 1, 5009A

Assess the Impact of Fire on Building Materials.
This assignment is worth 20 per cent of the marks in this module.

Breakdown of marks
Question 1

Part 1 5/5

Part 2 3/5

Part 3 7/10

Part 4 14/20

Part 5 8/10 37/50

Question 2 20/40

Presentation and supplementary information 7/10

TOTAL MARKS 64/100

Total Marks = 64%

Good solid effort Ehab, please keep up the good work. Well done!!

Gavin Syme, Building Surveying Assessor. (OTEN). 21.5.2015

Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS),
National Accreditation (Level 1, Unrestricted) Building Surveyor, Accreditation No. 7089

Today’s thought: “Never give up on your dreams”!!

1
1. What is the difference between a “flammable liquid” and a “combustible liquid”

Flammable Liquid – will ignite and burn easily at normal working temperatures

Combustible Liquid- have the ability to burn at temperatures that are usually above working
temperatures

2. What is the difference between a “flashpoint”, “fire point” and “ignition” temperature.

Flashpoint – Lowest temperature at which the liquid gives off enough vapour to be ignited

Fire Point – Lowest temperature of a liquid in an open container at which vapours evolve fast
enough to support continuous combustion

Ignition temperature – The temperature at which a material self ignites without any obvious
sources of ignition, such as a spark or flame.

In other words, the flashpoint is the temperature to which the liquid has to be heated to in
order to produce sufficiently fuel rich mixture with air for ignition when it comes into contact
with an ignition source. The ignition temperature is the temperature which the fuel-air
mixture is heated in order to set off combustion ( i.e auto ignition that does not need an
ignition source)

If the flashpoint of the fuel is well above room temperature, then the fuel can be handled
fairly safely at room temperature. Exposure to an ignition source, such as a spark would not
cause an explosion. If on the other hand the flashpoint is below room temperature, as is the
case for petrol, alcohols etc, then extreme caution is needed as an ignition source such as
sparks of static electricity can initiate an explosion or fire.

3. Explain how spread of the flame occurs with combustible liquids.

Liquids tend to burn in a pool configuration. Flame spread over the surface pool of
combustible liquid involves tension driven flows (Drysdale 2007). This process relies on the
fact that surface tension decreases as the temperature increases. Consequently, the
temperature decrease at the surface of the liquid ahead of the flame front is directly
responsible for a net force which causes hot fuel to be expelled from beneath the flame. This
inturn will displace the cooler surface layer. This movement of hot liquid is accompanied by
advancement of the flame.

The rate of burning of pool fires varies with the pool diameter. In deep pools of pure liquid,
only the surface will be heated during steady burning and a steady temperature profile is
established in these layers. The surface temperature is slightly below the boiling point of the
liquid. For mixtures of liquid (eg petrol, kerosene and fuel oils), the surface temperature will
increase as the lighter fractions burn off before heaver fractions.

4. In point form, detail the risks posed by flammable liquids.

The risks posed by flammable liquids could include but not be limited to the following:
 At normal room temperatures, flammable liquids can give off enough vapour to form
burnable mixtures with air. As a result, they can be a serious fire hazard. Flammable

2
 liquid fires burn very fast. They also give off a lot of heat and often clouds of thick,
black, toxic smoke.

 Combustible liquids at temperatures above their flashpoint also release enough vapour to
form burnable mixtures with air. Hot combustible liquids can be as serious a fire hazard
as flammable liquids.

 Spray mists of flammable and combustible liquids in air may burn at any temperature if
an ignition source is present. The vapours of flammable and combustible liquids are
usually invisible. They can be hard to detect unless special instruments are used.

 Most flammable and combustible liquids flow easily. A small spill can cover a large area
of workbench or floor. Burning liquids can flow under doors, down stairs and even into
neighbouring buildings, spreading fire widely. Materials like wood, cardboard and cloth
can easily absorb flammable and combustible liquids. Even after a spill has been cleaned
up, a dangerous amount of liquid could still remain in surrounding materials or clothing,
giving off hazardous vapours.

 Vapours can flow from open liquid containers. The vapours from nearly all flammable
and combustible liquids are heavier than air. If ventilation is inadequate, these vapours
can settle and collect in low areas like sumps, sewers, pits, trenches and basements. The
vapour trail can spread far from the liquid. If this vapour trail contacts an ignition source,
the fire produced can flash back (or travel back) to the liquid. Flashback and fire can
happen even if the liquid giving off the vapour and the ignition source are hundreds of
feet or several floors apart.

(b) wall and ceiling linings.

3
4