Modern energy efficient homes in Canada are well-sealed, having less air leakage and moisture propagation through the building envelope compared with older homes. From a fire safety perspective, it is unclear how this change influences the dynamics of house fires, including: heat release rate, flame spread, species production and smoke transport. Although previous studies have determined that better sealed structures tend to lead to ventilation-limited fires, there is a dearth of research on this topic. Yet, it is important to understand the evolution of fires in energy efficient buildings to assess both physical and safety implications associated with this type of construction. This article presents results of species concentrations and smoke evolution during nine instrumented, large-scale, ventilation-limited and two-storey residential furniture fire experiments. As the smoke layer descended, it impacted heat release rate of the fires. Oxygen concentrations on the main floor of the structure sequentially decreased to around 5%. Measurements of gas transport at the stairwell connecting the floors of the structure provided new information about how oxygen was drawn from different areas of the structure during growth of the fire. These results provide novel insight into the growth and impact of fires in modern energy efficient homes.

中文翻译：

---

多层房屋通风受限火灾期间的烟雾形成和移动

加拿大的现代节能住宅密封良好，与旧住宅相比，通过建筑围护结构的空气泄漏和湿气传播较少。从消防安全的角度来看，目前尚不清楚这种变化如何影响房屋火灾的动态，包括：热释放率、火焰蔓延、物种产生和烟雾传输。尽管之前的研究已经确定，密封性更好的结构往往会导致通风受限的火灾，但对此主题的研究却很少。然而，重要的是要了解节能建筑中火灾的演变，以评估与此类建筑相关的物理和安全影响。本文介绍了九个仪器化、大规模、通风受限和两层住宅家具防火实验。随着烟气层的下降，它影响了火灾的热释放率。结构主楼层的氧气浓度依次下降至 5% 左右。对连接结构地板的楼梯间气体传输的测量提供了关于在火势蔓延期间如何从结构的不同区域吸取氧气的新信息。这些结果为现代节能住宅中火灾的增长和影响提供了新的见解。对连接结构地板的楼梯间气体传输的测量提供了关于在火势蔓延期间如何从结构的不同区域吸取氧气的新信息。这些结果为现代节能住宅中火灾的增长和影响提供了新的见解。对连接结构地板的楼梯间气体传输的测量提供了关于在火势蔓延期间如何从结构的不同区域吸取氧气的新信息。这些结果为现代节能住宅中火灾的增长和影响提供了新的见解。