Muhammad Masood Rafi

Bio: Muhammad Masood Rafi is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fire protection & Fire protection engineering. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 33 citations.

Fire hazard in buildings: review, assessment and strategies for improving fire safety

Abstract: The current fire protection measures in buildings do not account for all contemporary fire hazard issues, which has made fire safety a growing concern. Therefore, this paper aims to present a critical review of current fire protection measures and their applicability to address current challenges relating to fire hazards in buildings.,To overcome fire hazards in buildings, impact of fire hazards is also reviewed to set the context for fire protection measures. Based on the review, an integrated framework for mitigation of fire hazards is proposed. The proposed framework involves enhancement of fire safety in four key areas: fire protection features in buildings, regulation and enforcement, consumer awareness and technology and resources advancement. Detailed strategies on improving fire safety in buildings in these four key areas are presented, and future research and training needs are identified.,Current fire protection measures lead to an unquantified level of fire safety in buildings, provide minimal strategies to mitigate fire hazard and do not account for contemporary fire hazard issues. Implementing key measures that include reliable fire protection systems, proper regulation and enforcement of building code provisions, enhancement of public awareness and proper use of technology and resources is key to mitigating fire hazard in buildings. Major research and training required to improve fire safety in buildings include developing cost-effective fire suppression systems and rational fire design approaches, characterizing new materials and developing performance-based codes.,The proposed framework encompasses both prevention and management of fire hazard. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified, and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework.,Fire represents a severe hazard in both developing and developed countries and poses significant threat to life, structure, property and environment. The proposed framework has social implications as it addresses some of the current challenges relating to fire hazard in buildings and will enhance overall fire safety.,The novelty of proposed framework lies in encompassing both prevention and management of fire hazard. This is unlike current fire safety improvement strategies, which focus only on improving fire protection features in buildings (i.e. managing impact of fire hazard) using performance-based codes. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework. Special emphasis is given to cost-effectiveness of proposed strategies, and research and training needs for further enhancing building fire safety are identified.

Comparative analysis of building insulation material properties and performance

Abstract: Building envelope insulation is crucial for an energy-efficient and comfortable indoor environment because the envelope accounts for 50–60% of total heat gain/loss in a building. Previous studies mostly used lifecycle cost as the criteria to select the optimum insulation materials with little or no consideration of embodied energy, emission, and summer overheating potential. This study presents a comparative analysis of building insulation materials properties (thermal, hygroscopic, acoustic, reaction to fire, environmental, and cost) and their performance in different climate zones and proposed an optimization framework. Insulation materials can be primarily categorized as conventional, state-of-the-art and sustainable. State-of-the-art insulation materials have the lowest thermal conductivity value amongst the three insulation types. However, their life cycle cost is higher compared to the other types. Sustainable insulation materials could be useful to delay and minimize indoor peak temperature and reduce overheating risk during the hot summer period. The analysis also showed that building walls with comparatively lower thermal resistance are more cost-effective for the cooling dominated region, but walls with higher thermal resistance are more cost-effective in heating-dominated regions. However, highly insulated and airtight houses may also lead to increased overheating risk and peak cooling demand during a hot summer period. In addition, hygroscopic, acoustic, and fire retardancy properties of insulation materials are critical to control indoor relative humidity in a humid region, to maintain a minimum noise level in a zone, and to reduce fire destruction. Hence, the optimization should include four criteria 1) Energy, 2) Environment, 3) Economic, and 4) Comfort.

A smart fire detection system using iot technology with automatic water sprinkler

Abstract: House combustion is one of the main concerns for builders, designers, and property residents Singular sensors were used for a long time in the event of detection of a fire, but these sensors can not measure the amount of fire to alert the emergency response units To address this problem, this study aims to implement a smart fire detection system that would not only detect the fire using integrated sensors but also alert property owners, emergency services, and local police stations to protect lives and valuable assets simultaneously The proposed model in this paper employs different integrated detectors, such as heat, smoke, and flame The signals from those detectors go through the system algorithm to check the fire's potentiality and then broadcast the predicted result to various parties using GSM modem associated with the system To get real-life data without putting human lives in danger, an IoT technology has been implemented to provide the fire department with the necessary data Finally, the main feature of the proposed system is to minimize false alarms, which, in turn, makes this system more reliable The experimental results showed the superiority of our model in terms of affordability, effectiveness, and responsiveness as the system uses the Ubidots platform, which makes the data exchange faster and reliable