Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings

The Wan’an Bridge, the longest wooden lounge bridge in China with a history of more than 900 years, was devastated by a catastrophic fire in 2022. This tragic event underscores the susceptibility of historical wooden structures to fire damage. In this article, the bridge’s intricate structure and th...

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Main Authors: Huiling Jiang, Jie Teng, Dong Wang, Liang Zhou, Yirui Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Fire
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/5/184
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author Huiling Jiang
Jie Teng
Dong Wang
Liang Zhou
Yirui Chen
author_facet Huiling Jiang
Jie Teng
Dong Wang
Liang Zhou
Yirui Chen
author_sort Huiling Jiang
collection DOAJ
description The Wan’an Bridge, the longest wooden lounge bridge in China with a history of more than 900 years, was devastated by a catastrophic fire in 2022. This tragic event underscores the susceptibility of historical wooden structures to fire damage. In this article, the bridge’s intricate structure and the development of the fire incident are introduced in detail. To gain a deeper insight into the patterns of fire propagation across the bridge and assess the reliability of fire simulations in predicting fire spread in historical wooden structures, we utilized the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), with a sophisticated pyrolysis model and thermal response parameters specifically tailored to ancient fir wood. The modeling results reveal that the FDS simulation reflects the actual fire spread process well. Both the investigation and simulation findings indicate that once the flame reaches above the bridge deck, it enters a rapid three-dimensional propagation phase that is exceptionally challenging to control. Furthermore, the modeling results suggest that the application of intumescent fire-retardant coatings can significantly delay fire spread, reduce heat release rates, and suppress smoke production, thereby making them an effective fire prevention measure for historical wooden buildings.
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series Fire
spelling doaj-art-e789a94bd9654f10983748cd71f7f2a12025-08-20T01:56:19ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552025-05-018518410.3390/fire8050184Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant CoatingsHuiling Jiang0Jie Teng1Dong Wang2Liang Zhou3Yirui Chen4School of Resource and Safety Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaInstitute of Building Fire Research, China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, ChinaChina Railway Construction Group Co. Ltd., Beijing 100040, ChinaSchool of Resource and Safety Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Resource and Safety Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaThe Wan’an Bridge, the longest wooden lounge bridge in China with a history of more than 900 years, was devastated by a catastrophic fire in 2022. This tragic event underscores the susceptibility of historical wooden structures to fire damage. In this article, the bridge’s intricate structure and the development of the fire incident are introduced in detail. To gain a deeper insight into the patterns of fire propagation across the bridge and assess the reliability of fire simulations in predicting fire spread in historical wooden structures, we utilized the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), with a sophisticated pyrolysis model and thermal response parameters specifically tailored to ancient fir wood. The modeling results reveal that the FDS simulation reflects the actual fire spread process well. Both the investigation and simulation findings indicate that once the flame reaches above the bridge deck, it enters a rapid three-dimensional propagation phase that is exceptionally challenging to control. Furthermore, the modeling results suggest that the application of intumescent fire-retardant coatings can significantly delay fire spread, reduce heat release rates, and suppress smoke production, thereby making them an effective fire prevention measure for historical wooden buildings.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/5/184Wan’an bridgeFDSmodelingheat release rate (HRR)intumescent flame-retardant (IFR) coating
spellingShingle Huiling Jiang
Jie Teng
Dong Wang
Liang Zhou
Yirui Chen
Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
Fire
Wan’an bridge
FDS
modeling
heat release rate (HRR)
intumescent flame-retardant (IFR) coating
title Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
title_full Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
title_fullStr Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
title_short Numerical Investigation of the Wan’an Bridge Fire and the Protection Effect of Intumescent Flame-Retardant Coatings
title_sort numerical investigation of the wan an bridge fire and the protection effect of intumescent flame retardant coatings
topic Wan’an bridge
FDS
modeling
heat release rate (HRR)
intumescent flame-retardant (IFR) coating
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/5/184
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