College - Author 1
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Department - Author 1
Construction Management Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Construction Management
Date
6-2020
Primary Advisor/Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Thomas Kommer, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Construction Management Department
Abstract/Summary
ICFs are a building material with unique thermal insulating and non-combustible properties that have shown great potential at protecting a structure during a wildfire. To prove the hypothesis that ICFs can effectively prevent structure damage or loss during a wildfire, an analytical case study on an ICF home that survived the Camp Fire was conducted. The goal was to understand how ICFs unique thermal insulating and non-combustible properties protect structures from wildfires and how this assembly system can be a lot more effective than a traditional frame structure. Additional objectives for the project included highlighting the growing threat of wildfires to promote innovative solutions like ICFs, analyzing wildfire characteristics, examining the factors that cause a structure to ignite, and exploring all the aspects that make a structure fire resistant. Qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured personal interviews with experts in the ICF industry, Cal Fire, and project team members. The results of the interviews were analyzed which proved the hypothesis and showed a correlation between ICF wall assemblies and the structures ability to survive the Camp Fire. The paper also summaries the need for future research to provide further evidence for ICFs’ effectiveness at protecting structures from wildfires.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cmsp/348
Poster Board
Included in
Architectural Engineering Commons, Architectural Technology Commons, Construction Engineering and Management Commons, Landscape Architecture Commons