Fire Dynamics Tools (FDT) Quantitative Fire Hazard Analysis Methods for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fire Protection Inspection Program

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has developed quantitative methods, known as "Fire Dynamics Tools" (FDTs), for analyzing the impact of fire and fire protection systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs). These methods have been implemented in spreadsheets and taught at the NRC's quarterly regional inspector workshops. The FDTs were developed using state-of-the-art fire dynamics equations and correlations that were preprogrammed and locked into Microsoft Excel(R) spreadsheets. These FDTs enable inspectors to perform quick, easy, first- order calculations for potential fire scenarios using today's state-of-the-art principles of fire dynamics. Each FDTs spreadsheet also contains a list of the physical and thermal properties of the materials commonly encountered in NPPs.