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From In-house Testing to Onsite Inspections
Using specialized equipment, our experts can determine the material fire properties of products ranging from furniture and mattress components to wall covering materials and electrical wire/cable coverings. Our team of licensed professional engineers (PEs) and certified fire and explosion investigators (CFEIs) performs onsite inspections and consults with manufacturers on optimizing fire suppression systems and combustion systems.
A Dedicated Fire Team and Facility
From explosions to fire protection systems, our Bowie lab specializes in customized fire-testing and protocol development for a broad range of needs.Â
Bowie Laboratory: Methods, Capabilities, and Equipment
To supplement analytical, experimental, and field-based activities, our team uses computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling to create an accurate simulation of the burning material, support fire origin and cause determinations in the forensic environment, and provide performance-based evaluations of industrial applications.
Other analysis includes flash point testing, UL 94 burn testing for plastic components, and flammability testing cabinets for clothing and textiles.
The FETS Lab also performs in-house overhead research in areas such as smoke alarms to further the development of fire protection engineering.
Capabilities
Heat release rate and mass loss rate
Intermediate-scale calorimetry
Smoke and heat detector testing
Flash point and fire point testing
Fabric and textile flammability testing
Upholstered furniture and mattress component and mock-up testing
Pressure and leak testing
Thermal hazard testing
Hot surface ignition testing
Customized testing scenarios
Accident reconstruction
Equipment and Instrumentation
Cone calorimeter
Oxygen consumption calorimetry
Product/material comparison
Measurements
Heat release rate (HRR)
Mass loss rate (MLR)
Effective heat of combustion (∆Hc)
Critical heat flux
Ignition time
Smoke production rate
CO/CO2 production rates/yields
Flammability test cabinets
45° flammability test
Vertical flammability test
Horizontal flammability test
Full-scale textile flammability tests
Flame Spread
UL 94: test for flammability of plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances
Exhaust hood system
Intermediate-scale fire tests
Capable of handling fires up to 500 kW in size
Pressure and flow testing rigs
Furnace
Convection and vacuum ovens
Environmental chamber
Mass and volumetric flow rates
Velocity measuring
Thermocouples and heat-flux transducers
Data acquisition systems
Infrared (IR) thermometry
Smoke and particulate analysis
Ä¢¹½tv Labs and Facilities
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Offers state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate a wide range of testing and prototyping.
Menlo Park Laboratory
Develops custom tests and test protocols, in-house at our global headquarters.
Natick Laboratory
Studies everything from how batteries corrode in phones to how medical devices corrode in humans.
Philadelphia Laboratory
Test and evaluate biomedical engineering solutions in-house and through our network of third-party labs.
Seattle Materials Testing Laboratory
Provides top failure investigation and litigation support expertise.
Bowie Fire Engineering Laboratory
Helps your products, facilities, and systems pass tough fire and explosion standards.
London Laboratory
Assists with failure analysis, quality assessment, and product development in the UK and EU.
Hong Kong Laboratory
Brings extensive experience helping global manufacturers optimize products and processes.
Shanghai Laboratory
Works with global clients to support your teams in all phases of the new product integration cycle.