ZeBra

New Research Center with Advanced FireLab

The ZeBra Center of Fire Safety Research (ZeBra abbreviates German: Zentrum für Brandforschung) is dedicated to investigate the fire behavior and the fire hazard potential of new innovative construction methods as well as products of the energy supply turnaround from fossil to renewable energy sources. These methods and products are already becoming an integral part of everyday life in areas like habitation and transportation. The ZeBra Center of Fire Safety Research is going to develop the scientific basis of a new set of concepts to control and minimize the fire risks of innovative construction methods (such as components made of combustible renewable materials or novel digitally constructed elements) along with upcoming building infrastructure features like energy storage units in residential buildings and electric vehicles (in garages).

The growth of a fire in a real case scenario just like the prognosis of fire propagation in a fictive event mainly depends on the building composition and characteristics of every component. For developing innovative safe construction methods and safe products in the event of a fire, the fire performance and fire spread behavior must be investigated, as well as any impacts on human health. Efficient and reliable numerical and physical prognosis models are required to understand complex scenarios. In the ZeBra Center of Fire Safety Research, testing facilities, experimental methods and numerical simulation approaches will be produced and systematic research will be conducted to achieve:

• Efficient use of resources and buildings with high levels of fire safety
• Optimized innovative products within the context of fire safety
• Efficient and reliable prediction of fire scenarios

The ZeBra Center of Fire Safety Research building consists of three parts:

• Experimental hall (approx. 24 m x 31 m, clear height under flue gas collector: 12 m) with:
  • Standard Room-Corner test stand as calorimeter 2
  • Two test stands dedicated to large scale fire tests as calorimeters 3 & 4. All emerging flue gases will be evacuated through a moveable collector dome (Opening Size: 12 m x 12 m) and transferred to the Flue Gas Treatment Unit to cool and filter.
  • Shipping-container-sized test stand (calorimeter 5) to conduct experiments on products like batteries.
• Two-story Laboratory and Office section:
  • Location for small-scale fire test facilities like Cone Calorimeter (calorimeter 1).
  • Workplaces for staffs and social gathering rooms.
• Flue Gas Treatment Unit (FGTU): Assigned to comply with local and regional air quality regulations. The Flue Gas Treatment Unit will be enclosed for weather protection purposes. A monitoring and sampling point in the flue gas piping system is accessible for extensive further analysis of the flue gasses.
• The technical service rooms are incorporated in the main building complex.

Key Data

Provision/ Special Feature

The ZeBra Center of Fire Safety Research is among the EU’s leading fire engineering research facilities by providing the research opportunities on large-scale fire load configurations with heat release rates up to 20 MW.

Location

Beethovenstr. 52, Building 2439, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany

Users

Institute of Building Materials, Concrete Construction and Fire Safety (iBMB) - Division of Fire Safety, iPAT, iRMB, IGÖ (all institutes of TU Braunschweig, Germany), Fraunhofer WKI

Floor area

1.197 m² working area (809 m² Experimental Hall and 388 m² Laboratories and Offices)

Construction Dates

Start of Construction Works: Spring 2020
Completion of Works: anticipated: 2022

Costs

Ca. € 22.49 million (buildings, research infrastructure and initial furnishings & equipment)

The video shows the construction progress from May 2020 until the opening in October 2023.