Preface
It is a pleasure to present these Proceedings of the Sixth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards, which will be of interest to all concerned with the scientific aspects of these hazards. The Proceedings contain the six Invited Plenary Lectures, given by renowned international authorities, Lord Newton (Buncefield Investigation), Elaine Oran (US Naval Research Laboratory), Lou Gritzo (FM Global), Sergei Surzhikov (Institute for Problems in Mechanics), David Purser (Hartford Environmental Research), and Domingos Viegas (Universidade de Coimbra). A record number of ninety other papers, selected from a total of 119 submitted manuscripts, were accepted for publication after rigorous reviews by the Scientific Advisory Board.
The Seminar, following a triennial sequence of successful Seminars at Moscow, Lake Windermere, Londonderry, and Edinburgh, was held amidst the relaxing surroundings of the Weetwood Hall Conference Centre and Hotel, at Leeds. It was opened by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Judith Elliot, The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University, Richard Williams, the Chair of the International Organising Committee, Franco Tamanini, and the Chair of the Local Organising Committee, Gordon Andrews. It was organised by the University of Leeds and brought together 122 participants from 15 countries for the presentation of 96 papers.
The International Organising Committee expresses thanks to all who made the Seminar successful, including the following supporting organisations:
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Arup Fire |
The Consortium on Computational Combustion for Engineering |
Also thanked are the members of the Scientific Advisory Board for the time they spent on their thoughtful and helpful reviews, Gordon Andrews and the local Organising Committee for their planning of the event, Alison Whiteley and the staff of the Continuing Professional Development Unit for their splendid organisation of the Seminar, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for their local support, and FM Global for its generous donation of Prizes, presented at the Banquet, to the carefully assessed meritorious presentations at the Seminar.
Seminar social events included an opening Reception, at which participants met Lord Newton, Chair of the independent Major Incident Investigation Board set up to oversee the Buncefield investigation and Taf Powell the Board’s Manager. Later in the week there was an evening’s tribute to Joseph Priestley, (see next page), and a Banquet at the Royal Armouries Museum, with appropriate pre-prandial entertainment and enlightenment.
The Editors
November 2010