Dr. Noureddine Benichou

Adjunct Research Professor

B.Sc. (University of Science and Technology of Oran), M.A.Sc. (University of Ottawa), Ph.D. (Carleton University)

Biography

Dr. Noureddine Bénichou is a Principal Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. from Carleton University in Civil and Environmental Engineering and has developed into an international fire expert through an extensive experience in the experimentation and modeling of fire phenomenon. His research areas include fire resistance modeling and experimentation of structures, fire safety in buildings, fire risk analysis, and wildfire impacts on the wildland-urban interface (WUI). He led and completed large R&D projects to advance understanding of fire conditions and its impact on the occupant population, and assessing this impact in terms of risk and cost, including projects on the development of tools, guides and standards to increase the resilience of the built environment against WUI fires. Dr. Bénichou is the author of over 350 technical publications. He was elected as a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2024, and received the 2022 Fire Researcher of the Year Award from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the 2021 Sjölin Award for lifetime contributions to the science of fire engineering from the International FORUM of Fire Research Directors.

Dr. Bénichou represents Canada in ISO Sub-Committee 4 on Fire Safety Engineering; is the Convenor of the international committee ISO/TC92/SC4/WG7 “Verification and validation of calculation methods” since 2017; is a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, and Conseil International du Bâtiment; and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University.

Research Interests

Assessment of impacts and vulnerabilities of wildfires on the wildland-urban interface.
Development of fire risk assessment models for evaluating fire safety in the built environment.
Development and application of performance-based design tools.
Modelling, experimental evaluation and numerical analysis of the fire resistance performance of structures.

Teaching Assignments 2023-2024

N/A

Previous Teaching Assignments

Design for Fire Resistance

Key Publications

Khadija Baig, Martyn Amos, Steve Gwynne, Noureddine Bénichou, Max Kinateder, Empirical evolution of an evacuation reporting template, Safety Science, Volume 175, 2024, 106496, ISSN 0925-7535, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106496.
A. Kamyabniya, A. Sauré, F.S. Salman, N. Bénichou, J. Patrick (2024), Optimization models for disaster response operations: a literature review. OR Spectrum, 1436-6304, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00291-024-00750-6.
A. Rohaert, E.D. Kuligowski, A. Ardinge, J. Wahlqvist, S.M.V. Gwynne, A. Kimball, N. Bénichou, E. Ronchi (2023), Traffic dynamics during the 2019 Kincade wildfire evacuation, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 116, 2023, 103610, ISSN 1361-9209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103610.
E. Ronchi, J. Wahlqvist, A. Ardinge, A. Rohaert, S. M. V. Gwynne, G. Rein, H. Mitchell, N. Kalogeropoulos, M. Kinateder, N. Bénichou, E. Kuligowski & A. Kimball (2023). The verification of wildland–urban interface fire evacuation models. Natural hazards, 117(2), 1493-1519 (2023). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-023-05913-2
Steve M. V. Gwynne, Enrico Ronchi, Jonathan Wahlqvist, Arturo Cuesta, Javier Gonzalez Villa, Erica D. Kuligowski, Amanda Kimball, Guillermo Rein, Max Kinateder, Noureddine Benichou & Hui Xie, Roxborough Park Community Wildfire Evacuation Drill: Data Collection and Model Benchmarking. Fire Technol 59, 879–901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-023-01371-1
Bénichou, N.; Adelzadeh, M.; Singh, J.; Gomaa, I; Elsagan, N.; Kinateder, M.; Ma, C.; Gaur, A.; Bwalya, A.; Sultan, M., National guide for wildland-urban-interface fires: guidance on hazard and exposure assessment, property protection, community resilience and emergency planning to minimize the impact of wildland-urban interface fires, National Research Council of Canada, 196 p., 2021, https://doi.org/10.4224/40002647
Abhishek Gaur, Noureddine Bénichou, Marianne Armstrong, Fiona Hill, Potential future changes in wildfire weather and behavior around 11 Canadian cities, Urban Climate, Volume 35, 2021, 100735, ISSN 2212-0955, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100735
Benjamin Gaudet, Albert Simeoni, Steven Gwynne, Erica Kuligowski, Noureddine Benichou, A review of post-incident studies for wildland-urban interface fires, Journal of Safety Science and Resilience, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 59-65, ISSN 2666-4496, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnlssr.2020.06.010.
H. Hajiloo, M. F. Green, M. Noël, N. Bénichou, and M. Sultan, “GFRP-reinforced concrete slabs: fire resistance and design efficiency,” J. Compos. Constr., vol. 23, no. 2, p. 04019009, Apr. 2019, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0000937.
H. Hajiloo, M. F. Green, M. Noël, N. Bénichou, and M. Sultan, “Fire tests on full-scale FRP reinforced concrete slabs,” Compos. Struct., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 705–719, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.07.060.
P. Intini, E. Ronchi, S. M. V. Gwynne, and N. Bénichou, “A review of design guidance on wildland urban interface fires,” LUTVDG/TVBB, no. 3213, 2017.
S. Gwynne et al., “Modeling and mapping dynamic vulnerability to better assess WUI evacuation performance,” Fire Mater., May 2019, doi: 10.1002/fam.2708.
M. Green, K. Hollingshead, and N. Bénichou, “Performance in fire of fibre reinforced polymer strengthened concrete beams and columns: recent research and implications for design,” J. Struct. Fire Eng., vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 353–366, Nov. 2014, doi: 10.1260/2040-2317.5.4.353.
N. Bénichou, H. Mostafaei, M. F. Green, and K. Hollingshead, “The impact of fire on seismic resistance of fibre reinforced polymer strengthened concrete structural systems,” Can. J. Civ. Eng., vol. 40, no. 11, pp. 1044–1049, 2013, doi: 10.1139/cjce-2012-0521.
D. Cree, E.U. Chowdhury, M.F. Green, L.A. Bisby, N. Bénichou, Performance in fire of FRP-strengthened and insulated reinforced concrete columns, Fire Safety Journal, Volume 54, 2012, Pages 86-95, ISSN 0379-7112, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2012.08.006
Ershad Chowdhury, Luke Bisby, Mark Green, Noureddine Bénichou, Venkatesh Kodur, Heat transfer and structural response modelling of FRP confined rectangular concrete columns in fire, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 32, 2012, Pages 77-89, ISSN 0950-0618, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.12.064
Su, J.Z., Bénichou, N., Bwalya, A. et al. Unprotected Floor Assemblies and Tenability Conditions in a Test House Under Two Basement Fire Scenarios. Fire Technol 47, 631–664 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-010-0158-9
Chowdhury, E.U., Eedson, R., Bisby, L.A., Green, M. F., Benichou, N., Mechanical Characterization of Fibre Reinforced Polymers Materials at High Temperature. Fire Technol 47, 1063–1080 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-009-0116-6
G. Proulx and N. Bénichou, “Photoluminescent stairway installation for evacuation in office buildings,” Fire Technol., vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 1–25, Aug. 2009, doi: 10.1007/s10694-009-0102-z.
Benichou N, Kashef AH, Reid I, Hadjisophocleous GV, Torvi DA, Morinville G. FIERAsystem: A Fire Risk Assessment Tool to Evaluate Fire Safety in Industrial Buildings and Large Spaces. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering. 2005;15(3):145-172. doi:10.1177/1042391505049437

Affiliations

Canadian Society of Civil Engineers
Canadian Standards Association
International Organization for Standardization
Society of Fire Protection Engineers
Standards Council of Canada
Underwriters Laboratories Canada

Awards

Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2024
The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs 2022 Fire Researcher of the Year award
The Sjölin Award in 2021
The NRC-Construction Value for Canada Award in 2022
The NRC-Construction Leadership Award in 2022
The NRC Outstanding Research Award in 2010
The NRC-Construction Outstanding Research Award in 2009
The NRC-Construction Outstanding Partnership Award in 2009