Smoke Gas Spreading and Fire Simulation
In general require planning and building laws the proof of fire safety. Especially in public buildings and complexes of buildings or in rooms occupied by a large number of people, small fires can generate a large amount of smoke gas which spreads very rapidlly. Smoke intoxication and suffocation claim the highest number in fatalities with fires in buildings.
The aim for a fire-proof design of buildings is to gain profound knowledge about the manner of the spreading and distribution of fires and smoke gases. This is particularly crucial in the fisrt minutes of a fire for the survival of persons present in the building. Smoke extraction facilities must be designed that way so that under the most different environmental conditions (open / closed windows or doors, air conditioner etc.) the ensure a fast escape of the smoke and gases. Fire extinction equipment must contribute, in particular, in an industrial setting most efficiently to the combatting of the fire.
The method of numerical flow simulation offers especially in the early planningphase excellent potentials for a fire-proof building design. The simulation of an unlimited number of possible constellation (supply and exhaust air), the consideration of buoyancy effects and environmental pressure as well as the interaction with facilities allow the prediction of smoke spreading at every point of time and space within the building.
As result of a fire simulation, the smoke and gas spreading just like the optical smoke density is visualised in a computer model. This applies also to the concentration distribution of harmful substances ermerging and the thermal load of supporting structures due to the fire. The action and effect of fire extinction facilities and the transient process of a fire extinction can be impressively documented and visualised. With this, simulations increasingly support the necessary fire prevention and building design.
