Principles of Smoke Management - Printed

PRINCIPLES
OF SMOKE
MANAGEMENT
This publication was made possible by funds from ASHRAE research.
Principles of Smoke Management by John and James Milke is an exhaustive treatment of man-
agement, including pressurized stairwells, pressurized elevators, zoned smoke control, and smoke manage-
ment in atria and other large spaces. Recent advancements include heat release rate, toxicity of
natural atrium venting, minimum depth of an atrium smoke layer, smoke stratification,
detection, tenability systems, and computer analysis. The book includes numerous example calculations.
Methods of analysis include equations, network flow models, zone fire models, scale and hazard
analysis. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is also addressed. The book includes a CD of computer soft-
ware for of smoke management systems.
This publication was prepared under ASHRAE Research Project
Cognizant TC: TC 5.6, Fire and Control.
ABOUT THEAUTHORS
John H. P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, is a consulting engineer specializing in the design and
review of smoke management systems, as well as code consulting and teaching private management
courses. He conducted research for 19 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
and has published over 80 papers and articles on smoke management and other aspects of fire protection.
Dr. Klote headed the Building Fire Physics Group at NIST, which conducted research in smoke
ment in buildings. The tools used for this research included full-scale fire experiments, scale fire
experiments, network airflow models, zone fire models, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
acted as a consultant in the area of smoke movement for the investigations of the MGM Grand fire and the
First Interstate Bank fire. research was the basis of the 1997 revision to the NFPA Life Safety Code
(section allowing elevators to be used as a second means of egress from towers.
In he earned a Doctor of Science degree in mechanical from George Washington Uni-
versity. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). a fellow of SFPE, and a fellow
of ASHRAE. He has extensive participation in ASHRAE and NFPA committees, including being a past
of ASHRAETC Fire and Smoke Control. Dr. is a registered professional engineer in the
District of Columbia, North Carolina, California, and Delaware.
James A. is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Fire Protec-
tion Engineering at the University of Maryland. Dr. has been a member of thefaculty and staff of the
department since 1977. He received his in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland,
with an in structures. He received an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering and a B.S. degree i n
fire protection engineering, both from the University of Maryland. In addition. he has a B.S. degree i n phys-
ics from College.
Dr. has served as a research fire prevention engineer at the Building and Fire Research Labora-
tory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, as the fire protection engineer for County, Vir-
ginia, and consultant to numerous organizations. Dr. Milke is a fellow of the SFPE and is a of
the National Fire Protection Association. the International Association of Fire Safety Science. and the Amer-
ican Society of Civil Engineers. He is the chairman of the NFPA Technical Committee on Smoke Manage-
ment and the ASCWSFPE committee on Structural Design for Fire Conditions. He on the
Fire Council of Underwriters Laboratories.
PRINCIPLES OF
SMOKE
MANAGEMENT
JohnH. Klote
JamesA. Milke
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Society of Fire Protection Engineers
ISBN 13-99-0
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-conditioning Engineers, Inc.
1791 Circle, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30329
rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ASHRAE has compiled this publication with care, but has not investigated, and ASHRAE expressly disclaims any duty
to investigate, any product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like that may be described herein. The appearance'of any
technical data or editorial material in .this publication does not endorsement, warranty, or guaranty by ASHRAE of any
product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like. ASHRAE not warrant that the information in the publication is free
of errors, and ASHRAE does not necessarily agree with any statement or opinion in this publication. The entire risk of the use of
any information in this publication is assumed by the user.
No part of this book may be reproduced without permission in writing from ASHRAE, except by a reviewer who may brief
or reproduce illustrations in a with appropriate nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or by any means--electronic. photocopying. recording, or other-without permission
in writing from ASHRAE.
ASHRAE STAFF
Editor
Howard
Editor
Christina
Editorial Ass
Barry Kurian
Jayne
Assistant
PUBLISHER
Cornstock
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the memory of George Tamura, who conducted pioneering research in smoke control at
the National Research Council of Canada.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
Preface ix
Acknowledgments
Chapter I-Introduction
Chapter 2-Fire and Heat Release
Chapter 3-Smoke and Tenability 27
Chapter Analysis 49
Chapter 5-Effective Areas and Smoke Movement 63
Chapter of Smoke Management 87
Chapter 7-Air Moving Equipment and Systems
Chapter 119
Chapter 9-Hazard Analysis 129
Chapter 10-Stainvell Pressurization 139
Chapter l-Elevator Smoke Control 157
Chapter 12-Zoned Control 171
Chapter 13-Fundamental Concepts for Atria 181
Chapter 14-Atrium Systems 199
Chapter 15-Physical 217
Chapter 16-Computational Fluid Dynamics 225
Chapter 17-Commissioning and Routine Testing 235
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nomenclature 243
References 247
A-Units of and Physical Data 259
AppendixB-Bibliography 271
Appendix of Elevator Evacuation Time 277
Appendix D-Applicationof CONTAMW 289
Appendix E-ASMET Documentation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix F-ASET-C: A Room Fire Program for Personal Computers 329
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix G-Data and Computer Output for Stairwell Example
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix H-Data and Computer Output for Zoned Smoke Control Example 349
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix I-Inspection Procedures for Smoke Control Systems 355
Appendix J-Test Procedures for Stairwell Pressurization Systems 361
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix K-Test Procedures for Zoned Smoke Control Systems 365
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix L-Inspection Procedures for Atria Smoke Exhaust 369
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix M-Test Procedures for Atria Smoke Exhaust Systems 371
Index 373
PREFACE
In 1983, ASHRAE published Design of Smoke Control Systems for Buildings, written by myself and John
This book was the first attempt to consolidate and present practical information about smoke control
design. Judging by the many favorable comments and suggestions about this first book, I feel that it was a success.
The first publication was limited to systems that control smoke by means of the physical mechanisms of pressuriza-
tion and airflow.
In 1992, ASHRAE and SFPE jointly published Design of Smoke Management written by myself and
James Milke. The term smoke management was used in the title of this publication to indicate that the physical mech-
anisms were expanded from pressurization and airflow to include compartmentation, dilution, and buoyancy. Based
on heightened about supplying combustion air to the fire, a caution was added about the use of airflow for
smoke management.
This new publication addresses the material of the two earlier books plus people movement in fire, hazard analy-
sis, scale modeling, and computational fluid 'dynamics. In addition, the material about tenability and atrium smoke
management has been extensively revised. As with the other books, this new book is primarily intended for designers,
but it is expected that it will be of interest to other professionals (code researchers, etc.).
This book and its predecessors are different from other design books in a number of respects. This book is writ-
ten in both English units (also called for inch-pound) and units so that it can be used by a wide audience. To the
extent practical, equations are accompanied by derivations and physical descriptions of the mechanisms involved.
The physical descriptions are worked into the text as simple explanations of how particular mechanisms, processes,
or events happen. The goal of the derivations and physical descriptions is to provide information and understanding
so that readers can apply the material of this book in creative and insightful ways.
As with the first two publications, I hope that this book is of value to the engineering community. Further, I
invite readers to mail their suggestions and comments to me at the address below:
John H. Klote, P.E.
I I I I Street
VA 22 l
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project would not have been possible without the support of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Acknowledgment is made to the members of the ASHRAE Smoke
Control Monitoring Committee for their generous support and constructive criticism. The members of this subcom-
mittee are:
A. Webb, Chairman (Performance Technology Consulting, Ltd., Lake Bluff,
John A. Minn.)
Dave Elovitz (Energy Economics, Inc., Natick, Mass.)
Gary Lougheed (National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario)
The support and advice of the staff of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) at the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md., was invaluable. Particular appreciation is expressed
to Richard Bukowski, Glen and Richard Peacock. Special thanks are due to Daniel Madrzykowski for his
advice regarding oxygen consumption calorimetry and heat release rate. The authors are indebted to Kevin
tan of BFRL for his valuable advice and constructive criticism regarding computational fluid dynamics.
Richard Gann and Barbara Levin of and Braun of Hughes Associates, Baltimore, Md., provided valu-
able information and insight concerning the evaluation of the effects of toxic exposures. Creg Beyler of Hughes
Associates provided constructive criticism in a number of areas. Special thanks are due to Gary Lougheed for his con-
criticism and for body of relevant research conducted by him and associates at the National Research
Council of Canada.
Students of fire engineering at the University of Maryland have provided insightful comments on
drafts of several chapters of this book In particular, the students and Naviaser developed the
information about CONTAMW that is included as Appendix D.
content of book is heavily dependent upon work of researchers, design engineers, and other
professionals around the world. So many of these people provided experimental research results, system con-
cepts, and analytical methods that it is impossible to thank them all individually. Appreciation is expressed to all
those have to advancement of smoke technology directly or indirectly by their con-
tributions to fire science and fire protection engineering.
CHAPTER1
Introduction
S
moke is recognized as the major killer in fire situa-
tions. Smoke often migrates to building locations
remote from the fire space, threatening life and
damaging property. Stairwells and elevator shafts
quently become smoke-logged, thereby
and inhibiting rescue and fire fighting. The MGM
Grand Hotel fire (Best and Demers 1982) is an
of the smoke problem. The fire was limited to the first
floor, but smoke spread throughout the building. Some
occupants on upper floors were exposed to smoke for
hours before rescue. The death toll was 85, and the
of the deaths were on floors far above the fire.
23
22
2
20
17
MGMGrand Hotel Fire
Las Vegas, NV
Nov 21,1980
Note: Renumbered for
The MGM Grand is not unique in this respect, as is
illustrated by the fires at the Roosevelt Hotel
1964) and Johnson City Retirement (Steckler et
al. 1990). All of these fires were located on the first
floor, but the majority of deaths were on upper floors
(Figure l).'
During the intensive activity of fire fighting and
rescue, the locations of some of the bodies are not
recorded. Thus Figure 1. 1 is limited to the deaths for
which the locations were known.
Retirement
8 Fire
L 7
Johnson City. TN
Dec 24,1989
2
I
0 1 2 3
Deaths
2
I
0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8
Deaths 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Deaths
Figure I .I Deaths for fires was
Chapter l-Introduction
Figure Floor plan of Health Care Test the Annex.
The general public is unaware of how fast a fire can
grow and of how much smoke can be produced by a fire.
This unawareness extends to many designers and other
related professionals. Because such an awareness is nec-
essary to the evaluation of design parameters for smoke
management systems, the following example is pro-
vided.
This example is fire test N-54, performed at the
Health Care Test Facility at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Annex in Gaithersburg, Md.
For technical details of this unsprinklered fire test, the
reader is referred to a report by et al. 980). The
floor plan of the test facility is shown in Figure 1.2.
In this test, various fabrics representing common
clothing materials were hung on wire coat hangers and
arranged loosely in a wooden wardrobe. A cardboard
box containing crumpled newspaper was placed on the
floor of the wardrobe. The test started when the crum-
pled newspaper was ignited by a match. Following igni-
tion, the left-hand door of the wardrobe was closed
tightly while the right-hand door was partially open
resulting in a 3 in. (76 mm) opening along the vertical
edge of the door.
At one second after ignition, no flame or smoke
was visible. At 80 seconds, flames were visible flowing
from the top of the wardrobe, a layer of smoke was cov-
ering the ceiling of the burn room, and smoke had
flowed into the corridor forming a one-foot-thick layer
just below the corridor ceiling. At seconds, flames
were flowing from the top two-thirds of the wardrobe
opening, and the smoke flowing out of the burn room
doorway had increased significantly. At seconds
after ignition, flames were flowing from the entire open-
ing of the wardrobe door, and the layer of smoke in the
corridor and lobby had descended to approximately 4 ft
(1.2 m) below the ceiling.
Such very rapid fire growth and accompanying
smoke production represent a real possibility in
wardrobe fires and perhaps even closet fires. Many
other fire scenarios are possible. For example, a latex or
a polyurethane filled mattress ignited by an adjacent
wastebasket fire would reach about the same stage of
development in six minutes that wardrobe test N-54
reached in two minutes.
Full-scale fire tests by et al. (1997) and
Lougheed et al. (2000, 2001) have shown that success-
fully sprinklered fires can continue to bum and produce
enormous amounts of dense buoyant smoke after sprin-
kler activation. While it appears this smoke production
is greatest for fires that are shielded from sprinkler
spray, some unshielded fires still produced considerable
amounts of buoyant smoke.
The concept of smoke management has developed
as a solution to the smoke migration Smoke
movement can be managed by use of one or more of the
following mechanisms: compartmentation, dilution, air-
flow, pressurization, or buoyancy. These
are discussed in detail in Chapter 4. The use of pressur-
ization produced by mechanical fans is referred to as
control by NFPA 92A (NFPA 2000). By this def-
inition, stairwell pressurization (Chapter 7), elevator
pressurization (Chapter and zoned smoke control
(Chapter 9) are all types of smoke control systems.
The primary emphasis of this book is on
that cse pressurization produced by mechanical fans.
The use of pressurization to control the flow of undes-
ired airborne matter has been practiced for at least 50
years. For example, it has been used in buildings, such
as experimental laboratories, where there is danger of
2. As discussed later in Design Con-
siderations,"smoke management is only one of many
techniques available to protection engineers.
Principles of
poison gas, flammable gas, or bacteriological material
migrating one area to another; it has been used to
control the entrance of contaminants where a dust-free
environment is necessary; it has been used
tion migration and contamination could occur; and it has
been used hospitals to prevent the migration of bacte-
ria to sterile areas. However, the use of airflow and pres-
surization to control smoke flow from a building fire is a
fairly recent adaptation.
INTENT
The primary intent of this book is to provide practi-
cal state-of-the-art to engineers who have
been charged with design of smoke management sys-
tems. The book is also intended to provide information
for the review of designs and development of codes and
standards,. This chapter contains general background
Chapter 2 deals with fire development and
the heat :release rate of fires. Chapter 3 discusses the
nature including toxicity, heat exposure, and
visibility through smoke. Chapter 4 people
movement during fire evacuation.
methods are employed to minimize the possibility
doors being propped open.
While advances in tenability analysis have
engineering analysis smoke feasible, these sys-
tems are not included in this book. The idea of smoke
shafts is that smoke flows up the shaft due to
where the smoke flows away from the building, but the
authors have concerns about the fundamental effective-
ness of smoke shafts. Further, there seems to be little
interest in smoke
The stair systems known as towers
are misnomers, in that there is nothing about them that
ensures no smoke migration into stairs. Originally, these
towers were separate from the building and were con-
nected to it only by walkways open to the outside. Some
versions of these towers used relatively small openings
in exterior vestibule walls in place of the separate walk-
ways. In the absence of an engineering analysis of these
systems, it can only be stated that the benefits of these
systems are questionable. For these reasons, separated
stair towers are not included in this book, and it is rec-
ommended that the term towers not be
Chapter 5 is devoted to smoke movement in build-
and the individual driving forces of smoke move-
ment are discussed in detail. Chapter 6 contains a
EQUATIONS AND UNITS
discussion of topics that are essential for
OF MEASUREMENT
the design of systems to manage smoke movement. It
discusses the mechanisms of compartmentation, dilu-
tion, airflow, pressurization, and buoyancy, which are
used by themselves or in combination to manage
conditions in fire situations.
Background information is provided about ducts,
fans, fire dampers, smoke dampers, and fan-powered
ventilation systems i n Chapter 7. Chapter 8 is a descrip-
tion of the computer programs that are used for the anal-
ysis of smoke management systems.
Chapters 9 through 14 address hazard analysis,
stairwell pressurization, elevator smoke control, zoned
smoke and atrium smoke management. For
applications for which these conventional methods are
inappropriate, the methods of scale and
putational'fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used (Chapters
and 16). Chapter 17 addresses the important topic of
commissioning and routine testing.
It may be noted that pressurized corridors have
been omitted. The presented in this book can
Considering that this book is primarily intended for
design, it seems most appropriate that units should be
specified for every equation. However, the topic of
smoke management is relatively new, and there is no
test to refer to for the derivation of many of the equa-
tions used. Further, it was desired that the text be in both
Inch-Pound (IP) units and the International System
units. It would be unacceptably to present
derivations using both commonly used English units
and units. The equations used for derivations are
homogeneous, and they can be used with
the system, the slug pound system, and the pound
mass poundal system (Appendix A). These dimension-
ally homogeneous equations are easily identified
because no units are specified for them in the text.
all of the equations the reader is to use
for design analysis are given in both English and
units. These equations are easily identified because the
appropriate units for the equation are specifically indi-
cated i n the text.
applied to pressurized corridors in a manner similar
to their application to other pressurization systems. The
HISTORYOF SMOKE VENTING
.
concern with pressurized corridors is that if a fire room Smoke venting has been used extensively to
door is blocked open, the corridor pressurization system age smoke flow during fires. The acceptance of
can force smoke into other rooms off the corridor. For such venting resulted from several major fires,
this reason, pressurized corridors are not generally rec- including those at the Brooklyn which killed
except for applications where practical 283 in 1877; Vienna Ring which killed 449
Chapter l
AreAreas2 and4 on 10 Tower
I I
............ ............
3
on
.....
...........
Floor
............ ............ ............
Figure 1.3 Typical floor plan of the office at
30 Church Street.
in 1881; the Royal, which killed 186 in 1887;
and the Iroquois which killed 571 in All
of these fires started on the stage and resulted in
major loss of life in the audience. The Palace fire
in Edinburgh in 1911 was an exception. In this fire,
smoke venting through the stage roof was credited for
helping to prevent any loss of life. The buoyancy of the
hot smoke forced the smoke flow through the vent open-
ings, and this venting is called natural venting or gravity
venting.
Over the past few decades, fan-powered smoke
exhaust has become the standard for almost all atria in
North America. In other areas, such as Europe, Austra-
lia, and New Zealand, both natural venting systems and
fan-powered exhaust systems have become for
atria. Modem atria smoke management designs are
based on engineering analysis developed over the last
few decades. These analytical methods are primarily
based on research in smoke plumes fire model-
ing. Information about these analytical methods is pro-
vided in Chapters and 14.
HISTORY OF PRESSURIZATION
SMOKE CONTROL
The idea of smoke protection by pressurization sys-
tems is restrict the movement of smoke a build-
ing fire. To study the effectiveness of pressurization
smoke control, the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute con-
ducted a series of fire experiments at a 22-story office
building at 30 Church street i n New York City
This building was scheduled for demolition.
Materials representative of fuels that would be in an
were burned on floors 7 and 10, as shown in Fig-
ure 1.3. This project demonstrated that pressurization
could provide "smoke free" exits during large unsprin-
ExperimentalTower
3
4 Lobby Supply
Figure 1.4 Typicalfloor plan of NRCC exper-hen-
klered fires. The term "smoke free" is used to mean
essentially free of smoke, with the possibility of such
insignificant amounts of combustion products that tena-
bility is maintained.
Other full-scale fire tests also demonstrated that
pressurization could provide "smoke free" exits during
large unsprinklered fires (Koplon
Butcher et al. 1976). Cresci (1973) describes visualiza-
tion experiments using a model of the stair shaft at the
Church Street building, where stationary vortices
observed at open doonvays. These vortices are the rea-
son that the flow coefficient through an open
door is about half of i t be otherwise. This
significant effect on airflow is discussed in Chapter
The Research Tower near Ottawa (Figure 1.4) was
used for a joint National Instituteof Standards and Tech-
nology (NIST) and National Research Council Canada
(NRCC) study of elevator smoke control. Again, i t was
demonstrated that pressurization could control smoke
from large unsprinklered fires (Tamura and Klote
1988; Klote and Tamura 1987).
In the spring of 1989, NIST conducted a series of
experiments of zoned smoke control at the Plaza Hotel
in Washington as shown in Figure 1.5 (Klote
1990). A zoned smoke control is a system that
uses pressurization to restrict migration to the
zone of fire origin. Once again, it was demonstrated that
pressurization could control smoke from unsprin-
klered fires.
An analysis based on first principles of engineering
was made of the pressure differences produced the
smoke during the fires at the Plaza Hotel.
As is done with zone fire modeling, the pressures
rooms were considered hydrostatic. The general trends
of calculated values were i n agreement with the
surements (Figure and this indicates a of
Principles of Smoke Management
applicability of zone fire for analysis of pres-
surization smoke control systems.
OBJECTIVES OF SMOKE MANAGEMENT
Some objectives of a smoke management system
are to reduce deaths and injuries from smoke, reduce
property loss from smoke damage, and to aid firefight-
ers. Many designers feel that life safety is the primary
objective of smoke management; however, systems
have been built with the primary objective of protecting
property--especially high-value equipment. Regardless
of the objective, the methods of design analysis pre-
sented in book are applicable.
Theoretically, a smoke management system can be
designed to provide a safe escape route, a safe
area, or both. However, a pressurization control)
system can meet its objectives even if a small amount of
smoke infiltrates protected areas. For this book, pressur-
ization systems are designed on the basis that no smoke
infiltration will occur. Hazard analysis (Chapter 9) can
be used for the design of systems that maintain tenabil-
ity even when people come into contact with some
smoke.
PERFORMANCE-BASEDDESIGN
recent years, performance-based codes have
become a topic of considerable attention. Traditional
codes prescribe requirements, while performance-based
codes require a level of performance. A
based design is developed to meet the level of perfor-
mance stipulated in the code.
This book uses a performance-based approach,
where the kind of performance is based on the type of
system. Pressurization smoke control systems are
designed to maintain specific levels of pressurization at
barriers, such as partitions and closed doors. Atrium
smoke exhausts often are designed to keep smoke
descending below a specific level. Further, various
of smoke management systems can be designed to
maintain tenable conditions within specific spaces.
PRELIMINARY DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
Smoke management should be viewed as only one
part of the overall building fire protection systems. Two
basic approaches to fire protection are to prevent fire
ignition and to manage fire impact. Figure 1.7 shows a
simplified decision tree for fire protection. The building
occupants and managers have the role in pre-
venting fire ignition. The building design team may
incorporate features into the building to assist the occu-
pants and managers in this effort. Because it is impossi-
ble to prevent fire ignition completely, managing fire
impact has assumed a significant role in fire protection
design. Compartmentation, suppression, control of con-
struction materials, exit systems, and smoke manage-
ment are examples. The NFPA Fire Protection
Handbook (NFPA SFPE Handbook of Fire Pro-
tection Engineering (SFPE and NFPA 550
(NFPA 1995) contain detailed about fire
safety.
S 20 25
(minutes)
(a) Pressure Difference Near Ceiling
0
0 5 15 20 25 30
l i me (minutes)
(b) Near Floor
Figure 1.5 Figure 1.6 and
Plaza Hotel
tests.
Chapter1
Objectives
Ignition Impact
Heat-Energy Source-Fuel
Threat' Exposure'
Sources Interactions
'Note: Smoke management is one of many fire protectiontools that can be
used to help manage the threat of fire and managethe exposure of fire.
1.7 decision tree.
Many factors will affect the design of a man-
agement system. Before the actual mechanical design of
the system can proceed, the potential constraints on the
system should be determined and the design criteria
established. This section introduces some considerations
peculiar to smoke management system design, some of
which are merely listed below, since detailed discussion
is beyond the scope of this book. However. published
works on some of these subjects are cited in the bibliog-
raphy in Appendix B.
Occupancy type and characteristics
Evacuation plan
Refuge areas
Distribution of occupant density
Human life support requirements
Form of detection and alarm
Fire service response-to-alarm
Fire suppression system characteristics
Type of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning
(HVAC) system
Energy
Building security provisions
Controls
Status of doors during potential fire condition
Potential threats
Internal compartmentation and charac-
teristics
leakage
Exterior
Wind
FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCY
To help ensure smoke management system perfor-
mance, the approaches of flexibility and resiliency can
be employed. The concept of flexibility consists of
using design features that allow for easy adjustment of a
smoke management system in order to achieve accept-
able performance. A resilient system is one that resists
serious adverse effects due to pressure fluctuations.
During the design of a new building, the leakage
paths throughout the building can only be estimated.
Therefore, the smoke management design calculations
constitute only an approximate representation of the
pressures and airflows that will occur as a result of the
smoke management system in the actual building. The
introduction of flexibility into a smoke management
system allows for variations in leakage from the origi-
nally estimated values. Because it is to measure
leakage paths in existing buildings, the concept of flexi-
bility is also useful for retrofit of smoke management i n
existing buildings. In many systems, flexibility can be
achieved by the use of fans with sheaves
3
to allow sev-
eral flow rates, a variable flow fan for the same purpose,
or by dampers that can be manually adjusted to obtain
desired pressure differences.
Pressure fluctuations often occur during a fire when
doors are opened and closed and when windows are
opened, closed, or broken. To resist such fluctuations,
resiliency can, be incorporated in a system by use of
A sheave is with a
a By exchanging a sheave for
of rotational of the fan
and its flow changed.
Principles of Smoke
automatic control to reduce the pressure fluctuations.
For example, in pressurized stairwells, automatic con-
trol can be used in the supply fan bypass system to
reduce the effect of opening and closing stairwell doors.
An alternative keep the exterior stairwell door open
during pressurization. This eliminates what is probably
the major source of fluctuations; that the opening and
closing of the exterior stairwell door. The concepts of
flexibility and resiliency are discussed further where
they apply to specific smoke management applications.
SAFETY FACT RS
Smoke management is still a relatively new field,
and it should come as no surprise that there is no -
sensus concerning safety factors, which are commonly
used in many branches of engineering to provide a level
of assurance of system performance. Further, the topic
of factors has attracted little attention in smoke
control design.
Safety factors for sizing fans of pressurization sys-
tems are very different from those intended to maintain
a tenable environment in an atrium or other application
based on a hazard analysis. If a pressurization fan is
undersized, it will not maintain acceptable pressure dif-
ferences. This should be apparent and corrected during
commissioning.
Ideally, an analysis of a system intended to maintain
a tenable environment would be based on detailed and
accurate capabilities of simulating smoke transport,
physiological effects of fire-related exposures, human
response to fire, and evacuation analysis. However, this
technology is not so advanced, and these calculations
are of necessity based on a number of conservative
assumptions with conservative design parameters. It can
be argued that such conservative calculations may result
in conservative designs even in the absence of any
safety factors. The specifics of the design and the meth-
of analysis would be expected to have a significant
impact on any approach to safety factors.
of the absence of any accepted approaches
to safety factors, this topic is not included in the meth-
ods of analysis of this book.
FIRE SUPPRESSIONSYSTEMS
Automatic suppression systems are an integral part
of many fire protection designs, and the efficacy of such
systems in controlling building fires is well docu-
mented. However, it is important to recognize that while
the functions of fire suppression and smoke manage-
ment are both desirable fire safety features, they should
not be readily substituted for each other. One of the best
ways to deal with the smoke problem is to stop smoke
production. To the extent that a suppression system
slows down the burning rate, it reduces the smoke prob-
lem. From fires that are suppressed rather than extin-
guished, smoke is produced. This smoke can move
through the building due to various driving forces dis-
cussed in Chapter 5. the other hand, well-designed
smoke management systems can maintain tolerable con-
ditions along critical egress routes but will have little
effect on the fire.
In addition to the fact that the systems dif-
ferent functions, it is important that the designer con-
sider the interaction between smoke management and
fire suppression. For example, in the case of a
sprinklered building, the pressure difference needed to
control smoke movement is probably less than in an
unsprinklered building, due to the likelihood that the
maximum fire size will be significantly smaller than in
an unsprinklered building.
A pressurization (smoke control) system can
adversely affect performance of a gaseous agent (such
as halon, or suppression system when the sys-
tems are located in a common space. In the event that
both systems are activated concurrently, the smoke
exhaust system may exhaust the suppressant gas from
the room, replacing it with outside air. Because gas sup-
pression systems commonly provide a single application
of the agent, the potential arises for renewed growth of
the fire.
Ageneral guideline would be that the gaseous agent
suppression system should take precedence over the
smoke control system. An extremely desirable feature in
such spaces would be the ability to purge the residual
smoke and the suppressant gas after the fire is com-
pletely extinguished and to replace them with fresh air.
This ability to replace the atmosphere in these spaces in
the post-fire period is very important from a life-safety
viewpoint, since some gas suppressants are asphyxiants
at normal design concentrations.
ENERGY CONSERVATION
The smoke management system must be designed
to override the local controls in a variable air volume
HVAC system so that the air supply necessary to pres-
surize spaces is supplied. Also, if there is an
energy management system or a 24-hour clock
the designer must ensure that the smoke management
system will take precedence over the local control sys-
tem so that the necessary air is supplied or exhausted
according to the design approach. It is a good general
rule that smoke management should take precedence
over energy conservation features in both new designs
and retrofits.
SYSTEMACTIVATION
System activation is probably the major area of dis-
agreement in the field of smoke control. Primarily, this
disagreement is about automatic activation versus man-
ual activation. In the early days of smoke control, there
was general agreement that activationof "pressure sand-
wich" systems should be automatic upon alarm from
smoke detectors. Automatic activation by smoke detec-
tors located in building spaces has the clear advantage
of fast response.
Some building designers and fire service officials
began to realize that smoke detectors could go into
alarm on a floor far away the fire. Thus, automatic
activation by smoke detectors could result in pressuriza-
tion of the zone in which the fire occurred. This would
result in the opposite of the desired operation; that is,
smoke would be forced into other zones. As a result, a
vocal minority of feel that smoke control
should only be activated manually by fire fighters after
they are sure of the fire location. However, many
involved professionals are concerned that such manual
activation could be so late in the fire development that
significant hazard to life and damage to property would
result. Such delayed activation can suddenly transport a
body of smoke that is highly charged with unbumed
hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and other toxic gases
and depleted of oxygen to remote locations. This can
result in a wave-like movement of toxic gases or flame
to remote areas.
The most recent view on the subject is that zoned
smoke control should be automatically activated by an
from either heat detectors or sprinkler water flow.
This can only be accomplished if the detector or sprin-
kler zones are compatible with the smoke control zones.
Using heat detector or sprinkler flow signals for activa-
tion increases the likelihood of proper identification of
the fire zone. For smoldering fires, this approach would
result in a significantly longer response time, and smoke
detectors would probably be better suited for applica-
tions where smoldering fires are of particular
However, for flaming fires, it is believed that the
response time with this approach would be short enough
so that significant benefit would be realized by the oper-
ation of the smoke control system. It is hoped that
advances in smoke detector technology and application
will significantly improve the ability of these detectors
to positively identify the fire zone.
Throughout all of this controversy, there has been
complete agreement that zoned smoke control should
not be activated by from manual stations (pull
boxes). The reason can be illustrated by the scenario ofa
man who, while observing a fire on an upper floor of a
building, decides that the first thing he should do is to
get out of the building. On the way down the stairs, he
thinks of his responsibility to the other occupants. He
stops on a lower floor long enough to actuate a manual
station. If that alarm activated the smoke control system,
the wrong zone would be identifiedas the fire zone.
Because of the long response time and the mainte-
nance problem of clogging with airborne particles, it is
generally agreed that smoke detectors located in HVAC
ducts should not be the primary means of smoke control
system activation. A means of activationof higher
ability and quicker response time is needed. However,
an alarm from a duct-located detector can be used in
addition to such a primary means of activation. A signal
only this secondary means might be unusual, but it
should be able to activate the smoke control system.
Most stairwell pressurization systems operate in the
same manner regardless of where the fire is located.
Therefore, it generally is agreed that most stairwell pres-
surization systems can be activated by the alarm of any
fire alarm-initiating device located within the building.
A possible exception to this is large buildings with hori-
zontal separations, such that smoke is not expected to
have an impact on some stairwells remote from the fire.
It is recommended that zoned smoke control sys-
tems be equipped with a remote control from
which the smoke control system can be manually over-
ridden. This should be easily identifiable and
accessible to the fire department. Such a remote control
allows fire fighters to change the mode of smoke
control system operation in addition to system shut-
down. Activation of smoke management systems for
atria and other large spaces is addressed in Chapter
RELIABILITY OFSMOKE MANAGEMENT
The intent of this section is to provide insight into
the need for acceptance testing and routine testing and
the relative importance of system simplicity: The fol-
lowing should not be thought of as an exhaustive treat-
ment of smoke management reliability. Due to the
of obtaining data about the reliability of com-
ponents of smoke management systems, the simple cal-
culations that follow are only very rough estimates.
However, it is believed that the insight gained justifies
this treatment despite these limitations. Further, the
same reliability concerns that apply to smoke manage-
ment systems apply to all life safety systems, and the
following discussion may be of general interest beycnd
smoke management.
The discussion is limited to series systems, which
are systems that operate only if all the components oper-
ate, as is true of many smoke management system
designs. Redundancies (such as backup power) are not
included in this analysis. The reliability, R, a series
Principles ofSmoke Management'
Table1.1:
EstimatedSystemReliabilityfor NewSmokeManagement
SystemThat Has Not Been Commissioned
No. of HVAC No. of Other
of
System System Fans Components Before Commissioning System (months)
1 0 0.97 16
2 0 3 0.83 46
3 3 9 0.56 14
4 5 18 0.31 8
5 5 54 0.03 3
1. Systemreliabilities calculated Equation For purposes of these calculations, the of fans ofa forced air HVACsystem were
taken as 0.99, and other components were taken as 0.94.
2. Mean lives calculatedfrom Equation(1.3). For purposesof these calculations. the failure rates of fans of a forcedair HVAC system were takenas
per hour, and other components were taken a s per hour.
system is the product of the of
ponents.
Usually, discussions of reliability progress from this point
with the assumption that all components operate initially
and that failures occur with time after system installation.
For this assumption to be appropriate, a program of accep-
tance testing and defect correction is necessary. Such com-
missioning must include an installation check of all
components, tests of system during all modes
of operation, repair of defects, and retesting until all defects
are corrected. Current construction practices are such that
system commissioning is not always this exhaustive. For
this reason, attention is first given to reliability of systems
without commissioning followed by a discussion of reli-
ability of systems for which all components operate after
commissioning.
RELIABILITYBEFORECOMMISSIONING
For newly installed components, the reliability can
be thought of as the likelihood that the component will
both be installed properly and be in good working con-
dition when it is delivered to the construction site. There
are an enormous number of errors that can occur during
manufacture, transportation, storage, and installation
that can cause a component to fail to operate.
such as motors wired for the wrong voltage, not
connected to power, dampers failing to close, fans run-
ning backward, holes i n walls, and automatic doors fail-
ing to close have been observed in newly built smoke
management systems. Based on experience
testing of smoke management systems, it is estimated
that the reliability of components i n noncommissioned
systems is 0.90 or An consideration
regarding the of a component in a
missioned system is if that component is part of an
HVAC system. In hot or cold weather, building occu-
pants demand that the HVAC system provide comfort
conditions. Thus, for a new building in extreme weather,
it can be considered that the reliability of the HVAC sys-
tem fan will approach unity. Based on field observa-
tions, it is believed that other components will have a
lower reliability. The following reliabilities were chosen
for example calculations for new systems that have not
been commissioned:
Fans of a forced air HVACsystem 0.99
Other components 0.94
These values were arbitrarily selected, but the rela-
tive values between them are based on the discussion
above. Table I . lists calculated reliabilities of such sys-
tems made up of many components. It can be observed
from this table that the more components a system has,
the less likely the system is to operate before it has been
commissioned. The most reliable new system would be
one that only uses the HVAC system fans. A large com-
plicated system consisting of many components (Table
1.1, system 5) has very little chance of operating before
commissioning. The trend of lower reliability for com-
plicated systems agrees with observations of the author
during field tests of systems of various
degrees of complexity. Probably the most important
point to be made from this discussion is the need for
commissioning of new systems.
MEAN LIFEOF COMMISSIONED SYSTEMS
For this discussion, all system components are con-
sidered to operate-at the end of the commissioning pro-
cess. A commonly used relation for the reliability of
components is the distribution,
= .
I I " I
Circuit Breakers
I
Mechanical
Large
I
Eq
Figure 1.8 Typical ranges rates Lees [ I
where is the failure rate of the component. The mean
life, L, of a system is
Some typical ranges of failure rates of some
ponents and systems are shown in Figure It can be
seen that failure rates vary over large ranges and that
failure rates vary considerably with equipment type. It
seems that the failure rate of HVAC system fans would
be lower than those of other components. If these fans
fail, building desiring heating or cooling tend
to put pressure on maintenance personnel to get fans
repaired quickly. Smoke management systems are only
needed for a short time over the life of a building. Thus,
when an HVAC system fan is called for smoke
management duty, it seems that it will be more likely to
operate than other components. To account for this, the
effective failure rate of HVAC system fans can be
thought of as being much smaller than other compo-
nents. The following failure rates were arbitrarily
selected for example calculations, but their relative val-
ues are based on the above discussion:
Fans of a forced air I-[VAC system per hr
Other components per hr
Table 1.1 shows mean lives of systems composed of
various numbers of components. It can be observed that
systems composed of a few components have long
lives, while those made up of very components
have short lives. This tends to support the view that sim-
ple systems are more reliable, and this view is supported
by in the field. However, it should be cau-
tioned that systems should not be overly simple; that is,
they should have the features needed to achieve desired
performance at likely conditions during a fire. Further,
the above simple analysis did not include the beneficial
effects of redundancies. However, it is safe to conclude
that unnecessary system complexities should be
avoided. The mean lives listed in Table also indicate
that routine testing and repair of smoke management
is needed so that the systems will probably be
in good working order when they are needed. A similar
statement can be made concerning all life safety sys-
tems.
CHAPTER 2
Fire and Heat Release
P
robably the most important aspect of a building quences of a fire after ignition but not with the causes of
fire is the heat release rate (HRR). The tempera- Ignition.
ture and amount of gases produced by a fire are
Growth: After ignition, fire growth is determined
the burning, with influence from
models use the HRR as input. When
characterized by an
of air for the fire. Figure 2.2 shows an office
fire starting in a corner of an upholstered chair and
about the size of a fire or how big a fire is, they almost
always are referring to the HRR. Other indicators of fire
size are the fire area and fire perimeter, but neither of
these is commonly used to depict how big a fire is in the
predictive models that have gained a high level of
acceptance in recent years. For these reasons, the term
size is used in this book to HRR.
The intent of this chapter is to provide basic
i
about fire size and development that should be
helpful concerning evaluation and of
I
design fires. A design fire is the challenge that a smoke
management system is designed to withstand. Because
the presence of sprinklers often plays a role in the
mination of a design fire, sprinklers are also included.
The design fire can be a steady fire or an unsteady one.
While the steady fire is not physically realistic, it can
result in very conservative designs and it can simplify
design analysis.
STAGES OF FIRE DEVELOPMENT
Fires i n rooms or other compartments are often
described in terms of the stages of fire development,
shown in Figure 2.1. These stages are useful in discuss-
ing fires, but many fires do not go through all of these
stages due to lack of fuel or the action of a suppression
system.
Ignition: Ignition is the period during which the
fire begins. management deals with the
growing until it spreads to other objects. As the fire
grows, the temperature in the room rises. A fire with
sufficient combustion air is called afuel fire,
and such a fire is also referred to as burning air.
Flashover: In engineering, most processes of inter-
est consist of gradual changes, but flashover is an excep-
tion. is a sudden change from an apparent
steady fire confined to a relatively small space to a fire
that involves a much larger space, such as the entire
room.
For the office fire of Figure (c), materials
throughout the room are subject to thermal radiation
from the Flames and the smoke layer under the ceiling.
When this radiation is sufficiently high, some of these
materials ignite. This is followed by other materials
I I I
I Post Flashover
I II I
I I I I
Dewy
Time
Figure
(a) Fire restricted to inside corner of chair and resulting in smoke layer under ceiling
Table 2.1:
ApproximateValues of CO
Yield for Room
CO
Flaming fires in"free air" 0.04
Fully involved fire (in a roomwithout 0.2
materials on ceilingor upper portion of walls)***
These estimates are based on
and (2002).
is in CO produced per of fuel burned (or g of CO
produced per gof fuel burned).
Fully involvedfires in rooms withcellulosic materials (wood,
paper, cardboard, etc.) on ceilingor upper of walls are
expected to have COyieldsseveral times higher
igniting, and then the entire room is involved in fire.
Once a fire gets to the stage depicted in Figure 2.2 (c), it
only takes a few seconds for a room to flashover.
In a very large room, such as an open floor
plan, only a portion of the room may flashover. The
smoke layer temperature at which flashover occurs is
generally in the range of 930F to 1300F (500C to
700C). The criteria for flashover is sometimes taken to
be a smoke layer temperature of (600C) or a
radiant heat flux of 1.8 (20 at the floor
of the fire (Peacock et al. 1999).
Fully Developed Fire: This stage of fire develop-
ment has the highest temperatures. For small and
medium rooms, the HRR of a fully developed fire
depends on the amount of air that reaches the fire. Such
a fully developed fire is ventilation
In a ventilation controlled fire, more volatile gases
are produced by the burning materials than can be
bumed in the room with the oxygen available, and the
fire can be characterized by flames consisting of burn-
ing volatile gases extending from open doonvays of the
fire room. For very rooms, as in an open office
floor plan, the fire may not ever become ventilation con-
trolled. Fully developed fires are characterized by
cient combustion and high production of CO (Table
2.1).
Decay: As the fuel is consumed, the HRR of the
fire and the temperature of the room drop. The fire may
change from ventilation controlled to fuel controlled.
Strictly speaking, the term post-flashover
includes both fully developed and decay stages, but the
is often used to mean a fully developed fire.
MEASUREMENT OF HEAT RELEASE RATE
In the early days of fire research, of
the HRR during a fire was very crude. Typically, materi-
als were burned on a load cell (scale), and the HRR was
estimated from the mass loss and the heat of combustion
of the material. If the load cell became too hot, mass
Measure
Temperature,
Flow Rate, Gas
Concentrations.
Figure 2.3 Open air calorimeter:
measurements would be meaningless. Various schemes .
to keep the load cell from heating up were devised, but
they all interfered to some extent with the measure-
ments. The situation was even worse when pieces of
burning material would fall from the load cell.
To further exacerbate the difficulties with such
HRR determinations, many items burned are composites
of several different materials, each with its own heat of
combustion. For example, a desk might be made of
wood, fiberboard, sheet plastic and molded plastic
doors, and drawer fronts. Not only do these materials
have different heats of combustion, but they burn at dif-
ferent times during the course of a fire. For these rea-
sons, an HRR estimated from measured mass losses is
often unreliable.
Oxygen Consumption
In the fire research laboratories around the
world worked to develop a method of calorimetry that
was not subject to the problems of the old method dis-
cussed above. The new method is based on the osygen
used up in the fire and is called
(and sometimes depletion
While oxygen consumption calorimeters often have
load cells, the measurements from these cells are for
information and not for calculation of the HRR.
The key to this technology is that the heat released
per unit oxygen consumed is almost a constant for most
materials. Huggctt (1980) found that this heat release
constant is 5,630 Btu per Ib of oxygen
MJ per kg of oxygen consumed). For most materials
involved in building fires, this constant has an uncer-
tainty of about 6%.
Figure 2.3 shows a calorimeter where furniture is
burned under a hood connected to an exhaust, such that
all the is drawn into the exhaust. From measure-
ments of the mass flow of exhaust and the content of
2- and Heat Release
MeasureTemperature. Flow Rate,
andGas Concentrations.
Smoke
Plume
Front View
Figure 2.4 Room calorimeter:
the exhaust, the time rate of consumption can be cal-
culated. From this, the HRR can be calculated. Because
some of the is not completely consumed, gas mea-
surements also include COand Parker (1982) pre-
sents equations for calculation of the for various
applications.
consumption calorimeters are calibrated by
burning a gaseous fuel (methane, propane, etc.) at a
measured flow rate. The uncertainty of the calorimeter
depends on the uncertainties of (1) the operation of the
calorimeter, (2) the calorimeter calibration process, and
(3) the heat release constant. Calorimeter operation is
not always as intended. Some of the smoke may not be
captured by the hood, or burning materials may fall off
the fire and away from the calorimeter. With such unin-
tended operation, uncertainties in excess of 20% could
result. For a well-calibrated calorimeter operated as
intended, the uncertainty of measured HRR may be in
the neighborhood of 10%. For more information about
the uncertainty of consumption calorimeters, see
et al. (2000).
Open air calorimeters (Figure 2.3) are sometimes
called furniture calorimeters because they are often used
for furniture. However, they can be used for any fuel
package provided that all of the smoke from the fire
is collected, and (2) the heat released does not damage
the calorimeter including the pollution control equip-
ment. Typically, these calorimeters are located indoors
to protect the fire from the wind. The hoods are usually
to 20 (3 to G m) square, but the size is only con-
strained by the practicalities of construction.
Other types of consumption calorimeters are the
room calorimeter and the cone calorimeter. The room
calorimeter (Figure 2.4) is used when the effects of the
walls and ceiling on the HRR are to be
Section View
Time
Figure 2.5 Three kiosk
of materials (data
[I
cant. The cone calorimeter is a "bench scale" laboratory
instrument developed at NIST (Babrauskas 1990).
HRR OF SOME OBJECTS
When duplicate objects are burned, there are devia-
tions in HRR as illustrated with the three kiosk fires of
Figure 2.5. These kiosks are for selling T shirts. The
deviations of HRR are due to a number of factors,
including (I) minor variations i n arrangement of the T-
shirts, (2) variations in composition of T-shirts, (3) vari-
ations in the dimensions of the kiosk, (4) variations in
materials of the kiosk, and (5) variations in the air cur-
rents near the kiosk. However, the shapes and peak
HRRs of kiosk curves are similar.
Figures 2.6 to 2.19 show HRRs of other objects. The
peak HRR of Scotch pine Christmas trees burned by
Stroupet al. (1999) were in the rangeof' to 5000
(1900 to 5300 kW), as shown in Ahonen et
ofSmoke Management
al. (1984) burned spruce trees, and the peak
werein the range 40 to 620 (42 to 650 kW).
All of these Christmas tree fires had rapid growth stages
followed by decay as the tree was burned up.
Data for a burning dresser (Figure and bunk
bed (Figure 2.8) were obtained by Mitler (2000). Like
the Christmas tree fires, the dresser had rapid growth
Time
Figure 2.6 Scotch pine tree
et al.
0
300 600 960 l 1/00
Time
Figure 2.7
5000
5000
4000
3000
3000
m
2000
2000
I
I
1
0
300 600 900 1200 1500 1800
Time
Figure 2.8 bed
Miller-
stages followed by decay. Many other objects
under an open air calorimeter will show the same type
of rapid growth followed by decay as the material burns
et al. (1984) an assortment of furni-
(Figures 2.9 to 2.16). In general, all these curves are
of the as the proceeding
curves, with the exception of one of the chairs. The
upholstered chair of Figure 2.11 has two peaks: (1)
950 (1000 kW) at 240 and (2) 570 (600
kW) at 400 The wardrobe of Figure 2.15 is an even
more pronounced example of multiple peaks: (1) 3500
(3700 kW) at 120 and (2) 3100 (3300 kW)
at 360
For objects with two peaks, the second peak is
due to material or materials in the object that bum dif-
ferently from those responsible for the first peak. Also, a
fire consisting of a number of objects would be expected
to have more than one peak, as in Example
Madrzykowski and (1992) burned worksta-
tions. These workstations are simulated
spaces, including a chair, shelves or a desk, paper,
personal computer, and dividers separating the worksta-
Figure 2.9 filled
foam et al.
[ I
0
3 9 0 1 0
Time
Figure chair polyurethane
cushions
al.
looc
0
360
l i me
Figure 2.11 Upholstered chair with
padding and weighing 25 (11.5 kg)
(datafroni et
0
0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800
lime
Figure 2.12 foam
and 62 (28.3
et al. 9841).
Figure 2.13 Sofa padding
et al.
Figure 2.14 Metal wardrobe cotton
(data al.
Time (S)
Figure Wardrobe of 0.5 in. (12.7
et al.
8000
Unfinished
Fire Retardant
6000
. Paint:
4000 2 Coats 4000
K
I
2000
. , .
Figure 2.16 of in. (3.2
cotton
et al.
Principles of Smoke Managemerit
20W
1500
1500 .
m
,
I
500
I
500
0
1200 1800 2400
lime Time (min)
Figure 2.17 Two-divider workstation with Figure 2.19 Automobiles (data fromJoyeux
tional desk and credenza (data from
Madrzykowski and Vettori
lime
Figure 2.18 Three-divider with an open
top and shelf (data from
tion from other spaces. The workstation
(Figure 2.17) has a peak HRR of 1700 (1800 kW)
at The three-divider workstation (Figure 2.18) has
a peak HRR of 6400 (6800 kW) at 550 A
reason for the higher HRR of the three-sided
tion is probably the increased radiation feedback from
the additional divider and the shelves. For further infor-
mation about the HRRs of workstations, readers are
referred to Madrzykowski
Figure shows HRR data of automobiles mea-
sured by Joyeux 997). Joyeux showed that cars made
in the had a higher HRR than those made earlier,
and this may be due to increased use of polymers and
other materials. -Because of these higher
HRRs, a car fire in a parking garage can ignite an adja-
cent car.
Cribs and piles of wood pallets are used in research
and testing when reproducible solid fuel fires are needed
(Figures 2.20 and 2.21). Cribs are geometrically
arranged piles of sticks. The crib shown in Figure 2.20
Figure 2.20 Crib of geometrically arranged
was used for tests of the smoke management system at
the Plaza Hotel (Klote 1990). This crib was made of
wood sticks, in. (38 mm) by 1.5 in. (38 mm) by 2 ft
(0.61 long, and it had a peak HRR of aboet 1400
( l kW) when burned in free air. The stack of
nine wood pallets shown in Figure has a peak HRR
of about 3,500 (3,700 kW) when burned in free
air. Gross (1 Block (197 and Walton (1988)
burned cribs of various sizes and stick
Babrauskas (2002) provides heat release data of cribs
and pallets.
VENTILATION-CONTROLLEDFIRES
As already stated, the HRR of a
trolled fire depends on the amount of air that reaches the
fire. Further, the HRR can be expressed as a function of
the openings to the fire room as
where
Q = heat release rate of fire, kW
A, area of ventilation opening, f? (m
2
);
H, = height of ventilation opening, (m);
=
Equation (2. l) appiies to rooms of construc-
tion and size with only one rectangular opening. Figure
2.22 shows the of a ventilation-controlled fire as a
function of width of the door or other opening. Equation
(2.1) provides useful estimates for rooms made with
normal construction materials concrete, wood,
etc.), but it is not appropriate for metal rooms, such as
on a ship with steel decks and bulkheads. For large
rooms (over 300 [30 the appropriateness of
Equation (2.1) is questionable. For information about
the effects of construction materials and room sizes, see
Walton and 995).
For a number of rectangular openings with the same
bottom and top elevations, the heights are the same, and
the effective area is the sum of the individual areas.
where
A ,
effective area of all the ventilation openings, ft
2
area of ventilation opening from = to
(m').
This is illustrated for two openings i n Figure 2.23.
Figure 2.2 Stack o f
Example 2.1 Ventilation-ControlledFire
For a room with a single doorway opening that is fully
involved in how big will the fire be? The doorway open-
ing is 3 (0.914 m)wide by7 (2.13 high.
H,=7 (213 m);A, = =21
the tire is ventilation controlled, Equation (2.1) is
applicable.
Q
SPRINKLERS
Figure illustrates t-squared fire growth with
the three possible responses to sprinkler spray: (a) sprin-
klers overpowered by fire, (b) constant and (c)
reduction of HRR. Sprinklers can be overpowered by an
extremely fast growing fire due to burning materials that
exceed the sprinkler design. Sprinklers can also be over-
powered when the smoke reaching the sprinklers has
cooled due to plume entrainment, happen with
fires in spaces with ceilings that are relatively high com-
pared to the arrangement of fuel. For this to happen, the
Door
Door Width
Figure 2.22 HRR a
medium-sizedroom
For openings with the same and
bottomelevations. A,
Figure 2.23 Combining openings
of size o f
Time
(a) Sprinklers Overpowered by Fire
I
Conservative Estimate
of Constant HRR
Time
(b) Conservative Estimate of Constant
HRR After Sprinkler Activation
Time
(c) Fire Decay After Sprinkler Activation
Figure 2.24 Interaction between and sprinklers.
flame height is typically less than the ceiling height, and
room air cools the gases in the
plume. Methods of calculating the plume temperature
are in Chapter 13. If the sprinklers do activate, the spray
could evaporate before the droplets reach the fuel.
DECAY DUETOSFRINKLERS
A constant HRR after sprinkler actuation is a con-
servative estimate for many applications. Fire
after sprinkler actuation is more realistic. Fire decay can
be expressed as
where
= post sprinkler actuation HRR, kW
= sprinkler actuation, kW
t = time from ignition,
= time of sprinkler actuation,
= time constant fire suppression,
For a number of fuel likely to be found in
offices, and (1992) conducted
sprinklered fire experiments with a spray density of
(0.07 of water. They determined that a
fire decay curve with a time constant of 435 had a
higher HRR than most of the sprinklered fires (Figure
2.25). Evans (1993) used these data and data for wood
crib fires with sprinkler spray densities of
(0.041 and 0.097 (0.066 from
(1976) to develop the following correlation:
where
= spray density,
C, = 6.15
While Equation (2.4) has not been experimentally
verified, it does allow us to adjust the decay for
sprinkler densities other than those of
Sprinkler Response
While the information in this section is primarily
about sprinklers, it also applies to vents actuated by fus-
ible links and fixed temperature detectors.
The responsiveness of sprinklers is tested by the
plunge test, where a sprinkler is into a heated
in which heated air is circulated. The of
the plunge test is mathematically the as that of a
small piece of hot metal suddenly quenched i n a cool
fluid, as described in heat transfer texts
and This analysis is based on
the assumptions that ( I ) the internal resistance of the
sprinkler is negligible, (2) the sprinkler is instanta-
neously put the oven, (3) the convective heat transfer
is constant, (4) the gas temperature i n
oven is constant, and the only heat transfer is from
the sprinkler to the gas.
The temperature of the sprinkler increases
as shown in Figure The time constant, of
the sprinkler is
where
=
m =
C =
h, =
A =
time constant,
mass of the sprinkler, (kg);
specific heat of the sprinkler, "F "C);
convective heat transfer "F
surface area of the sprinkler, (m
2
).
. The time constant, is the time at which the tem-
perature of the sprinkler has reached 63% of the way to
the gas temperature. The convective heat transfer
cient varies with velocity, so that the time constant also
varies with the velocity at which it is measured.
The response time index (RTI) was developed as a
measure of sprinkler responsiveness that is independent
of velocity.
where is the velocity,
In the plunge test, the to actuation and the gas
velocity are measured. Then the time constant can be
calculated from the to actuation, and the RTI is
calculated from Equation The RTI of standsrd
sprinklers varies from about 140 to 280
to 155 and the RTI of quick-response sprin-
klers (QRS) varies from about 50 to 100 (28 .
to 55
The response time index does not account for con-
ductive heat transfer from the sprinkler. To account for
conduction, a virtual RTI can be calculated as
RTI,
where
RTI, = virtual RTI,
= conductivity factor,
. .
'I: is time constant
Time
Figure 2.26
Paper Cart Fuel Package
Secretarial Desk Fuel Package
ExecutiveDesk Fuel Package
. Office Fuel Package
I Fuel Package
Sofa Fuel
. Work Station I Fuel Package
- - Work Station Fuel Package
Wood Cribs
0 200 400 600 800
Time, t -
Figure 2.25 to a of
(0.07
Actuation
Actuation depends on gas temperature and velocity
near the sprinkler. In a fire, a jet of hot gases flows
ally from where the smoke plume intersects the ceiling.
Computer programs have been developed that use corre-
lations for such a ceiling jet to predict actuation time.
The program DETACT-QS (Evans and Stroup
1986) assumes that the thermal device is located in a rel-
atively large area, that only the ceiling jet heats the
device, and that there is no heating from the accumu-
lated hot gases in the room. The required program inputs
are the height of the ceiling the fuel, the distance
of the thermal device from the axis of the fire, the actua-
tion temperature of the thermal device, the response
time index (RTI) for the device, and the rate of heat
release of the fire. The program outputs are the ceiling
gas and the device temperature, both as a
function of time and the time required for device actua-
tion. DETACT-T2 (Evans et al. 1986) is similar to
DETACT-QS, except it is specifically for t-squared
fires. Several zone fire models (such as FAST,
and JET) are capable of calculating ceiling jet
temperatures and predicting actuation (Chapter 8).
DESIGNFIRES
A design fire curve is the description of the devel-
opment of a design fire that can be used in a fire sce-
nario. The curve is for HRR as a function of time. This
curve can be as simple as a constant, and it can also be a
simple function of The design fire curve can also
be a complicated sequence of lesser for some or
all of the stages of tire development described at the
beginning of this chapter.
A fire scenario includes more than just the design
fire curve. The word means an outline of
events, as i n a play or other theatrical production. A fire
scenario can be thought of as the outline of events and
conditions that are critical to the outcome
of alternative designs. In addition to the HRR and fire
location, a scenario could include the type of materials
burned, airborne toxicants and soot produced, and peo-
ple movement during fire.
are not intended to be located in the space are referred to
as
A few examples of transient fuels are Christmas
decorations, paint and solvents in stairwells during
redecorating, unpacked foam cups in cardboard boxes
after delivery, cut up cardboard boxes awaiting removal,
and closely stacked upholstered furniture after delivery.
Sometimes, transient fuels remain in place for long peri-
ods. Some examples are a number of polyurethane
mattresses delivered to a dormitory and waiting for dis-
tribution in the next school year, (2) automobiles on dis-
play in a shopping mall, (3) boats and campers on
display in an arena, and (4) a two-story colonial house
built for display inside a shopping mall.
Transient fuels must not be overlooked when select-
ing a design fire. One approach to incorporating tran-
sient fuels in a design fire is to consider the fire
occurring over 100 (9.3 m
2
) of floor space with a
heat release rate density of 20 Btuls ft
2
(225
This amounts to an allowance for transient of 2000
(2100 kW).
Steady Fires
I t is the nature of fires to be unsteady, but the steady
fire is a very useful idealization. Steady fires have a con-
stant heat release rate. In many applications, use of a
steady design fire can lead to and con-
servative designs.
HRR per Unit Area
Morgan (1979) suggests a typical rate of heat
release per unit floor area for mercantile occupancies of
44 (500 Fang and Breese (1980)
determined about the same rate of heat release for resi-
dential occupancies. Morgan and Hansell (1987) and
Law (1982) suggest a heat release rate per unit floor
area for office buildings of 20 f? (225
For smoke management applications, a heat release rate
per floor area of 20 Btuls ft
2
(225 is suggested
for restricted fuel spaces, and 44 Btuls ft
2
(500
is suggested for spaces with furniture, wood, or other
combustible materials. A occurring over 100 (9.3
m
2
) of floor space would result in 2000 Btuls kW)
for restricted fuel space and 4600 kW (4400 Btuls) for a
space with The heat release densities of
In many spaces, the fuel loading is severely
Table 2.2 can be useful in determining design fires.
restricted with the intent of restricting fire size. Such
spaces are characterized by interior finishes of metal,
brick, stone, or gypsum board and furnished with
Unsteady Fires
objects of similar materials plus plants. Even for Fires frequently proceed through an incubation
such a space, there can be an almost period of slow and uneven growth, followed by a period
unlimited number of objects that are in the of established growth as illustrated in Figure 2.27 (a).
space for short periods. Such combustible materials that Figure 2.27 (b) shows that established growth- is often
Table 2.2:
Heat Release Density of Some Materials
Heat Release Density, q
Material Burned
I . Wood pallets, stacked 0.46 m(1.5 h) high (6-12% moisture) 1400 125
2. Wood pallets, stacked 1.52 m (5 ft) high (6-12% moisture) 4,000 350
3. Wood pallets, stacked 3.05 m high (6-12% moisture) 6,800
4. Wood pallets, stacked 4.88 m ft) high (6-12% moisture) 10,000 900
5. Mail bags, filled, stored 1.52 m (5 fi) high 400 3 5
6. Cartons, compartmented, stacked 4.57 m high 1,700 50
7. PE letter trays, filled, stacked 1.52 m (5 ft) high on cart 8,500 750
8. PE trash barrels in cartons, stacked 4.57 m( l 5 ft) high 2,000 175
9. PE shower stalls in cartons, stacked 4.57 ft) high 1,400
10. PE bottles packed in item 6 6,200 550
11. PE bottles in cartons, stacked 4.57 m ft) high 2,000 175
12. PU insulation board, rigid foam, stacked m(l 5 ft) high 1,900
13. PS-jars packed i n item 6 . . 14,000 1,250
14. PS tubes nested in cartons, stacked 4.27 m( l 4 ft) high 5,400 475
PS toy parts in cartons, stacked 1.57 m ft) high 2,000
16. PS insulation board, rigid foam, stacked 4.27 m ft) high 3,300 290
17. PVC bottles packed in item 6 3,400 300
PP tubes packed in item6 4,400 390
19. PP PE film in rolls, stacked4.27 m ft) high 6,200 550
20. Methanol pool, m (0.52 ft) 2,000 I SO
21. Methanol pool, 1.22 m (4.0 ft) diameter 400 35
22. Methanol pool, 1.74 m (5.7 ft) diameter 400 35
23. Methanol pool, 2.44 m (8.0 420 37
24. Methanol pool. 0.97 (3.2 66
25. Silicone fluid pool, 1.74 m (5.7 diameter 90 8
26. Silicone transformer fluid pool, 2.44 m(8.0 ft) 90 8
27. Hydrocarbon transformer fluid pool. 1.22 (4.0 ft) diameter 940 83
28. Hydrocarbon transformer fluid pool, 1.74 m (5.7 diameter 900 80
29. Heptane pool, 1.22 (4 ft) diameter 270
30. Heptane pool, 1.74 (5.7 ft) diameter 3.200 280
I . Abbreviations are: PE = PS = PVC = PP PU polyurethane.
2. Items I (2000).
10
4. 28 arc products
represented by an idealized parabolic equation
tad 1984).
where
Q
a =
=
=
heat of fire, kW
growth
ignition,
time,
It is generally recognized that consideration of the
incubation period is not necessary for design of smoke
management systems, and Equation (2.8) can be
as where t is the time after effective ignition,
and fires following this equation are called
fires.
the incubation the t-squared fire
can written as
where t is considered the time from effective ignition. For
I-P units, the following form of Equation (2.9) is
used:
where
Q
= heat release rate of fire,
time after effective ignition,
= growth time,
When = Equation (2.10) gives a value of Q =
Table 2.3 lists fire growth values from
NFPA 92B (NFPA 2000) and NFPA 72 (NFPA 1999).
The fire growths corresponding to the NFPA values
are shown on Figure 2.28. Unless otherwise stated in
this book, the terms slow, fast, and fast
fire growth refer to the NFPA 92B values.
Fuel Package Approach
The base fuel package is the maximum probable
size of package that is likely to be involved in fire
for a specific application. A fuel package can be made
up of a number of fuel items (sofa, chair, bed, table, cur-
Time, t
(a) Typical HRR curve
Time, t
(b) Idealized Parabolic curve
2.27 Fire
tains, The key to selecting the items that make
the base package is that the radiant flux bum-
ing one of the items will lead ignition of the other
items in the base package but not to ignition for
items outside the base package.
The point source radiant model (Figure 2.29) con-
siders the flame as a small thermal source such that the
intensity of thermal radiation is proportional to the
inverse of the square of distance from the source. Ther-
mal radiation also is called radiant
The intensity of thermal radiation is
where
intensityof thermal radiation,
= radiant release of the fire, (kW);
R
= distance from the of the fire, ft (m).
Table 2.3:
Fire Growth Constants for T-Squared Fires
NFPA 928
Slow
Thin Plywood CorrugatedCardboard
Cartons1.5 (4.6 m)
High -Various: Contents
0 200 400 600 800
Medium
Fast
Fast
Time From
Figure 2.28 of
0.002778 0.002931
0.01 0.01 127 300
0.04444 0.04689
0.1778 0.1878 75
400
150
NIA
Oriented
Fire Normal
The point source model is a good
approximation provided that R
Figure 2.29 Point source radiation model.
The point source radiant model is appropriate pro-
vided that the distance from the of the flame is
greater than twice the diameter of the fire (R The
radiant heat release of the fire is
where
Q heat release rate of the fire, (kW);
= radiative fraction.
Heat transfer a is by conduction, con-
vection, and radiation. For most fires, conductive heat
transfer from the is negligible. The radiant frac-
tion can be expressed as
where is the convective fraction.
The radiative fraction depends on the material
burned and the diameter of the fire, and the radiative
fraction varies from about 0.1 to 0.6. Low sooting fuels,
such as methanol, have low radiative fractions, and high
sooting materials, such as gasoline and polystyrene,
have high radiative fractions. However, for design appli-
cations, values of 0.3 and = 0.7 are common.
The idea of separation distance is useful evalua-
tion of what items should be in the base fuel package.
Using the point source radiant model, the separation dis-
tance is
where
= separation distance from the of the fire to
a target, (m);
= intensityof radiation needed for
ignition,
Fuel items less than away from the fire would
be expected to ignite, and fuel items farther than
away would not be expected to ignite. The radiant flux
needed for nonpiloted ignition varies from about 0.9
(10 for thin easy-to-ignite materials to
1.8 (20 for thick materials.
For a fire, the heat release rate, that results in
ignition of an object at a distance of R away is
For radiant heat transfer where R is less than twice
the diameter of the fire, a method other than the point
source model is needed. Several texts have general
information about radiant heat transfer and
1992; lncropera and 1985; Kreith 1965).
For information about radiant heat transfer of fire, read-
ers are referred to Quintiere
and and Croce (1995).
Principlesof Smoke Management
2.2 Packaoe
--
'a".- --"v -
m-
The fuel load in a large atrium of the polyurethane foam-filledsofas and chairs shown in 2.30. The of the
is high so that successful sprinkler suppression is not anticipated. The of the sofas is the same as that of Figure 2.13,
and its peak is 2960 Bhds (3 kW). The of the chairs is the same as that of Figure 2, and the peak HRRis 20 l 0
(2120 kW). How many sofas and chairs make up the base fuel package, and what is the HRR of the base fuel package?
Part I: Initial Estimate of Base Fuel Package
Use a radiant flux for nonpiloted ignition of =1.8 s (20
For the Q, = = =888 (937 kW).
From the separation distance from the sofa is
This shows that a fire on sofa I would not be expected to ignite sofa 2, but it would be expected to ignite chair I . Because fires are often
off the of the fire is taken as the on the side near the chair. This is conservative in that ignition of the chair would be
sooner than if the of the fire were farther away.
For the chair, Q,. = = 0.3 (2010) = 603 (636 kW)
From Equation the separation distance from the burning sofa is
I
This shows that the fire of chair I would be expected to ignite sofa 2. Because sofas 3 and 4 are at least ft (5.5 m) away from sofas I
and 2, ignition of sofas 3 and 4 would not be expected. For now the base fuel package will be considered to consist I and 2 and
chair I.
Part Calculate Fuel Package
I I
On Figure 2.30, the distance the of the fire on sofa I is R, 3.6 ft ( l . l m).
The heat release rate that results in ignition at can be calculated from Equation
This means that when the fire I reaches 293 (309 kW), the chair would be expected to ignite. Because = ignition of
sofa 2 is expected the chair I fire also reaches 293 (309 kW).
Calculations of the HRR are done graphically on Figure 2.3 :
(a) The HRR of sofa I is taken Figure 2.13. The ignition time ofehair I is determined at the intersection of the sofa curve and
293 (309 kW).
(b) The HRR of chair I is taken from Figure 2.12.
(c) The ignition time of sofa is determined in a manner similar to step (a), and the HRR curve for sofa 2 also is taken 2.13.
(d) curves for sofas I and 2 and chair I are added to obtain the for the base fuel package.
It should be noted that adding the HRRcurves as in step (d) assumes that the objects will bum as they would in air under a calorim-
eter and neglects any effect of radiation from other burning objects.
Part Check Bare Fuel Package
This part checks to see if fuel will ignite other materials.
The highest peak of the HRR curve of Figure 2.3 (d) is at 3600 (3800 kW).
For the base fuel package, = = (3600) = 1080 (l 140
Equation the separation distance from the is
The other items in Figure 2.30 are I S (5.5 m) the base package, so ignition items not be expected. So
base fuel package and its HRR curve can be directly for a design analysis, or a simplified design can be adapted
it. were fuel items this separation distance. these items to added to the base package, and a new
would have to be determined.
Chapter2 and Heat Release
Sofa Sofa
Chair 2
Note:
R, m)
Figure 2.30 the of
Example
time
(a) Draw curvefor sofa 1, and ignitionpoint of chair
. .
(b) Draw for chair
4000
Time
(c) Locate ignition point and draw curve for sofa 2
Time
(d) Get base fuel package by adding the 3 other curves
Figure 2.31 Graphic of base
package Examnple 2.2.
CHAPTER 3
Smoke and Tenability
I
n this book, the term is used in accordance ard. Frequently, people become disoriented in fire
the definition of NFPA 92A (2000) and NFPA tions because they cannot see through heavy smoke. If
92B which states that smoke consists of the they remain in the building too long, they fall victim to
airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases evolved exposure to toxic gases or elevated temperatures. Fur-
when a material undergoes pyrolysis or combustion, ther, in buildings with balconies, smoke obscuration can
together with the quantity of air that is entrained or result in fatal falls.
mixed into the mass. The products of combustion
usually include particulates, unburned fuel, water
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and some other toxic
and corrosive gases. As smoke moves through a build-
ing, air mixes into the smoke mass and the concentration
of combustion products in the smoke decreases. Includ-
ing air that is entrained or othenvise mixed facilitates
discussions about fire smoke management in atriums
and other spaces. Generally. smoke is thought of as
being visible, but the above definition includes
Smoke management systems can be designed with
the objective of providing a tenable environment in the
means of egress or at other locations during evacuation.
Such a tenability system needs to be designed to meet
tenability criteria. Such criteria need to include expo-
sure to toxic gases, heat, and thermal radiation. Further,
the criteria often include visibility. As discussed at the
end of this chapter, criteria for a tenability design
depend on the specific application.
ble produced by burning of materials that pro-
duce little or no particulate matter, such as hydrogen,
natural gas, and alcohol.
Information about smoke hazards is useful in
effects of small quantities of smoke migrating
into "protected spaces," and it is useful in evaluating the
consequences of smoke migration without smoke pro-
tection. This chapter concentrates on hazards due
to toxicity, temperature, and smoke obscuration. The
hazards of temperature consist of hear which
can occur when a person comes into bodily contact with
hot gases, and can
occur a person receives thermal radiation from
flames or hot smoke that are some distance away from
the person.
Many different methods of expressing smoke
obscuration are used in fire science and fire protection
engineering, and this section discusses the common
methods. There is a lack of uniformity concerning
smoke obscuration, and some engineering publications
use different terminology or have different mathemati-
cal definitions for the same terms. These differences
could result in significant errors, and readers are
ticned to take care to verify the exact meanings of
obscuration terms used in other publications. The termi-
nology that follows was selected with the intent of being
consistent with technical publications in this field.
Exposure to toxic gases, heat. and thermal radiation The fraction of light transmitted through the
can be a direct hazard to life, and reduced visibility due length of smoke is called the transniittance and is writ-
to smoke obscuration can be a significant indirect haz- ten as
Chapter 3-Smoke and Tenability
where
T transmittance,dimensionless;
intensity of light at the beginning of the path-
length;
intensity of light remaining after it has passed
through the pathlength.
units for light intensity are arbitrary, and such
units are unnecessary for discussions of smoke obscura-
tion and even for measurements of smoke obscuration.
Transmittance is measured by monitoring the extinction
of a beam of light passing through a pathlength, of
smoke as illustrated in the light meter of Figure
Strictly speaking, the discussion section applies
to light composed of only one wavelength, as a
laser beam, but light meters using less exotic light
sources (such as incandescent bulbs) have been used
extensively for fire tests.
the atmosphere is "smoke free,"the intensity
of remaining after it has passed through' the path-
length is almost exactly the same as the intensity at the
beginning of the pathlength, and the transmittance is
almost exactly one. It follows that the of a
beam passing than one.
Neutral density allow only a specific frac-
tion of the light to pass through, are used to calibrate
light meters. the voltage (or current) output of
photo cell can be calibrated give transmittance
directly.
is as
Substituting Equation and rearranging results
in an equation for optical i n terms
tance,
where
6 optical density per uni t distance. (m-');
T transmittance. dimensionless;
= distance light travel or the pathlength,
unit distance is
defined as
Substituting (3. l ) rearranging
tight Photo
Source
p---
+- -+- - --
Wires From
To Power
PowerSource Source and Data
Acquisition System
Figure 3.1 Smoke meter used to measure
ration.
where a is the extinction coefficient per unit distance in
units of (m-'). The extinction is sometimes
called the attenuation
Percentage is occasionally used and is
defined as
where R is the dimensionless percentage obscuration.
The optical is measured in some
laboratory smoke tests and is defined as
where
= specific optical density (dimensionless);
6 = optical density per unit distance, (m-');
= volume of the smoke test chamber, (m
3
);
A = decomposed surface area of the test sample burned
(m
2
).
The specific optical density is a practical measure-
ment of smoke obscuration only when the decomposed
area of the sample is well defined.
For laboratory tests where the mass loss of the sam-
ple is measured, the mass optical is an appropri-
ate measure of obscuration. The mass optical density is
as
where
= optical density,
= optical density unit distance,
Table3.1:
Comparison of Different Methods of ExpressingSmoke Obscuration
Pathlength Optical Density Extinction
Transmittance Percentage Obscuration X Coefficient a
V,
= volume of the smoke test chamber,
that a disoriented person could fall from a balcony.
Because a person falling 5 ni ft) has about a 50%
AM = mass loss saniple, (g).
chance of fatality, falls are a serious concern for build-
The mass concentration of fuel burned in the test
ings with balconies.
chamber is
Based on the work of Jin (1974, 1975, the
relation between visibility and smoke obscuration is
- -
K
a
(3.11)
where the mass concentration of fuel burned in units
of Substituting density into Equation
(3.8) yields
Table lists some values of optical density,
extinction coefficient, and percentage obscuration for
different path lengths. Equations for conversion
between smoke obscuration terms are listed in
Table 3.2.
VISIBILITY THROUGH SMOKE
When people cannot see because of smoke from a
building fire, they walk can significantly
lengthen evacuation time, and they can become disori-
ented and lost, thus prolonging their exposure to toxic
In atrium fire situations. is the added con-
where
S = (m);
a = extinction
K = proportionality constant (Table 3.3).
The visibility is the obscuration threshold, which is
the distance at which an object just be seen. The
proportionality constant is dependent on the of
smoke, the illumination of object. the intensity of
background illumination, and visual acuity of the
observer. Jin conducted tests determining visibility of
light-emitting and -reflecting signs. Signs in a smoke-
filled chamber were observed outside through a
glass window, and the results for illuminated signs are
shown in Figure 3.2. White smoke produced by
fires, and black smoke produced by
flaming tires. Visibility through the smoke was
less, probably due to higher light scattering. I t is well
Chapter 3-Smokeand Tenability
Table3.2:
ConversionEquationsfor Smoke Obscuration
Convert To From Equation
Optical Density Extinction Coefficient
6 =0.4343 a
Optical
Optical Density
Percentage Obscuration
Specific Optical Density
log,, -A 00)
Optical Density Mass Optical Density
=
Extinction Coefficient Optical Density
a=2.303
Extinction Coefficient Percentage Obscuration
Extinction Coefficient Specific Optical Density
log,( l - A/ 100)
X
Extinction Coefficient Mass Optical Density
=
Percentage Obscuration Optical
=
Obscuration
Extinction Coefficient
Specific Optical
Mass Optical Density
Specific Optical Density Optical Density
Specific Optical Density Extinction Coefficient
Specific Optical Density Percentage Obscuration
A
Specific Optical Density Mass Optical Density
= A
Mass Optical Density Optical Density
Mass Optical Density Extinction Coefficient
Mass Optical Density Obscuration
S,,,=6
Mass Optical Density Specific Optical Density
6 A
I . unit distance. a=extinction per unit distnncc. percentage obscurntion
optical = mass optical
loss (g): = decomposed burned. concentration burned. (g:
of Smoke Management
.
Table 3.3:
Recommended Proportionality
Constants for Visibility Based on
Researchof Jin (1974,1975, and 1985)
Situation K
Illuminated signs 8
Reflecting signs 3
Building components in reflected light 3
Kind
of
2000 Black
Black Smoke
0 2000
0 Smoke
E
>
I
I I I I
0.4 0.5 0.7 1 1.5 2
Coefficient,a
Figure 3.2 between visibility of
emitting signs and obscuration
known that scattering of background lighting can signif-
icantly reduce visibility of lighted signs, but quantitative
data about the effect of background illumination are
needed. Jin found that the proportionality constant
ranged from 5 to for light-emitting signs. For reflect-
ing signs, the constant ranged 2 to 4. Jin indicates
that the value of visibility for reflecting
may be applicable for the visibility of other objects,
such as walls, floors, doors, and stairs. Based on Jin's
values of Kare listed in Table 3.3.
Example 3.1 Visibilityof an
Table 3.3, K = S.
Extinction is a=2.303 so a= = 0.207
From Equation (3.1 S= = 39 2 m). the distance
Example3.2 Visibility of and Walls
In Example what is the visibility of walls and doors?
Table K=3.
Extinction coefficient =
FromEquation S=31.207 or 4.3 m.
IrritatingSmoke
a NonirritatingSmoke
2
I I
0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.5 2 3
Extinction
Figure 3.3 Relationship between visibility of
emitting smoke
and
Jin
The above information about visibility does not
take into account the irritating effects of smoke on the
eyes. Jin (1985) conducted tests correlating the visibility
and walking speed of subjects exposed to irritating
smoke with the extinction There are short-
comings with correlating effects with an
optical property of smoke since the effects would
to be primarily caused by chemical components of
smoke. However, the effects of eye irritation are so sig-
nificant that Jin's work on the topic is discussed below.
Figure 3.3 shows the relation between visibility and
obscuration for irritating and nonirritating for a
light-emitting sign. The irritating smoke was white
smoke produced by burning wood cribs; the less irritat-
ing smoke was produced by burning kerosene. The visi-
bility relationships of Equations (2. i l ) and (2.12) are
not appropriate when subjects are exposed to irritating
In thick irritating smoke, subjects could not keep
eyes open long enough to read the sign. Figure 3. 4
shows the relation between obscuration and
speed of people walking down a corridor in irri-
tating and nonirritating Both eye irritation and
smoke density affect walking speed. Walking speed
decreases with coefficient for both
Chapter 3-Smokeand Tenability
but it is much worse for irritating smoke. For an extinc-
tion coefficient of 0.4 the walking speed through
irritating smoke was about 70% of that through
tating smoke. For extinction coefficients greater than 0.5
m-', the walking speed decreased to about 1 (0.3
speed of a blindfolded .person. The drop in
walking speed was because subjects could not keep their
eyes open, and they walked in a or went step-by-
step as they held the side wall.
Jin (1985) developed an empirical relation for visi-
bility in irritating smoke:
K
S =
a (3.12)
{only for a (0.25 )
where
a extinctioncoefficient, (m-');
S- visibility, (m);
K proportionalityconstant (Table
-0.6255 (0.133).
smoke were
FromTable 3.3, K=8.
Extinction coefficient =0.207
From Equation
S
= - 1.47 = 15 m)
An alternate approach to calculation of visibility
from the mass concentration of particulate is obtained
from combining Equations (3.10) and l ) with the
conversion from optical density to extinction coefficient
(Table
where
S visibility, fi (m);
K = proportionality constant (Table 3.3);
S,,, = optical density,
= mass concentration of fuel burned (g/m
3
)
Mass optical densities for some wood and plastics
are i n Table 3.4. Equation can be useful because
the mass concentration of fuel burned can be calculated
from a smoke transport model as discussed later in
chapters on design and atrium design.
For laboratory smoke test chambers and simple room
calculations, the mass concentration of particulate,
can be calculated from (3.9).
The extinction can be expressed as
where
a = extinction (m-');
a, = specificextinctioncoefficient,
= mass concentration of particulate (g/m
3
).
The specific extinction coefficient depends on size
distribution and optical properties of :he particulates.
Seader and Einhorn (1976) obtained values for a,,,of
2.1 for smoke from pyrolysis of
wood and plastics and 3.7 ft
2
/lb for
smoke combustion of these same materi-
als.
Substituting Equation into Equation (3.1
results in
where
S = visibility,
K proportionality constant (Table
a,,, = specific extinction coeflicient,
= mass concentration of particulate
Equation (3.15) relates visibility to the mass concen-
tration of particulate. The comment concerning the utility
of Equation also applies to Equation (3.15).
IrritatingSmoke
Smoke
I
0 0.4 0.8 1.2
Extinction Coefficient, a (m")
Figure 3.4
Table3.4:
Mass Optical Densities (adaptedfrom 2002)
Mass Optical Density, Sample
Combustion Thickness
Material Conditions in. cm
Natural Materials:
Plywood
Wood (Douglas fir)
Cotton
Cotton
Synthetic Materials:
Polymethylrnethacrylate(PMMA;
Polyvinylchloride
Polyvinylchloride (with plasticizer)
Neoprene
Polypropylene
Polyethylene
Paraffin wax
Polystyrene
Polyvinylchloride
Polyurethane
Polyurethane
Latex
Latex
Neoprene
Neoprene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene foam
Polystyrene foam
Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
0.24 0.6
0.24 0.6
Flaming
1
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis
Flaming
1
Flaming
1
Flaming
1
Samples in (0.005
2. The is a mattress.
3. The sample is a plastic utility table.
The of names implies neither nor endorsement product by the authors or
Chapter 3 and Tenability
Tiie airborne particulates produced by a fire consist
primarily of soot, and the production of particulates can
be estimated as
where
mass of particulates produced, (g);
= mass of consumed, (g);
= particulates yield (dimensionless).
Values are listed in Table 3.5 from small-scale
experiments of turbulent flaming combustion for a num-
ber of materials. it is expected that particulate
production will vary with the size of the fire and the ori-
entation of the fuel, the data of Table 3.5 are
mended the absence of data from the kind of large
fires for smoke management systems are
designed.
Considering a space, the mass concen-
tration of the is
where
= volume of: in the space,
Equation (3.17) can be used for a laboratory test
where is volume the test chamber. This equa-
tion also can be used for a tire i n a room or atrium where
is the volume of smoke layer. In both cases, the
smoke volume is considered to be well mixed so the
smoke properties uniform throughout the volume.
For a a constant heat release rate, the
of fuel by a can expressed as
= mass of consumed, Ib (g);
=
total heat rats (kW);
chemical of cornbustion
= ignition,
= (1000).
Values of' some materials are listed in
Tablc 3.5. combustion is never complete. Com-
bustion is of chemical of
combustion of combustion. Using
eliminates to consider
Example Visibility Due to a PillowFire
If smoke from the burningof a 0.50 (230g) polyurethane
foam pillowwere uniformlymixed in a 20 m)
square, ft m) high room, what would be the
of a sign?
Approach FromTable 3.5, the yield of
polyurethanefoamis From themass
airborne particulate is
From Equation the mass concentration of the
is
Using = for flaming combustion and K=
Fable iscalculated Equation (3.15)
visibility of a light-emitting
2: The mass concentrationof fuel burned is
Equation(3.9):
Tablc the mass optical of
from a flaming fire is 1600 (0.33 m' g).
Visibilityis calculated from Equation
of a light-emitting sign.
see is different from 9 m) estimated in
I, and this is indicative of this
including availability of and data.
EXPOSURE T O GASES
I n the following sections, information about human
responses to exposures to toxic gases applies to an
age person. A person's response to an exposure to
gases primarily depends on age, metabolism, health his-
tory, and respiratory rate.
Carbon monoxide (CO) accounts for the
majority of total fire fatalities and
Harland and 1979). Table lists toxicity
for several gases, but only a few gases have been
poratcd in predictive toxicity models. The toxic
of CO are probably the known, but some
gases included in toxicity models are
cyanide (HCN), hydrogen and
bromide
Principles of Smoke
Table3.5:
ParticulateYield of Heat of Combustion for Fires of Solid
Chemical Heat of Combustion,
Yield
Material
Natural Materials:
Wood (red oak)
Wood (Douglas
Wood (hemlock)
100%
materials:
(ABS)
Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA;
Polypropylene
Polystyrene
Silicone
Nylon
Silicone
Foam(Flexible))
Polyurethane Foam
Polystyrene
Polyethylene
Phenolic Foam
Polyethylene (PE)
PE with 25% chlorine
(PVC)
PVC = 0.50)
PVC 2 = 0.50)
PVC =
PVC =0.25)
PVC = 0.30)
PVC =0.35)
Ethylenetetrafluoroethylene (ETFE;
Perfluoroalkoxy(PFA;
Fluorinated (FEP;
(TFE;
Data (2002) except as noted.
2. yield from (2002).
3. Values listed are an average of a under this general name.
'"The use o f trade reconimendation nor of any product authors or puhlishcr.
Table 3.6:
Lethal Concentrationof SomeGases
Gas for 30-Minute
Exposure (ppm)
carbon dioxide , 470,000
CO
NO
COS
HF
HCN
acetaidehyde
acetic acid
ammonia
hydrogen chloride
carbon monoxide
hydrogen bromide
nitric oxide
carbonyl
hydrogen sulfide
hydrogen fluoride
carbonyl fluoride
nitrogen dioxide
acrolein
hydrogen cyanide
toluene disocyanate
perfluoroisobutylene
Hyperventilation due to carbon dioxide
exposure will increase the rate of intake of CO. Oxygen
deprivation is a special case, and the reduction in
the amount of available for tissue respiration is
referred to as hypoxia. Because of the interaction of
these gases, exposure effects discussed below consider
the combined effects of these gases. The effect of expo-
sure to toxic gases on a specific individual depends on
the physiological characteristics of the individual.
Exposure and Time
Haber (1924) proposed that the effect of an expo-
sure to a gas is related to the product of the gas concen-
tration and time duration of the exposure. Haber's rule is
expressed as
where
E = effect of exposure
C = concentration (ppm), and
= duration of exposure (rnin).
This elementary equation assumes a constant inges-
tion rate of the The effects of some gases do not
follow Haber's and concentrations of toxic gases
due to building tend to change with time. Thus,
Haber's rule has limited use for tenability calculations.
In the past few decades, tenability limits have been
expressed in terms of time integrated values. Time inte-
grated values account for the effect of exposure to a
changing concentration of a particular gas over a period
of time rather than an instantaneous exposure. The E
parameter in Haber's can be considered a time inte-
grated value with a constant gas concentration. If the
concentration is variable in time, then an integration
must be conducted to obtain the area under the concen-
tration-time curve in order to determine a time inte-
grated value.
FEDfromAnimal Test Data
While most animal toxicity tests have been con-
ducted on rats, other animals include mice, guinea pigs,
hamsters, and rabbits. Because of concern for animal
rights, the toxicity research programs used the minimum
of animals, and most laboratories stopped animal testing
near the end of the 20th century.
These tests determine the concentration of airborne
combustion products that is lethal to 50%of the test ani-
mals exposed for a specified time, and this lethal con-
centration is referred to as the The specified time
for tests is usually 30 minutes, and the number of
fatalities consist of animals that die during the test and
during a post-exposure time, usually 14 days after the
test.
Using extrapolated animal test data, the fractional
effective dose is
where
FED = fractional effective dose (dimensionless);
C = concentration, ( &I ~) ; -
= exposure time
= lethal exposure dose from test data, min
(g rnin).
An FEDgreater than or equal to one indicates fatal-
ity. The concentration, C, is the density of materials that
started as fuel that have accumulated at a location at
time I. This concentration has units of mass of the mate-
rial burned per unit volume. The lethal exposure dose,
is the product of the and the exposure time.
Table 3.7 lists some values of for a number of
common materials.
The above equation is the time-integrated form of
the FED equation. For most applications, the time func-
tional relationship of concentration is not known, and
the following expression can be used for discrete pairs
of concentration and time intervals.
Principles of Smoke
Table3.7:
ApproximateLethal Exposure Dose, for CommonMaterials (adapted fromPurser 1995)
Nonflaming Fire Fuel-Controlled Fire Fully Developed Fire
Material min g min g min g min
0.046 730 0.19 0.047 750
C, H, plastics 0.03 500 0.075 1200 0.033 530
PVC 0.03 500 0.019 300 0.012 200
(low 0.03 500 0.057 920 0.0044 70
Flexible Polyurethane 0.042 680 0.087 1390 0.012 200
Rigid Polyurethane 0.0039 63 0.0062 0.0034 54
0.0 160 0.0087 140 0.0028 45
I . PAN is
where
= concentration for time interval I,
interval i, (rnin);
= lethal exposure dose test data, rnin
(g min);
= number of discrete concentration time pairs.
When the concentration is constant, Equation
written as
FED (3.22)
Many references use the term
to mean the integral term of Equation
and this meaning of will be used for the rest of
this book.
The question arises, should incapacitation or fatal-
ity be used as the design criterion for gas exposure. A
person who is incapacitated due to exposure to toxic
gases will continue to be exposed to those gases. Unless
the person is rescued or the gas concentrations improve
dramatically, such exposure will result in fatality.
Incapacitation often is used to mean the condition
that self-evacuation is very difficult or impossible. Usu-
ally an dose is less than a fatai dose, but
this is not always the case. It is possible that a person
could walk out of the smoke-filled environment only to
die some time later.
While a FED of one indicates fatality, et
al. 989) state that an FED of can be considered an
approximation to the dose. is possible
that this approximation is a criterion for
design analysis.
Would a 20-minute
6 of flexible polyurethane foamin the room
expected to be fatal?The size roomis 8Rby 12 R by 8
(2.44 mby 3.66 mby 2.44 m).
Flexible polyurethane foam would be expected to bum very
rapidly compared to the 20-minute exposure time, so the con-
centration in the roomcan be considered constant.
mass of fuel burned
C =
6
volumeof space
From Table 3.7, =0.087 (1390 g
for a fuel-controlled fire.
Because the concentration is constant, the FED is calculated as
Ct ,
FED =
LC,,, 0.087
This indicates that fatality would be expected.
Table 3.8:
Components of Air
constituent' by Volume
Nitrogen 78.084
20.946
Carbon Dioxide 0.033
Argon (Ar)
Trace Gases (He, Kr, Xe, and 0.003
(CRC 1985)
Components of Air
Calculations using predictive toxicity gas models
involve the components of air, and these components are
listed in Table The small concentration of is
essential to control breathing, but it does not
have a significant impact on toxicity calculations.
For the fire protection purposes of this book, the
small quantities of argon and the trace gases
are neglected, and air is considered to be composed of
and 79.1% by volume. Some sources use
21% and 79% by volume, which also yields use-
ful engineering results. :
CO and
Exposure to CO results in carboxyhemoglobin
uptake (COHb) in the blood, which results in decreased
oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. et al.
(1973) conducted a series of experiments on humans
and, based on this research, COHb uptake can be
expressed as
where
concentration of COHb in the blood%;
of COHb in the blood at time
= concentration of CO in air, pprn;
V = volume of breathed air per minute,
= exposure time interval, min.
Equation (3.23) does not include the effects of oxy-
gen depletion, increased breathing rate due to
exposure, or exposure to other toxic gases. The volume
of breathed air, is called the respiratory minute vol-
ume (RMV). The typical RMV of a (70 kg) per-
son at rest is about et al. (1980) used
a higher RMV of to account for activity and.
exposure, but this approach can significantly
underestimate toxic effects, as is discussed later. For cal-
culations, a value of = 0.75%can be used, and
incapacitation and lethality are approximately 25%
COHb and 50% COHb, respectively. However, calcula-
tion of the COHb level from Equation (3.23) is not a
reliable indication of toxicity incapacitation because
it does not include the effects of other gases commonly
present in (see Example 3.8).
In development of predictive toxicity gas mod-
els for fire applications, the first pure gas to be studied
was CO. Rats were exposed to varying concentrations of
pure CO for various times, and the concentrations nec-
essary to produce deaths of of the exposed animals
(the for each exposure time was determined.
plot of data (Figure 3.5) shows that the curve has
two asymptotes-an exposure time (about I minute)
below no is seen for any concentration and
a concentration (about 1700 which no effect
is seen for any time. In the case, this would rep-
resent such physiological effects as breath holding and
the time required for the gas to be transferred to the
blood and then to the tissues. In the latter case, this rep-
resents an exposure concentration for which the equilib-
rium concentration of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in
the blood is below the level that causes lethality (Levin
et al.
Following the work with CO, the effect of on
the observed CO toxicity was studied. The result of this
work was the observation that the "effective toxicity"of
CO increases with increasing concentration, dou-
bling at a level of about 5% (50,000 pprn), as shown in
Figure The physiological effects of the are to
increase the respiration rate and reduce the blood pH,
producinga metabolic acidosis. The interaction
I
I
Asymptote
- l
Asymptote
1700 ppm
60
20 30 40 50
Time (minutes)
Fi gure VS. to
. . Deaths
0
, . . , .
2000 3000 E
Carbon (ppm)
Figure 3.6 to CO alone and CO
er
. . .,....
. . Principles of Smoke
CO and is apparent the formulationsof the N-
gas and models that follow.
N-Gas Model
The N-gas model was developed at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and
relates fatality with animal test data of exposures to pure
gases and mixtures of gases (Levin 1996; Levin et al.
1995; Babrauskas et al. 1991). For mixtures of gases,
including the N-gas model can be stated as
and for mixtures not including the N-gas model can
be stared as
+ -
b 20.9 -
(3.25)
[ HCN] + +
where
= N-Gas model indicator
= -18 for 5% and 23 for 5%;
= 122,000 for 5%and-38,600 for
CO, 5%;
= lethal concentration of
lethal concentration of HCN, ppm;
= lethal concentration of ppm;
= lethal concentrationof ppm;
= lethal concentration of ppm;
= time-integrated average exposure to CO,
= time-integrated average exposure to
= time-integrated average exposure to HCN,
= average exposure to
= exposure to H
The model incorporates the breathing rate
due to exposure. It is apparent that there is a unique
interaction between HCN and For many of the
gases, the contribution to lethality is expressed as the
ratio of the gas exposure to the This is how is
treated, except that it is in terms of oxygen depletion.
The toxicity of is not included in the N-gas
model because fire-generated atmospheres do not con-
tain toxic concentrations of CO,. The of is
47% and the maximum concentration of in a fire
atmosphere is 20.9% if all of the oxygen in the air is
converted to
For animal tests, it was found that when the
value was approximately I, some of the animals died.
For values below 0.8, there would be no fatalities, and
for values above 1.3, all of the animals would be
expected to die.
The time-integrated average exposure to CO is
=
[ CO]
where is the exposure time. The other time-integrated
averages can be expressed in a similar manner. For discrete
data, the time-integrated average can be writ-
ten as follows:
[ CO] -
e
l
I
- C,,,.,
l
3-Smoke and Tenability
= of CO,
= concentrationof ppm;
concentration of
concentrationof HCN, ppm;
concentration of
= concentration of ppm;
concentration of ppm;
= exposure time, min;
A t time interval
Equation (3.27) can be used where the inter-
vals are either uniform or For
intervals, the time-integrated average these
equations become mean averages. When the concentra-
tion of any of the gases other than is zero, the contri-
bution of that gas to the value is also zero. This is
to be expected, but it is not so for the fractional incapac-
itating dose method discussed later.
Equations (3.24) and (3.25) apply when the expo-
sure time is the same as the duration of the data.
Example 3.6 demonstrates the use of the N-Gas model
for four gases, but Table 3.9 has values for all of
the gases in this model for many exposure times. For
n = number of concentration values for each gas exposure times between those listed in this table,
and time interval. values can be interpolated.
Example 3.6 Using the N-Gas Model . . .
for a 20-minute exposure to the mixture of gases listed below.
Time
I (min) .
0 0 20.90 0 0 0
I 2 20.72 40 2
2 4 20.30 1900 60 3
3 6 19.80 3200 120 6
4 8 19.70 3600 120 6
19.60 3800 I60 8
6 19.60 3 800 500 25
7 19.60 3800 600 30
S I6 19.60 3800 600 30
9 I S 19.60 3800 600 30
20 19.60 600
time-integrated can be calculated from Equation Bccausc the intervals are the
integrated average are mean averages of the concentrations as listed
19.8
[CO] 340
[CO,] 3208 [HCN
Bccausc is no exposure to HCI and Equation becomes
Bccausc is 5% (50.000 =-1 8 and =
For a 70-minute exposure. lethal concentrations from Table 3.9 are = 5.2% and =170 pprn.
This exposure not be expected to cause
Smoke Management
Table 3.9:
Lethal Concentration, of Various Gases
Exposure
Time HCN
3000
2 1600 1450
5 570 4.0 15900 12600 830
290 4.8 8400 6600 510
230 5.0 6900 5400 380
20 170 5.2 6400 5100 320
25 160 5.3 5900 4700 290
30 5.4 3800 3000 200
45 120 5.6 3300 2600
60 90 5.8 2800 2200
I . Note: values on Levin et al. (1988 and
1989). Levin (1996). (2000). and et al. (1990)
except for Because the chemical o f
and they are expected to have similar toxicological effects,
and of the for were extrapolated
from of HCI.
Fractional Incapacitating Dose
Purser (2002) developed a to calculate a
fractional incapacitating dose for exposures to CO,
HCN, and reduced The notation in this section
has been modified from that of Purser to facilitate com-
puter programming.
whichever is greater, where
fractional incapacitating dose of narcotic
gases (dinlensionless);
fraction of an incapacitating dose of CO per
unit
=
fraction incapacitating dose of HCN per
unit time
factor for CO
1
-induced hyperventilation;
= of an incapacitating dose of
oxygen per unit time
= of an incapacitating dose of per
unit time
exposure time interval i (min);
n = number of concentration values for each gas
and time intervals.
The following are calculated as
where
= concentrationof CO(ppm);
= concentration of HCN (ppm);
= concentration of (percent);
= concentration of (percent).
A value of of I or more indicates incapacita-
tion. and incapacitation time based on can be
taken as the i t takes for to become I.
Equation (3.29) represents incapacitation due to the
effects of and this equation included for
completeness. As previously stated, fire-generated
atmospheres do not contain toxic concentrations of
Equation (3.29) may be useful for fire scenarios that
include sources of other than the fire. For applica-
tions where there are no sources of Equa-
tion (3.28) should be used for the calculation of
As previously stated, the method is based on air
composed of Any combustion calculations or
measurements that are used for input to calculations
of should be consistent with this concentration.
Examination of Equation (3.30) that
for zero CO, has a value of zero;
for zero HCN, hasa value of about
and
3. for zero 20.9% has a value of about 0.002
For I , it would be expected that a zero concen-
tration of CO would result in a zero contribution to the
Chapter 3-Smoke andTenability
However, items 2 and 3 were unexpected. Azer o . about 3.3 hours can be calculated for exposure to an
concentration of HCN results in a positive contribution atmosphere of and zero concentrations of
to the and oxygen
CO, and HCN. This exposure can be thought
results in a positive contribution. For the short exposure
times characteristic of most fire protection applications,
in incapacitation. This indicated that the approach is
these positive contributions are small and should not be
of concern.
inappropriate for long exposures. However, the FED
and the N-gas model are based predominantly on test
the case for the World Trade explosion. From
applying these
Equation and an incapacitation time of models for long exposure times is also questionable.
Example Using the Model
For the gases of Example 3.6, calculate the
Use Equations (3.28) and (3.30) to calculate the table below. Remember for has units of percent.
Time (min)
FIN
0 0 NIA NIA 0
2 0.00 0.00475 1.053 0.000325 0.013
2 4 0.0019 0.00486 0.000407 0.029
3 6 0.0039 0.0052 1.107 0.000534 0.050
4 0.0033 0.0052 1.115 0.000563 0.072
5 10 0.0053 0.00545 1.119 0.000594 0.097
6 0.0 73 0.00806 1.119 0.000594 0.155
7 0.0209 0.00904 1.119 0.000594 0.223
S 0.0209 0.00904 1.119 0.000594 0.291
9 0.0209 0.00904 1.119 0.000594 0.359
20 0.0209 0.00904 0.000594 0.427
At 20 minutes of exposure, the is about 0.43. This indicates that this exposure is not expected to cause incapacitation.
Example 3.8 Comparison of
For the gas concentrations listed below, calculate and
Time
%
0 0 20.90 0 0 0
2 20.18 2320 320 8
2 4 18.50 7600 480
3 6 16.50 12800 960 24
4 8 16.10 14400 960 24
5 15.70 15200 1280 32
6 15200 4000
7 15200 4800
S . 15200
I S 1 4800,
20 15200 4800 120
Part I: In as Example 3.6, is calculated. expected
Example 3.8 (Continued) Comparison of Toxicity Models
Part 11: Calculations of FIN are similar to those of Example
Time
0 0 0.000
I 2 0.0109 0.00545 0.00043 0.036
2 4 0.0166 0.00598 0.00108 0.093
3 6 0.0340 0.00788 1.328 17 0.210
4 8 0.0340 0.00788 1.369 0.00393 0.333
5 0.0458 0.00947 1.390 0.00488 0.496
I
At incapacitation is expected. From the above table, incapacitation is expected at about minutes.
Part 11: in the blood is calculated from Equation
1.036 . .
3.3 X I and = +
l
= At = rnin: =0.75%.
Time
0 0.00000 0.7500
2 0.00003 0.7500
4 0.048 0.00005 0.750
G 0.096 0.000 0.7502
S 0.096 0.000 0.7503
0.000 0.7504
12 0.400 0.00046 0.7509
14 0.00056 0.75
0.00056 0.7520
0.00056 0.7526
20 0.00056 0.753
This of is would in either incapacitation or fatality, and these
of incapacitation or fatality.
EXPOSURE T O HEAT burns can be expected to be the dominant effect for
Exposure to elevated atmospheres can
air temperatures greater than 21C).
lead to skin burns and (heat stroke). A
The effect o.f to elevated
temperature limit of 2 'C) air is used as
a rule of thumb to of two possi-
ble will dominate. Generally, to hcatcd
extent of worn. Physiologically, exposure to an
. .
elevated tcrnperature environment cause an
only to Pain from skin in body or blood Also affecting the thermal
tenability limits is the presence of clothing. Perspiration
is a key mechanism used by humans to resist the effects
of exposure to a high-temperature environment. How-
ever, clothing may inhibit the of this natural
cooling process. Conversely, clothing provides insula-
tion from environments to protect the
skin from becoming burned. Thus, at temperatures in
excess of 250F where pain from skin burns is
the dominant effect, the presence of clothing can be con-
sidered to be beneficial. However, at the lower tempera-
tures, where hyperthermia is the dominant effect,
clothing is detrimental.
As in the case of exposure to toxic gases, consider-
ation of the time duration of exposure is necessary to
accurately assess A limit of approximately
300F (150C) is often stated for exposure durations of
five minutes. The thermal tolerance of humans at rest,
naked, with low air movement is shown in Figure 3.7.
Purser recommends the following for
to incapacitation based on averaging the time to inca-
pacitation for exposures to huniid air arid dry air:
where
to incapacitationdue to exposure,
0.0 (0.0273);
T = temperature of air, "F ("C).
Equation (3.3 l ) applies when the is not
changing time. To deal changing tempera-
tures, the same concept of a fractional incapacitating
dose that was used for gases can be applied to heat
exposure (Purser 2002). During any one step, the
incapacitating dose is given as
Exposure (minutes) .
Figure 3.7 for humans at rest,
with low air movement (adapted
The cumulative dose is the sum of the doses for
each of the intervals:
total cumulative dose (dimensionless);
F,,,,, = incapacitating dose for time interval i
sionless).
Incapacitation would be expected for greater
or equal to Substituting Equations
(3.32) into Equation (3.33) yields
total cumulative dose
time
= temperature of air in interval "F ("C);
where
C,
F incapacitating dose for the time
0.0
sionless);
exposure time i,
Equation i s in a for calculation
by a transport model
to incapacitation for or with a data
min.
Principles of Smoke
----
Example 3.9 Cumulative Exposure to Heat
Determine if incapacitationwould be expectedfor a exposed toa smoke layer where the average smoke layer tem-
perature during the first minute (52C). Duringeach next fourminutes, the smoke layer temperature increases
25F (14C).
in the following table, were calculated Equations and (3.33).
i
min
43 0.02 0.02
2 30 0.03 0.06
3 20 0.11
4 200 14 0.07 0.18
5 225 9 0.28
Since the total is well below 1.0, incapacitation would nor be expected.
EXPOSURETOTHERMAL RADIATION
Thermal radiation can cause pain, blistering. and
burning of exposed skin. Exposure to thermal radiation
is often not addressed in discussions of tenability for
smoke control applications because of the limited
temperatures for such designs. Gas temperatures
that are tenable for contact with skin are also tenable
with respect to thermal radiation.
and Chianta (1969) show that the exposure
time to pain and blistering can be represented by
where
= exposure time to pain,
= exposure time to blister,
intensity of radiation,
C,:, = 3.20 (85);
8.39 (223).
The above relationships are shown in Figure
value of =0.22 (2.5 is often used as
the value that can be tolerated for a few minutes
unbearable pain.
observers be able to approach the fire?
From Chapter 2, the separation distance for nonpiloted
ignition due to thermal radiation can be adapted for the
separationdistance to prevent skin pain as
where
Q, = radiant heat release of the fire, Btuls
=separation from the of rhe fire to a
II
person, (m);
= limit of radiant flux to prevent pain, s
Q, = (0.3) = 300 (320 kW), and use
ft (3 m) separation distance.
TENABILITYAND PERFECT DILUTION
It is to encounter situations the dilu-
tion necessary to some visibility criterion results in
sucn gas concentrations that toxicity. is not an issue.
Generally, such dilution also results in smoke tempera-
tures so low that heat exposure and thermal radiation
exposure are not issues. However, this is not so for fuels
that produce low amounts of soot.
Chapter 3-SmokeandTenability
Radiant Flux
Radiant Flux (Btuk
Figure 3.8 of skin to thermal radiant
(adapted
(1 developed equations based on perfect
dilution relative comparison of visibility, tox-
icity, and temperature for a particular fuel. This section
presents a similar but approach.
The analysis considers that the products of
tion (particulates, gases, and heat) are diluted by air.
This analysis neglects panicle aging (agglomera-
tion and deposition), reduction of specific gases, and
transfer. These are all conservative assumptions in
that result in higher predicted levels of dilution to
meet tenability criterion. Further, almost all
transport calculations neglect smoke particle aging and
reduction of specific gases.
This analysis consists of putting visibility, the effect
of toxic esposure, and smoke temperature in of a
variable so comparisons can be made. The
variable selected is the mass concentration of fuel
burned, Equation already has visibility in such
terms:
visibility. (m);
proportionality constant (Table
optical density,
mass of furl burned
In the concentration C is the same as the
mass concentration of fuel burned, Sothat
be written as
where
FED =
=
=
fractional effective dose (dimensionless);
mass concentration of fuel burned,
exposure time (min); and
lethal exposure dose from test data, min
(g min).
Without heat transfer, the smoke temperature will
be
where
= smoke temperature,
= ambient temperature, "F("C);
Q = heat release rate of fire, Btu
M, = of smoke, (kg);
= specific heat 0.24 (I
The equations are needed in order to get
the desired expression for the smoke temperature:
where
=
=
R =
=
=
=
mass of fuel bumed, (g);
heat of combustion,
density of smoke,
ambient pressure, (Pa);
gas constant of smoke, 53.3 (287
460 (273);
of (m
3
);
1 (1000).
Equations (3.39) into Equation (3.38)
and rearranging yields
--
m
l - a
where a = . (3.40)
Equations and (3.40) are in terms of
the mass concentration of fuel burned, Equation (3.36)
can be solved for mass concentration of fuel burned:
The design criterion for visibility can be put into
Equation (3.41) to get the maximum value of the mass
concentration of fuel burned to meet the visibility
rion, and Equations (3.37)-and (3.40) can be used to cal-
culate the upper limits of the FED and resulting from
this mass concentration of-fuel burned. This approach is
used in Example 1.
Example 3.11 Evaluation of Toxicitv and Heat Exposure from Visibilitv Criterion
For a visibility criterion of being able to see an illuminated exit 30 (9.1 m) away, are toxicity and heat exposure
calculation needed in addition calculations?The fuel .
Part I: Calculate
FromTable 3.4, the mass optical density, is 1600 (0.33
FromTable K= 8 for an illuminatedsign. Visibility,S, is 30 (9.1 m).
From Equation
This is the mass concentration of fuel satisfies the visibility criterion.
Part Calculate FED
Use an exposure time of 20 minutes.
FromTable 3.7, the lethal exposure dose from test data. is 390 g
FromEquation
This is an upper limit on the FED in that it is at the highest value of mass of fuel burned.
Part Calculate
FromTable 3.5, the chemical heat of combustion, is 7570 ( I 7,600
14.7 (144) 2120 = 75 "F (24 "C).
From Equation
This temperature is the upper limit for based on dilution, it is not a regard to heat exposure. This
example shows calculations for esposure to toxic gases and heat exposure not necessary. provided that
designed to the visibility criterion. Because exposure is not an issue. exposure to radiation is also not an issue.
Chapter 3
TENABILITY CRITERIA
In the most general sense, the criterion for all tena-
bility systems could be stated as:tenable conditions are
to be maintained in spaces where people are expected to
be for the expected duration of their time in those
spaces. However, such a criterion is too general to be
useful for design applications, and more specific criteria
are needed. More detailed criteria deal with one or more
of the following: exposure to toxic gases, exposure to
heat, exposure to thermal radiation, and visibility
through smoke. It is the nature of such detailed criteria
that it depends on the specific application.
The time for exposures can be mandated in codes,
and Chapter 4 provides information about people move-
ment that can be used to calculate this time. For the con-
ditions of Example 3.11, the exposures to toxic gases,
heat, and thermal radiation are insignificant provided
that the system was designed to meet visibility crite-
rion. For such insignificant exposures, detailed tenabil-
ity criteria have no real purpose. Whenever possible,
this approach can simplify design analysis.
For applications where exposure to toxic gases is
significant, it might seem that the tenability criterion
remain in the toxic environment until fatality or rescue,
it seems that the criterion should at a minimumbe based
on incapacitation. Exposures to some gases (for exam-
ple and can result in post-exposure fatality,
such that a person might not be incapacitated while
being exposed but die some time after exposure. Con-
sidering both the dominance of CO among toxic fire
gases and that CO does not result in post-exposure fatal-
ities, incapacitation could be a sufficient criterion for
most applications.
The visibility distance for exit
signs depends on the distance between the exits in a spe-
cific building. The visibility distence for seeing balcony
walls and railings might be taken as or three times
the width of the balcony. In many applications, the crite-
rion for seeing the exit signs be expected to be
the more stringent of the two.
should be based on prevention of both incapacitation For additional material about survival of exposure
and fatality. Because a person who is incapacitated will to fire produced environments, see Gann (2001).
CHAPTER 4
Evacuation Analysis
his chapter presents information about evacuation
analysis for application to smoke management
systems. In hazard analyses, evacuation behavior
needs to be assessed to estimate the time duration
in which an individual is exposed to a particular envi-
ronment. The evacuation is composed of at least
the following three periods of
Becoming aware of the tire
Preparing for movement
Movement to an exit
Generally, an evacuation analysis considering only
these three steps assumes that the individual's only
action is to evacuate. In addition to evacuating. an indi-
vidual investigate, attempt extinguishment, assist
others, call the department, etc. An evacuation anal-
ysis could account for many of these other actions in the
"preparing for movement" step.
During building fires, elevators are almost always
taken out of service and vertical evacuation is by stairs.
In a few situations, elevators are used for
For information about calculating evacuation by
elevators, see Appendix C.
THE MYTH OF PANIC
Often, television. and the press present the
unrealistic that panic in fire situations is
common. However, research supports the con-
clusion that panic behavior in fire situations is rare.
Even in large building in multiple deaths,
people experiencing fear still usually act in
ways.
provides the following state-
ment concerning behavior in fire incidents:
Overall my point has been that in both absolute
and relative terms, human behavior in disasters in
industrial societies is fairly good by any
reasonable criteria one could use. There is little
evidence beyond anecdotal stories, and none of a
systematic, comparative and quantitative nature
that suggests that behavior under stress is any
more illogical, irrational or dysfunctional than
everyday behavior.
Part of the problem is that sometimes the behavior
under stress is compared not with everyday
behavior, but with an idealized conception of
behavior. Of course along that line it does not
come out well. But this is a match of real disaster
behavior with the ideal, when the honest compari-
son should be between real disaster behavior and
actual everyday behavior. If the last kind of match
is made, there is not that much difference between
the two.
While panic is perceived by nontechnical individu-
als to occur quite frequently in fires, it actually occurs
very infrequently. As noted by Quarantelli and
confirmed by Bryan (2002) and Keating most
commonly people respond adaptively to the fire incident
and are often altruistic in their behavior. In Wood's
(1971) study of human behavior in fires. he noted that
acted to increase their level of risk in only 5% of
all fire incidents. According to a panel convened
address panic, characteristics of panic behavior
include the following:
Acute fear
Perception
Fear of separation (exceeds that of self-preserva-
tion)
Confusion
Chapter 4-Evacuation
Table 4.1:
Types of Fire AlarmSignals Usedin Drills inLondonSubway Station
Description
Bell only Alarm bell rung, no staff or PA
Staff Alarm bell rung, two staff members gave PAannouncement to"evacuatestation"and
then directed evacuation
Public Address Each 30 seconds, PAannouncement said twice, "please evacuate the station immediately"
Staff + Public Address PA announcement instructingpeople to leave via trains or exits, with staff directing
people following the directions of the announcement
Directions + Public Address Same as except occupants were also told about type (fire) and location of the
incident
Table 4.2:
Comparisonof Response to VariousFire Alarm Signals
Time (min, toStart Time (min, toStart
to Move From to to Bottomof
Evacuation Alarm Concourse Escalator Comments
Bell Only Delayedor no evacuation
Staff investigates, makes PA announcement. Occupants directed to con-
directs evacuation course
Plain "recorded" PA announcement. repeated . Occupantsstood at bottom of
every 30 seconds escalator
PA directive+ staff directing evacuation Occupants evacuated
directive plus status :00 Occupants evacuated
Extreme frustration
behavior
Entrapment
Flight
Contagion
The panel indicated that all nine characteristics may
not be evident for every individual who does engage in
panic type behavior (Quarentelli However, they
also caution against quickly any particular
action as panic behavior has only a few of these
characteristics.
BECOMI NG AWARE O F THE FIRE
(2002) discusses several ways that occupants
become aware fire. In most cases, the initial cues of
a fire are ambiguous, involving a odor, a slight
haze, or strange noises. some cases occupants may
observe the flames. In still others, occupants may be
alerted by an system.
Evaluating the to become aware of the tire via
an audible or visual fire alarm signal actuated by a fire
detector or sprinkler waterflow switch involve an
analysis of the response time of automatic detection
equipment or sprinklers. Several models dis-
cussed in Chapter are of calculating sprinkler
In contrast. manual detection is more
difficult to estimate reliably, being a function of the fire
scenario, building characteristics ver-
sus open-plan), and proximity, alertness, and
abilities of the occupants.
PRE- MOVEMENT
Interpretation alarm signal as an indication of
a threatening fire by building occupants is dependent on
the type of signal provided by the alann system
achandran 1991; Proulx and 1991; and
1997). Bells and horns arc often ignored, being
considered to a drill, test, or false alarm. In a
laboratory exercise, found that only 13%
of 96 individuals considered bells to signal an actual
alarm. Similarly, of occupants of
buildings that only 17% of occupants responded
to traditional fire signals in high-rise office
The response of people to various types of fire
alarm signals was observed by Prouls and Sime in drills
at mid-afternoon in a London subway station. Cameras
recorded the responses of the individuals, with inter-
views conducted to the video recording. The
five types of alarms used in study are described in
Table 4.1. Alarms initiated seconds after a
arrived at the station. I t can seen from Table 4.2
that as much as nine minutes
for an alarm bell but the pre-movement time was
much less with verbal. announcements. For guidance on
the use of verbal announcements, see and
(1977).
Given the predominance of ambiguous cues during
the early stages of a fire, building occupants inves-
tigate these cues or ignore the initial cues completely,
thereby delaying initiation of evacuation. Pre-movement
time may also be dependent on the time of day.
and Fahy measured the pre-movement time to be up to
10 minutes long in a mid-rise apartment fire drill during
the day. During an early morning high-rise apartment
fire, the pre-movement time was minutes for numer-
ous occupants and up to five hours for others.
EVACUATIONTIME ANALYSIS
There are three principal approaches for estimating
the evacuation time for a building:
I . correlation of total evacuation time for
building.
2. Model movement applying hydraulic analogy, simu-
lating people as fluid particles.
3. Model movement applying hydraulic analogy, with
consideration of the behavioral aspects of the people.
Empirical Correlations
The first method consists of correlations that were
developed from a regression analysis of evacuation data
from 50 fire drills in high-rise office buildings ranging
from 8 to stories in height. The two correlations
developed by Pauls (1980) (one from a linear regression
analysis and the other from a nonlinear regression anal-
ysis) are
and
where . -
T = evacuation time (win);
C, = constant, );
= constant, 0.0394 (0.012);
P = population using the stair (p);
= effective width of stair, ft (see discussion on
width later i n this section).
The unit of population above is persons, and the
symbol used i n this chapter for persons is p. The predic-
tions of Equations and are very close to each
other, as shown in Figure 4.1. Equation (4.2) is
the simpler form, is commonly
EvacuationAnalysis Using
Hydraulic Analogy
Evacuation analysis using the hydraulic
assumes that people follow a directed route of travel to
their destination, which is typically outside or an area of
refuge. As such, the occupants are assumed to travel
along a route where the distance to the destination is
continuously decreasing, neglecting the possibility of
traveling in circles, in the"wrong"direction,
and retracing steps, etc. Consequently, an "efficiency"
factor may be applied to evacuation times estimated
using this approach to account for the possibility of an
evacuation process where the occupants may divert
from a directed route.
Evacuation following the hydraulic anal-
ogy requires information on the people movement char-
acteristics of velocity, flow rate, and specific flow.
rate of travel along a corridor, ramp,
Flow rate: number of persons passing a particular
segment of the egress system per unit time (for
example, persons per unit time passing through a
doorway or over an imaginary line drawn across a
corridor).
rate per unit width of the egress
component (for example, per unit per unit
width through a doorway).
The movement of people has been for
travel on stairs (mostly downward travel), in corridors,
and through doonvays. Virtually all of the information
on people movement has been collected observa-
tions of fire drills or normal movement.
Populationper Effective (plm)
Equations:
--- (4.1)
(4.2)
50 150 200 250
Population per EffectiveWidth (plft)
Figure 4.1
buildings
on stairs to the along
by tips stairs.
Chapter 4-Evacuation Analysis
Considering that people tend to move faster in
emergencies than they do in fire drills (Figure it
might seem that evacuation time estimates based on fire
drill data would be conservative. However, this does not
account for the possibility of exit routes being blocked
by smoke or fire. An "efficiency" factor also may be
applied to account for blocked exits routes.
Velocity
The velocity has been shown to be a function of the
density of the occupant flow, type of egress component,
and mobility capabilities of the individual (Gwynne et
al. 1999; Nelson and MacLennan 2002; Predtechenskii
and Milinskii 1978). Nelson and propose
correlations of velocity for individuals consider-
ing the available data collected by numerous research-
ers.
For a density greater than 0.05
For densities less than 0.05 (0.55 other
occupants do not interfere with the walking speed of an
individual. The maximum walking velocity for level
walkways and stairways is
Area Density. 6
Figure 4.2 Cornpar-isono f and veloc-
ity emergencies
and 1978).
v =
where
v velocity,
a = constant, 2.86 (0.266);
k velocity factor, fpm and
-D = density of occupant flow,
Equations (4.3) and (4.4) apply to flow on horizon-
tal surfaces and on stairs. For horizontal surfaces and the
stair tread and riser listed in Table 4.3, the velocity
factors are listed in Table 4.4. On stairs, the distance of
travel is the diagonal of the stair (Figure which is
where
diagonal distance of the stairs, (m);
= vertical distanceof travel, (m);
= angle of the stairs.
The dependence of the velocity on density, as pre-
dicted by Equations (4.3) and is presented in Fig-
ure
The velocity correlations in Equations
(4.3) and (4.4) principally relate to adult, indi-
viduals. Prouls (1995) indicates that the mean velocity
for children and the elderly is on order of 90 fpm
(0.45 The velocity for an "encumbered"adult is in
the range of 45 to 155 fpm to 0.79 which is
Table 4.4:
Velocity Factor, k
Egress Component (fpm) (mls)
Corridor, aisle, ramp, doorway 275 1.40
Riser and Type
7.5110 196 1
7111 212 1.08
229 1.16
6.5113 1.23
Table 4.3:
Dimensions of Stair Risers and Treads
Riser and Riser, Tread, Stair
Tread Type in. mm in. mm Angle, Sin,
7.5 190 254 36.9" 0.600
Smoke Management
Figure 4.3 Stair geometry.
also appreciably less than the velocity noted
in Equation Table 4.5 lists mean velocities for
impaired individuals.
Density,.,
Density is the ratio of the of people in a
group in an egress component divided by the total floor
area occupied by the group (including the area between
individuals). This can be expressed as
where
P = population, p (p);
A = total floor area occupied by the group, (m-).
Typical densities of people range
0.1 to (1.0 to (Predtechenskii and
Milinskii Frantzich 1996; Pauls 2002; Fruin
1987).
The. normal occupant loading not be consid-
ered an appropriate population for evacuation
5. An encumbered adult is an individual pack-
ages, luggage, or a child.
tions because emergencies can happen during unusually
crowded conditions. The number of people expected to
occupy a particular space is dependent on the use
space. The number of people expected to occupy a space
can be estimated for design purposes based on occupant
load factors, which are included in the U.S. building
codes (ICC 2000; ICBO 1997; BOCA 1999; SBBCI
1999) and the NFPALife Safety Code (2000). The occu-
pant load factors included in each of the referenced
codes are similar and these occupant load factors repre-
sent average maximum density of occupants. Occupant
load factors from the NFPA Life Safety Code are listed
in Table 4.6.
Predtechenskii and Milinskii use a definition of
density based only on areas. rea density
ratio of the floor area occupied each
son in the group divided by the floor area occupied
by the the area individuals).
This can be expressed as
where
S = area density (dimensionless);
A,, = average area occupied by an individual, (m-).
The average area occupied by an individual
includes the floor area directly under the individual and
the floor space around the individual.
The relationship between these two density is
For the areas that people occupy. see Tables 4.7 to
4.9.
Table 4.5:
Mean Velocity for Impaired Individuals (Shields et al. 1996)
Level Walkway Stairs down Stairs up
Electric wheelchair 260 0.89
Manual wheelchair 200 0.69
Crutches 0.94 43 0.22 43
Walking stick 160 0.8 63 0.32 6 7
Walking 0.5
0.6
No aid I S0 0.93 0.33 SI 0.4
No disability 2-10 1.24 0.70 I40 0.70
Chapter 4-EvacuationAnalysis
Table4.6:
Occupant Load
Occupant
Load
Space Use
Assembly
Less concentrated use without fixed seating 15 net 1.4 net
Concentrated use without fixed seating 7 net 0.65 net
Waiting space 3 net 0.28 net
areas gross 9.3 gross
Library-readingareas 50 net 4.6 net
Mercantile
Street floor and sales basement
Multiple street floors
Other floors
Storage, shipping
Educational
Classroom area
Shops
centers
Business (offices), industrial
Hotel and apartment
Health care
Sleeping departments
In-patient treatment departments
30 gross 2.8 gross
40 gross 3.7 gross
60 gross 5.6 gross
300 gross 27.9 gross
20 net 1.9 net
50 net 4.6 net
net 3.3 net
gross 9.3 gross
gross I l . l gross
Detention and correctional gross gross
l. Data Table A-S-3.1 of NFPA l01(2000).
2. The of a space is the productof load factor and the net area or gross area space as indi-
cated above.
Table 4.7:
Area Occupied by
. Age
to 15 15 to30 Crcater than 30
ft
2
Walking Female 1.36 0.126 1.63 0.151
Male 1.3 0.122 1.78 0.165
All 1.33 0.124 1.72 0.160 2.08 0.192
Standing All 1.57 0.146 1.87 0.174
2.00
I . are
coats
Table 4.8:
AreaOccupiedby People in
Person Type Horizontal projection
2
Shoulder Breadth Body Depth
Adult 1.5-1.6 0.92-1.1
Youth
Child
Encumbered 2.5-8.9 1.6-3.6 1.3-2.6
I . Data are from Predtechenskti and (1978).
2. The horizontal projection is by representing the body shape by an ellipse.
3. An encumbered adult is an individual a child, or packages.
Table 4.9:
Area Occupiedby People in
Person Type Horizontal projection
2
Shoulder Breadth Body Depth
m m
Adult 0.10-0.13 0.46-0.50 0.28-0.32
Youth
Child
Encumbered
I . Data are and (1978).
horizontal is by representing body shape by an ellipse
3. An encumbsrsd adult is an individual a child, luggage. or packages.
Densily Density
Figure o f Figure 4.5 as of
, ,
1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
Specific F,. = = ( 1 (4.10)
The specific F,, is analogous to the
in systems. As specific is
F, = specific flow,
defined as the product of the velocity and density of the
flow,
For densities less than 0.05 (0.55
Stair Riser and Tread Type:
-
-
-
50
- -
-
specific flow as a function of
The specific flow predicted by Equations (4.10) and
(4.1 is presented in Figure 4.5. The width referenced
velocity Equations (4.3) and (4.4). in the units for the specific flow equations relates to the
a than 0.05 (0.55 width" as defined by (2002). The con-
1.50 30
25 Stair Tread Type:
C
1.00 20
a
a
15 0.75 0.8
0
U
3 10
a
0.4
0.25 5
0
0.4
0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Density Density
Chapter 4-Evacuation
cept of effective width is based on the observation that
people do not generally occupy the entire width of an
egress component, staying a small distance away from
the walls or edge of the component. Nelson and
refer to this small distance as a "boundary
layer," in keeping with the hydraulic analogy for people
movement. The width of the boundary layer for the vari-
ety of egress components is presented in Table 4.10. The
boundary layer and effective width are illustrated in Fig-
ure 4.6.
Maximum Specific Flow
Considering that Equation (4.10) is a quadratic
function, a maximum specific flow is achieved at a den-
sity of
Because a is of of egress com-
ponent, according to this correlation. the specific flow is
maximized at the same density for all types of egress
components. Predtechenskii and provide data
that indicate differences in the density where the spe-
cific flow is for different types of egress
components.
Generally, evacuation of a building requires that
building occupants traverse several egress components.
For example, for an individual located in a on an
upper floor, evacuation involves
along aisles or through an open space in the room,
through the room doorway into a corridor,
along a corridor to the stair
down the stairs, and
through the exterior door to the outside.
Table 4.10:
BoundaryLayer Width
Component Boundary Lager
in.
chairs, stadium benches 0 0
Railings, handrails' 3.5
Obstacles
Stainvays, doors,
Corridor and ramp walls S 200
I . arc and
should
i s
Flow
Nelson and (2002) present a method to
obtain a first order approximation of the egress time in
buildings. The method involves determining the maxi-
mum flow rate for each of the egress components in the
egress system.
For a density greater than 0.051 (0.55
the flow rate for a particular egress component is given
as
where
F, = flow rate
effectivewidth, (m).
For a density less than 0.051 (0.55 the
flow rate for a particular egress component is given as
The rate occurs the specific
is maximized (i.e., where D,,,, occurs (see
Effective
I
width
Effective
Boundary
Layer
Boundary
Layer
Water
Figure 4.7 flow of a five-
building.
tion (4.12)). specific flow, for a vari-
ety of egress components is provided i n Table 4.1 Tlie
controlling egress coniponent is tlie component with tlie
smallest flow rate, relating to where a queue
is expected to form if D,,,, occurs an upstream com-
ponent.
EVACUATIONTIME
Constrained Flow Approach
The constrained flow approach is based on the
assumption that there is a point along the egress system
where a queue forms. Tlie evacuation flow envisioned
when applying this type ofevacuation model is depicted
in Figure 4.7 where the egress system is funneled into a
particular such as an exterior doorway, before the
evacuees depart from the building or affected area.
Assuming that all occupants start their evacuation
simultaneously at zero, the niodeled evacuation
time using the constrained approach can be esti-
mated as
where
I,,, = evacuation time for an egress route.
= time for first person to arrive at constraint,
= for population to pass through constraint.
= time for first person to travel constraint and
proceed to outside (or
Table4.11:
MaximumSpecific Flow
Maximum Specific Flow,
Egress Component
Corridor, aisle, ramp, doorway 24.0 1.32
Riser and Tread Type
7.5110 17.1 0.94
711 18.5 1.01
20.0 1.09
For a particular egress system composed of several
components, the maximum flow rate, F,, of each com-
ponent can be as The flow time
associated with each component is where P
is the population passing through the component. The
component with the greatest value of is
defined as the controlling element where the constraint
is expected.
In many situations, the point of constraint can be
identified easily. For example, consider a stainvell dis-
charging directly to the outside that has doors of only
width (see Figure 4.7). For and door
widths designed to comply with the Life Safety Code or
model building codes in the the flow
will be associated with the doorways. Tlie entire popula-
tion using this stainvell would have to pass through this
exterior door. Because the interior stainvell doors on the
upper floors would only serve a fraction of this popula-
tion, they would be less congested. The exception is the
stair is used for evacuation of only one floor, and
this stair would have constraints at both stairwell doors,
provided that both doors are of the width. In a
case, the evacuation analysis could be conducted
the constraint at either location.
When the exterior stairwell daor is the constraint in
tlie egress system, the evacuation time
becomes
Example 4.1 illustrates tlie constrained flow
approach. example is appropriate for situations
where a queue is expected to form at the exterior stair-
well door. Generally this happens when an appreciable
number of people occupy tlie area of the building being
niodeled. Conversely, in buildings with low occupant
loads, a queue is unlikely. In cases low occupant
loads, a more complex analysis is needed to examine the
occupant flow on a component-by-co~iiponent basis.
These analyses also be applied to provide a more
accurate assessment in cases queuing is likely.
Chapter4-Evacuation Analysis
Example 4.1 EvacuationTime
Determine the evacuation time for a five-story building with the following characteristics (see Figure 4.8):
There are 200 people on each floor. Each floor is served by two 44 in. (1.12 m) wide stairways. The doors leading into and from
the stairway are 32 in. wide (0.81 m). The stair riser and tread type was 7/11. The floor-to-floor distance is 12 ft (3.7 m) and the
landing behveen floors is 4 8 ft (1.22 2.44 m). Handrails are provided on both sides of the stairways.
Solution:
Component Effective Width Specific Flow Flow Rate
plft-rnin
Door into stairway 1.67 (0.51) 24.0 (1.32) 40 (0.67)
Stairway 3.08 (0.94) (1.01) 57 (0.95)
Landing 2.67 (0.82) 24.0 (1.32) 65 (1.08)
Door from stainvay 1.67 (0.5 24.0 (1.32) 40 (0.67)
Time for population to move out of exterior stair door:
The controlling component is selected as the door leading from the stairway The time required for the half of the occu-
pants on the upper floors (400 persons) to pass through this doorway is estimated to be 10 minutes.
Time to travel down one flight of stairs:
The time required for the first person at a velocity associated with the maximum density is given by the time ro travel
one flight of stairs and two landings.
The distance of the stairs is 12 m). From Table 4.3, sin is 0.537 for 1 stairs.
From Equation (4 the diagonal distance along the stairs is = = = 22.3 (6.8 m).
The density on the stairs is taken at D,,,,. From Equation D,, 0.175 p!ft
2
(1.88
From Table kis 21 fpm ( l .08
From Equation = = 212 - = 106 fpm (0.539 .
The length of travel along each of two landings is 8 ft (2.4 m) (assuming an average length on the middle of the land-
ing). Because velocity on a stairway is less than that for a horizontal component, such as a landing, the velocity on the land-
ing is limited to that achieved on the stainvay. As such, the length of on the landing can be added to that for the stairway,
giving a total length of travel of ft 1.7 m). The time required to traverse this distance at the velocity achieved on the stair-
ways is 38.31106 = 0.36 (22 s). This is up to 0.4 (24 s).
Total evacuation time:
The total evacuation rime is + 0.4 = 10.4 min (624
(a) Elevation View
I I
' '(b) Plan
Figure Diagram o f building for- 4.1.
Component-by-Component Analysis
The component-by-component analysis involves a
determination of the for the population to traverse
each egress component. In this case, the density of the
flow along each egress component must be determined
so that the velocity and rate can be determined.
The starting point of such an analysis is to assume
an initial density of the population. If such a calculation
is to be done using algebraic equations (instead of one
of the computer described in the last section of
this chapter), a reasonable assumption is to consider all
building occupants on a particular floor to be uniformly
distributed in the corridors. As the population starts to
move, the density of the people change as a result
of types of transitions:
mergers of flows at corridor intersections or where
people entering a stair merge with people
in stairs from other floors,
changes in the of the egress component,
changes in specific resulting in a transition
from one type of egress component to another, e.g.,
a corridor to a stair.
The density after a transition be deter-
mined by applying one of the following principles.
The combined of people entering an inter-
section equals rate of people the
tion (see Figure
Figure 4.9 Merging
If the flow rate of egress components
leading to the intersection is greater than the capacity of
the rate for the egress component leading from the
intersection, a queue is expected to If a queue
forms, the analysis can continue, considering that the
flow rate in component is equal to the
capacity of the component.
Questions are often asked concerning the composi-
tion of the queue relative to the incoming flows (i.e.,
does any one group have a "right-of-way" while most or
all of the other group stops). The total evacuation time
of the building is not dependent on which group has the
right-of-way. Alternatively, if the intent of the analysis
is to the time required to clear a particular
floor level and the merger is people from another
floor level, then the right-of-nay decision
the results. Unfortunately, there is no technical support
for establishing any rules the right-of-way or
proportion of the entering streams that
at a merger. given the observation
from human studies that people tend to react
altruistically, it is reasonable to expect that people
eling from other floor levels yield to people leav-
ing the fire floor.
Where the the egress component changes,
as indicated in Figure 4. and the density of the
flow also changes. rate of entering the
egress component equals that leaving it:
For converging flow. as illustrated in Figure
a queue might be espected to form at transition.
When there is a queue, the downstream from the
transition is equal capacity of the com-
ponent.
a queue converging flow of Figure
4. the density ofa ofoccupants proceedingaway
a transition by Equation
Chapter 4-EvacuationAnalysis
(4.13) or (4.14). Where Equation (4.13) applies, solution
of the quadratic equation results in two possible solutions
for the density. The lesser value for density should be
selected as the correct value. The lower density is correct
for reasons indicated in the following example. If an
occupant flow at the maximumdensity was approaching
a widening (Figure the solution of Equa-
tion (4.13) would yield one density greater than the max-
imum and one less. However, in the case of a widening
corridor, it's unreasonable to expect the density to
increase (and velocity todecrease)when proceeding from
the narrow to the wide corridor.
In either of these types of analyses where multiple
egress paths are available to a group of occupants, some
(a) DivergingFlow
(b) Converging Flow
Figure 4.10 in egress
assumption needs to be made of the distribution of occu-
pants among the available paths. Often; an equal propor-
tion of the group is assumed in each of the available
paths. Alternatively, the distribution may be determined
in to the respective capacities or other char-
acteristics of the available paths (Predtechenskii and
1978; Murosaki et ai. 1986).
The following model can be applied if the order of
evacuation is arbitrarily determined to proceed from
highest floor to lowest floor. At time zero, all people
move to the stairs on all floors and travel to the next
floor level. If the stairwell capacity is exceeded as a
result of the merger, then the maximumflow proceeds in
the stairwell with the given to the occu-
pants on upper levels. (The total evacuation time is inde-
pendent of whether people from upper floors have or
surrender the right-of-way.) Consequently, the
flow in the stairwell is composed predominantlyof peo-
ple from the upper level, supplemented by additional
peoplefrom the next floor to provide the maximum per-
mitted flow rate for the stairwell. Occupants on all other
floor levels stop their movement into the stair as a result
of the having achieved maximum capacity
Once the last occupant from the upper floor reaches the
below the upper floor, the flow from this next floor
is increased to its maximum value.
The component-bycomponent approach is illus-
trated in 4.2.
Exampl e 4.2 EvacuationTime
Determine the evacuation time for the same building as in Example4.1 (see Figure 4.8):
Solution:
Assume that all occupants initiatemovement simultaneouslyand half of the buildingoccupantsare located in the corridor at a distance
of at least R 5.2 m) the stair door. Other occupants are in thespaces adjacent to thecorridor and are assumed to join the peo-
ple in the corridor promptly upon notificaiion. Assumean equal number of occupants use the two stairs.
The density of the people in the corridor is (1.35
Given this density, the specific flowof the people in the corridor is 22
The velocity in the corridor is 177 (0.90
The flow rate in the corridor is 58.7 (0.98
Time to reach stainvay is =0.56 rnin (339
The maximum specific flow of the door leading into the stainvay is 40 (see example 4.1)
As such, a queue forms at the given that the in the corridor toward the door is 58.7 (0.98 The queue builds at
a rate of 18.7 (0.3
Given flow of (0.67 in density is 0.099
The in the stair for the fifth floor approaching the fourth floor is 152 (0.77
Time to 38.4 ft 1.7 m) to reach fourth floor is 0.25 min
At this point, flowsfromthe fourth and fifth floors merge at the landing of the fourth floor, as well as every other floor level.
The total time required for the last from the fifth floor enter the stair at that floor level is 2.79 rnin (167
The time required for the last person from the floor to reach the 4th floor is 3.04 rnin (182
With a flow proceeding down the stain the fifth floor of (0.67 and 40 (0.67 entering the stairway ffom
the 4th floor, the outflow from the point of merger be 80 (1.33 if no queue occurs. However, since the flowcapacity
in the stainvay is the in the stain\-ay be limited to 57 (0.95 Priority of flow in the stairway is
given to occupants from the top floor
Thus, prior to the queue in the (i.e., rnin 32 people exited from the second, third, and fourth floors.
Because the flow capacityin the is limited to 40 (0.67 the flowffomall lower floors is stopped. Once the last per-
son from the fifthtloor reaches the founh floor. the of the remainingpeople from the fourth floor recommences.
The time required for the last person from the fourth floor to enter the stair at that floor is 4.74 rnin (284
The time required for the last person from the fourth floor to reach the third floor is 4.99 rnin (299
II
Similarly:
The time required for last person the third to enter the stair at floor is
The required for the last person the third floor to reach the second floor is 6.94 rnin (4
The time required for the last person from the second floor to enter the stair at that floor level is 8.64 rnin (5
The time required for the last person from the second floor to reach the first floor is 8.89 rnin (533
COMPUTER-BASED paths (where choices are available). The flow
EVACUATION MODELS
tion between multiple paths be determined by
occupant behavior considerations. Optimization models
available: the evacuation time by considering an optimal
distribution of occupants among multiple flow paths.
The current optimization models neglect behavioral
Optimization
considerations. The risk assessment models quantify the
Risk assessment
risk posed to building occupants by conducting a fire
and
evacua-
of occupants by the among tion analysis. The risk assessment models need to be
Chapter 4-Evacuation Analysis
applied numerous times to address the probability of
various scenarios and their outcomes.
The characteristics of existing evacuation models
are described in a review by Gwynne and Galea (1999).
A summary of the of the evacuation
models is indicated in Figure
Building spaces may be represented as coarse or
fine networks. A coarse network usually uses a single
node to represent each space. Additional nodes are used
only for large rooms or rooms that have connections to
several other rooms. In the coarse network approach,
rooms (or nodes) are connected by arcs. Coarse net-
works assume unifonn conditions on each node and a
constant time along arcs. Alternatively, fine
networks divide each room into several small sections.
In some cases, a small grid is created over the entire
building space where the size of a particular area may be
as small as the area occupied by an individual.
Theevacuation models assess movement of the
building occupants by two perspectives. A global per-
spective tracks the occupants In this
approach, the does not distinguish which individ-
ual leaves the room or building at a particular time. The
global perspective models assume uniform characteris-
tics for the entire building population. In contrast, mod-
els with the individual perspective track each person,
identifying where any particular person is during the
evacuation period. The models the individual per-
spective consider individual traits (e.g., mental and
physical capabilities, tolerance to smoke, and group
interactions).
characteristics included in the models
may be done by several methods (e.g., deterministic
equations [functional analogy], pre-established
patterns, and rules, may or may not
be subject to change by the user).
One principal area of concern with the evacuation
models relates to reliability of input parameters.
People movement characteristics need to be provided.
Where a constant velocity is required, the results of the
analysis will be dependent on whether the mean or max-
imum velocity is included. of the niodels require
personal characteristics of building occupants (e.g., as
Figure 4. 11 Evacuation models (adapted from
Gwynne and 1999).
"patience"and motivation factors) be entered. Justifica-
tion of such input is subject to much debate. Most of the
models assume that occupants only become engaged in
evacuation behavior. Neglecting the variety of
uation behavior that occurs will result in a smaller evac-
uation time, perhaps substantially, than if such behavior
is considered. None of the models currently considers
the possibility of two-way flow in a corridor, either as
the result of emergency personnel or some building
occupants moving opposite to the evacuating occupants.
As a prerequisite to any evacuation analysis, the
number of people in the building must be established.
The location of the occupants also needs to be specified,
at varying levels of detail, depending on the
model. Location of individual occupants can be
at a specific point for applications involving
fine network niodels. For the coarse network models,
people only need to be located in a or floor of a
building. When using a first-order approach with hand
calculations, the calculations become very tedious when
placing people in individual As such, for
order estimates, people may be placed i n a queue at the
esit door from the floor or large section of the floor to
simplify the calculations. The loss of accuracy with this
relates to the time for people to travel from
their respective starting points to a queue at the
door. In many buildings, this time is relatively short.
CHAPTER5
Effective Areas and Smoke Movement
I
n building fires, smoke often migrates to locations
from the fire space. Stairwells and elevator
shafts can become smoke-logged, thereby blocking
evacuation and inhibiting fire fighting. In this chapter,
several of the driving forces of smoke movement are
discussed, of determining the neutral plane
provided, and some general comments are made con-
-
ceming smoke movement. The information in this chap-
-
ter is also applicable to the migration of other airborne
matter, such as hazardous gases, matter,
or matter in laboratories, hospitals, or
trial facilities. However, the discussion in this chapter is
aimed at smoke movement. The concept
areas is quite for analysis of smoke
movement and of smoke control systems, and this topic
addressed next.
EFFECTIVE FLOW AREAS
The paths in a system can be in parallel with one
another, in series, or in a combination of parallel and
series paths. The effective area of a system of flow areas
is the area' that results in as the system
when it is to the same pressure difference over
the total of flow paths. This is analogous to the
flow of electric current through a system of electrical
resistances. The following analysis is for the same flow
coefficients for each flow path and for constant air tem-
perature. Variations in flow coefficients and temperature
are addressed later.
Parallel Paths
Three parallel leakage areas from a pressurized
space are illustrated in Figure The pressure
areas. ence, is the across each of the
The total flow, from the space is the sum of the
flows through the leakage paths:
The effective area, A,, for this situation is that
which results in the total flow, Therefore, the total
flowcan be expressed as
Figure 5.1 in parallel.
Chapter 5-Effective Areas andSmoke Movement
where
volumetric flow rate through the path, (m
3
/s);
m mass flowrate through the path,
C dimensionless flow coefficient;
A, effective flow area (or leakage area), (m
2
);
pressure difference across path, in. (Pa);
p
density gas in path,
K, = 776.
The flow through area can be expressed as
The flows and can be expressed in a similar
manner. Substituting the expressions for , and
into Equation (5.1) and collecting like terms yields
this with Equation (5.2) yields
The above logic can be extended to any number of
flow paths, and it can be stated that the effective area of
individual leakage paths in parallel is the sum of the
individual flow areas.
In Figure S. l . if is 1.08 (0.10 and and are
0.54 is theeffectiveflow area system?
Equation A , =2.16
Series Paths
Three leakage paths in series from a pressurized
space are illustrated i n Figure The flow rate. is
the same through each of the leakage areas.
The total pressure difference, from the pressur-
ized space to the outside is the sum of the pressure dif-
ferences and across each of the respective
flow areas. and
Figure 5.2 Flow paths is series.
The effective area for flow paths in series is the
flow area that results in the flow for a total pressure
difference of Therefore, the flow V can be
expressed as
Solving Equation (5.8) for yields
The pressure difference across can be expressed
as
The pressure differences and can also be
expressed i n a similar manner. Substituting Equation
(5.9) and the expressions for and into Equa-
tion (5.7) yields anexpression for the effective flow area.
(5.11)
A J .
This same reasoning can be extended to any num-
ber of leakage areas in series to yield
Principles Smoke Management
where is the number of leakage areas, in series. In
smoke control analysis, there are only two paths
in series, and the effective flow area for this case is
Example 5.2 Equal Series Paths
Calculate the effective leakage area of paths of
(0.02 m
2
) in series.
For two flow areas (A Equation (5.13)
becomes A, = A=0.707 (0.22) 0.156 (0.0145 m').
Example 5.3 Unequal Series Paths
Calculate the effective flow area of two paths in series, where
the flowareas are
=0.100 m') and = l .OO (0.0929
From Equation A, =0.0995 (0.00924 m
2
).
This example illustrates that, when areas are in series and
one is much than the other, the effectivearea is
mately equal to the smaller area.
Example of Four
areas that are
From Equation A, =0.0704 m
2
).
Combination of Paths in Parallel and Series
The method of developing an area for a
of parallel and series paths is to combine,
groups of parallel paths and series paths.
The illustrated in Figure 5.3 i s as an
example:
This figure shows that and arc parallel; there-
fore, their effective area is
Areas and are also in parallel, so their
effective area is
These two effective flow areas are in series with
Therefore, the effective area of the system is given by
followingflow areas: 0.22 (0.02 m
2
) and
From the equations above, (0.04 =
0.33 (0.03 m
2
), and A, =0.17 16
Effects of Temperatures and
Flow Coefficients
most calculations involved in smoke control,
the of constant temperature and unifomi
flow are appropriate, but it may be desired in
some cases to consider the effects of these parameters.
For parallel and series flow paths, equations for
effective flow area are
for parallel and
for series
Figure 5.3 in parallel
A, effective flow area o f system, (m
2
);
absolute temperature in effective flow path, Q;
flow coefficient for path, dimensionless;
absolute temperature in path i, (K);
= flowarea of path i, (m
2
);
flow of path dimensionless.
For the case of two areas in series with the same
flow the effective area is
What'is the effectivearea of paths in series, both of 0.22
(0.02 area one at (21C) and the other at
Use of (2 1C).
FromEquation A, 0.153 142
With both temperatures the effective area of this sys-
tem is 0.156 (0.0145 as calculated in Example 5.2.
Considering the degree of uncertainty associated
areas; adjustment of the flow area is unnecessary.
2. What is the area above if the elevated
is 1000F
Equation A , =0.1 (0.0105m').
DRIVING FORCES OF
SMOKE MOVEMENT
The driving forces of smoke movement include nat-
urally occurring stack effect, buoyancy of combustion
gases, expansion of combustion gases, the wind effect,
fan-powered ventilation and elevator piston
effect. This section discusses these driving and, in
particular, addresses smoke movement due to the stack
effect process, either naturally occurring or that of com-
bustion gases. Generally, each driving force is discussed
here as acting alone in order to facilitate discussion and
lead to an understanding of transport.
indicate of air
. .
. . ,,
Normal ReverseStack
Figure 5.4 Air movement due to and reverse
slack effect.
Stack Effect
Frequently, when it is cold outside, there is an
upward movement of air within building shafts, such as
elevator shafts, shafts,
cal shafts, and mail chutes. Air in the building has a
buoyant force because it is warmer and therefore less
dense than outside air. The buoyant force causes air to
rise within building shafts. This phenomenon is
by various names, such as stack effect, stack action. and
chimney effect. These names come from the
with the flow of gases in a smoke stack or chim-
ney. However. a downward flow air can occur air-
conditioned buildings when it is hot outside. For this
the upward flow will be called normal stack
effect and the downward flow will be called
stack effect as illustrated in Figure 5.4.
Most building shafts have relatively large
sectional areas and, for most flows typical of those
induced by stack effect, the friction losses are negligible
in comparison with pressure differences due to buoy-
ancy. Accordingly, this analysis is for negligible
friction. but friction is specifically addressed later.
Pressure within a shaft is due to fluid static forces and
can be espressed as
where
air pressure inside the
acceleration of gravity,
elevation.
gas density inside the
For the to buildings, the
of can constant. For constant
density. can integrated to yield
. .
where p, is the pressure at z = To the analysis,
the vertical coordinate system was selected such that p, =
at z= In the absenceof wind effects, the outside
is
where is the density outside the Pressures inside
the shaft and outside the building are graphically illustrated
in Figure 5.5 for stack effect. This figure also
shows the pressure of the building spaces, and methods of
calculating this are presented later in this section. The pres-
sure difference: from the inside to the outside is
expressed as
Because in pressure within a building are
very small compared to atmospheric pressure, atmo-
spheric pressure, p,,,,,, can be used in calculating gas
density from the ideal gas law.
where
p = air density.
p,,,,, = absolute atmospheric pressure,
R = gas constant of air,
T = absolute temperature of air.
Values for the gas constant and of standard atmo-
spheric pressure for several systems of units are given in
Appendix A. Substituting Equation (5.24) into Equation
(5.23) and rearranging results in the following equation.
where
= absolute temperature of outside air,
= absolute temperature of air inside the shaft.
Equation was developed for a shaft con-
nected to the outside. The neutral plane is a horizontal
plane located at z = where the pressure inside equals
that outside as stated above. If the location of the neutral
plane is known, this equation can be used to determine
the pressure difference from the inside to the outside
regardless of variations in building leakage or the pres-
ence of other shafts. Methods of determining the loca-
tion of the neutral plane are discussed later. Tables 5.1
and 5.2 are comparisons of pressure differences due to
various driving forces. For standard atmospheric pres-
sure of air, Equation becomes
where
= pressure difference fromshaft to outside, in.
= absolute temperature of outside air, "R (K);
= absolute temperature of air inside shaft, "R (K);
h distance above neutral plane, ft (m);
= (3460).
BuildingPressure.p,
Pressure
Figure 5.5 stack
Chapter 5-Effective Areas and Smoke Movement
Table5.1: 7
Comparisonof Pressure Differences Due to VariousDrivingForces(IPUnits)
Driving Force Location (in.
Stack effect, Shaft to outside For all stack effect examples, = 70 and "F:
Equation
0.07
0.7
Buoyancy of combustion Fire room to adjacent . For 1600 and = 70"F:
gases, room at ceiling
0.05
Equation l )
h = 0.11
effect,
For all wind examples, p 0.75 =0.8, and
Equation (5.34)
(windward to leeward
wall) =4. 3:
0.12
30 mph 0.48
Across barrier of Note: Values based on experience. 0.05 to 0.35
smoke control system .
Elevator piston effect, Elevator lobby to For all the examples of the upper of pressure
Equations to
building
ence due to elevatorcar motion, p =0.75 lb/ft
3
, A,, = 1.60
ft', A, =0.42 =0.54
For a single-car shaft with C, 0.83, A, 60.4 and
= 19.4 ft
2
:
U=
For a double-car shaft with C, = 0.91, A, = and
U=700 fpm 0.05
Table 5.2:
Comparisonof PressureDifferences Due to VariousDrivingForces Units)
Driving Force Location of Conditions
Stack effect, Shaft to outside For all stack effect examples, =21 and =-18
Equation (5.26)
Buoyancy of Fire room to adjacent For 870 and 21
gases, roomat ceiling
h =
Equation (5.3
Wind effect,
For all wind examples, p 1.20 0.8 and
Equation (5.34)
(windward to leeward
wall)
-0.3:
14 130
Ventilation systems Across barrier of Note: Values based on experience. 12 to90
smoke control system
Elevator effect, Elevator lobby to For all the examples of the upper limit of pressure difference
building
Equations (5.41) to (5.43)
due to elevator car motion, p 1.20 0.149 m
2
,
For a single-car shaft with 0.83, A, 5.61 m
2
, and A,
1.80 m
2
:
U =
U =3.56
For a double-car shaft with = A, = 11.22 m
2
, and A, =
7.41 m
2
:
Chapter 5-Effective andSmoke
Example Stack Effect in a Tall Building
The neutral plane is located at mid-height of a 600 (185 m)
tall building with and outside-temperatures
(21C) and 0F What is the pressure difference at the
top of the building?
Because of the neutral plane location, h = 300 ft m).
Using Equation the pressure difference stack
effect is 0.66 in. (164 Pa) the top of the shaft to the
outside.
Note: Figure 5.6 can also be used for this calculation. In using
this figure, the l h is positive for normal stack effect
and it is negativefor reverse stack effect.
For the building illustrated in Figure 5.5, all of the
vertical airflow is in the shaft. Of course, the floors of
buildings have some leakage and there is some air-
flow through these floors. The discussion of stack effect
to this point has been general and it applies to buildings
with or without leakage through floors. To the
pressure differences on building floors, an idealized
building is used that has no leakage between
floors. For buildings, airflow through floors is
much smaller than that through shafts. The following
analysis develops some useful equations based on this
leakage
For the system of flow paths illustrated in Figure
5.5, the effective flow area per floor is
where
A, = effective area between the shaft and the out-
side,
= per floor leakage area between the and the
building, (m
2
);
= per floor leakage area the building and the
outside, ft' (m').
The mass flow rate, , for a floor can be expressed
by the orifice equation as where C is a
dimensionless flow that is generally in the
range of to 0.7. For paths in pressure dif-
ference across one path equals the pressure difference
across the system times the square of the ratio of the
effective area of the system to the flow area of the path
in question. Thus, the pressure difference from the shaft
to the building space is = By
Outside Temperature.
-20
Figure 5.6 of due to stack
effect.
stituting Equation (5.27) into this relation and rearrang-
ing, the effective area is eliminated.
In general, the ratio varies from about 1.7 t o
The pressure differences from a shaft to the building
space are much less than those the shaft to the out-
side, as can be seen from examples listed in Tables
5.1 and 5.2. In the event that windows on the fire
floor break due to the fire, the value of becomes very
on the fire floor. When this happens, the ratio
very small, and approaches
Thus, when a large number of windows break on the fire
floor, the pressure from the shaft to the building is
almost the same as that from the shaft to the outside.
The development of Equation considered the
pressure difference with height at each floor,
which introduces an error-the value of
which can be calculated by Equation (5.26) for a value
of equal to the distance between floors. In the exam-
ples of Tables 5.1 and 5.2, if the floors were ft I
apart, the maximum error of Equation (5.28) is
in. (2.5 Pa). In general, this error is not signif-
icant. Equation can be for pressure,
p,. at the building space.
Principles of Smoke Management,
The series flow approach to determining building
pressures described above can be used for buildings
with multiple shafts if all the shafts are at the same pres-
sures and if all the shafts have the same starting and
ending elevations.
Pressure measurements on several buildings
(Tamura and 1966, verify the
stack effect theory presented above for conditions
encountered in the field. Further, these studies show that
the zero floor leakage idealization is generally appropri-
ate for determining pressure differences on building
floors due to stack effect. Additionally, and
Klote (1988) have conducted full-scale stack
experiments at the Canadian ten-story Fire Research
Tower near Ottawa, which verified the stack effect the-
ory for of temperatures and of leakage condi-
tions they considered of most buildings.
Figure 5.7 shows comparisons of measured and calcu-
lated pressure differences due to stack effect for outside
temperatures of 12F "C), 27F (-3C). and 45F
(7C). Figure 5.8 comparisons of and
calculated pressure differences for ratios A,, of 1.7.
2.4, and 7. Further, this stack effect theory provides a
useful approximation for buildings in which all of
shafts do not have the starting and ending
tions.
In unusually tight buildings with exterior stairwells,
reverse stack effect has been observed even with
outside air temperatures (Klote 1980). In this situation,
the exterior stairwell temperature was considerably
lower than the building temperature. The stairwell was
the cold column of air and the other shafts within the
building were the warm columns of air.
Smoke movement from a building fire can be domi-
nated by stack effect. During normal stack effect (Figure
smoke from a fire below the neutral plane moves
with the building airflow into shafts and the shafts.
This upward smoke flow is enhanced by anv
forces on the due to its temperature. Once above
the neutral plane, the smoke flows out of the
floors of the building, as illustrated in Figure
As discussed in Chapter this kind of smoke flow
can have fatal conseauences. as in the fires at the MGM
Grand and other buildings. Leakage between floors
U U
..--
results in smoke flow to the floor above the fire If
between floors is negligible, the floors below
neutral for the fire floor-will
smoke-free. For significant
floor will be much greater than to other floors below the
plane, as is shown in Figure
For a fire above the neutral the air-
, >
due to effect tend to the
extent of smoke Airflow from the shafts to the fire
can prevent smoke
but leakage between floors can result in some
smoke movement. If the buoyancy forces of the hot
Pressure Difference (in
0
28
24
20
g
m
12
Note: Solid lines are
8
4
0
-20 -10 0 20
Pressure Difference (Pa)
Chapter5--Effective AreasandSmoke Movement
Pressure (in
Inside Temperature
72 DC)
OutsideTemperature
27
7
Plane
, Note: Solid lines are
calculated values.
I I I
-15 -10 -5 5
Figure 5.8 differences across of the
Tower for
leakages and [l
Figure 5.9 Air- smoke a high-rise to
below plane. above
smoke entering a to
Figure 5.10 Pressure during involved compartment
smoke overcome the stack effect forces at the shafts on
fire floor, smoke can infiltrate the shafts and flow to
upper floors (Figure
The air currents of reverse stack effect (Figure 5.4)
.
tend to affect the movement of relatively cool smoke in
the reverse of stack effect. In the case of hot
smoke, buoyancy forces can be so great that smoke can
flow upward even during reverse stack effect. Further
about smoke flow due to stack effect and
other driving forces is presented by Klote 989).
Buoyancy of Combustion Gases
High-temperature smoke from a fire has a buoy-
-
ancy force due to its reduced density. The pressures
occurring during a fully involved compartment fire are
illustrated in Figure 5.10, and these pressures can be
analyzed in the same manner as pressures due to stack
effect. In the same manner as Equation (5.26) was
developed for stack effect, the equation for
the pressure difference from the fire compartment
to its surroundings can be developed:
where
= absolute temperature of gases surrounding the fire
compartment;
= absolute temperature gas the fire compart-
ment;
= distance above the neutral plane.
The neutral plane is a horizontal plane where the
pressure inside the fire compartment equals that outside.
Equation (5.30) is for a constant fire-compartment tem-
perature. For standard atmospheric pressure, the above
relation becomes
where
= pressure difference from fire compartment to sur-
roundings, in. (Pa);
= absolute temperature of outside air, (K);
= absolute temperature of gas inside fire compart-
ment, (K);
h = distance above neutral plane, ft (m);
=
Fang (1980) has studied pressure differences
caused by the stack effect of a room fire during a series
of full-scale fire tests. During these tests, the maximum
pressure difference reached was in.
across the bum room wall at the ceiling.
Observation of Tables 5.1 and 5.2 can
.
insight on conditions for which buoyancy, as opposed to
to be the force.
large values of at almost any location from
the neutral For low values at
the neutral effect can
even when windows are unbroken. When windows are
,
broken, is even more likely to dominate.
effect can only be the dominant driving force
ing times of significant inside-toloutside
di
-------
Much larger pressure differences are possible for
tall fire compartments where the distance, h, from the
neutral plane can be larger, as illustrated by the
ing example.
I Example 5.8 Buoyancy Pressure in a
I I
Fire
For a temperatureof 1470F what
is the pressure difference at 6 (1.83-m) above the
neutral plane?
UsingEquation (5.3 l), the buoyancy pressure difference is
Example 5.9 Buoyancy Pressure Difference for Very
Tall Fire Compartment
if the fire compartment temperature is 1290F what is
the pressure difference at R (10.7 m) above the neutral
plane?.
Using Equation (5.3 or Figure is 0.35 in. (88
Pa). This represents an extremely large fire that is probably
unrealistic for most applications, but it was included to
Expansion of Combustion Gases
In addition to buoyancy, the energy released by a
fire can cause smoke movement due to expansion. a
fire compartment with only one opening to the building,
air will flow the fire compartment and hot smoke
will flow out of the compartment. Neglecting the added
mass of the fuel, which is small compared to the airflow,
and considering the thermal properties of smoke to be
the same as those the ratio of volumetric flows
can be simply expressed as a ratio of absolute
tures.
v;,, Tit,
where
= volumetric flow rate of smoke out of the fire
compartment,
,
volumetric flow rate into the fire compart-
ment,
absolute temperature of smoke leaving fire
"R (K);
= absolute temperature of air entering the com-
"R (K).
For a smoke temperature of the
gas will expand to about three original volume.
For a with open doors or windows, the
Figure 5.11
Fire
700 900
Fire
of pressures buoyancy.
pressure difference across these openings due to expan-
sion is negligible because of the large flow areas
involved. However, for a fire space without open doors
or windows, the pressure differences due to expansion
may be important, provided there is oxygen to
support combustion for a significant time. Gas expan-
sion in such a closed space subject to the exhaust of
zoned smoke control, is addressed in Chapter
Wind Effect
Wind can have a pronounced effect on smoke
pressure, p,,, that wind exerts on a wall
of a building can be expressed as
where
p,,. = wind pressure, in. (Pa);
C,,. = pressure coefficient;
= outside air density,
= wind velocity at the upwind wall of height H, rnph
K,,. =
I t is nature of wind to be variable with peak val-
ues be two or three times that of the average.
The peak values arc important for structural loads, but
---___-
wind velocity is more for
--W---
-. -- - . - . - .
the calculation transport and evaluation of
In this discussion of wind
. .---
effects, the to indicate the
The pressure coefficient depends on building geom-
etry and local wind obstructions. For a low-rise building
without local wind obstructions, a typical distribution of
the pressure coefficient is shown in Figure 5.12.
Because the wind is blowing directly at one of the walls,
the distribution of the pressure coefficients is symmetri-
cal, and the pressure coefficients only need to be shown
for half of the building. It can be seen that the pressure
coefficients are positive for the windward wall and neg-
ative for the other walls.
For a tall building without local wind obstructions,
typical distribution of the pressure coefficient is shown
in Figure 5.13. As with Figure 5.12, distribution of these
Pressure coefficients is also symmetrical. Values of
coefficient . over the wall area. are
in Table rectangular buildings, which are
free of local obstructions.
An approximation of the overall pressure difference
from one side of a building to another due to wind effect
can be obtained from
where
= average pressure coefficient for windward wall;
= average pressure coefficient for leeward wall.
Above the surface of the earth, the wind velocity
increases until it reaches the gradient winds. This layer
of increasing wind speed is referred to as the wind
boundary layer. In the absence of local obstructions to
the wind, the relationship between velocity and height in
the boundary layer is often approximated by the power
law equation,
where
U = wind velocity,
= velocity at referenceelevation,
z elevation of velocity, U, (m);
= reference elevation, (m);
a = wind exponent, dimensionless.
Some general values of the wind exponent, a, are
edge of a large city could be considered terrain
category (Figure 5.14) for winds from the direction of
Figure 5.12 Typical distribution ofpressure coefficient
over a low-rise building free of local
obstructions.
Front
Figure 5.13 distribution
over a tall of local
lions.,
-0.6
the city and category 2 (Figure 5.14) for winds
the nere has been a
consistency among authors regarding recommended val-
I
Side
Chapter5-EffectiveAreas andSmoke Movement
Table 5.3:
Average Pressure Coefficients for Walls of Rectangular BuildingsFreeof Local Obstructions
(adapted from
Wind
Building Height Building Plan Angle for Surface
Ratio Ratio Elevation Plan a A B C D
Note: h = height to eaves or parapet P length (greater horizontal dimension of a building); = width
(lesser horizontal dimension of a building).
Principlesof Smoke Management,
Terrain Category 1:
Large City
of Buildings Higher Than
70 ft (21 m); Over at Least
6600 (2000 m) Upwind
n
Terrain Category 2:. .
Urban, Suburban, Wooded
Areas Other Areas With
Closely Spaced Obstructions
Compared or Than
Single Family Homes; Over at
Least 6600 (2000m) Upwind
Terrain Category 3:
Open Terrain with Scattered
Obstacles Generally Less Than
33 (10 m) High
Terrain Category 4:
Flat, UnobstructedAreas
Exposed to Wind Flowing Over
a Large Body of Water;
No More Than 1600 (500 m)
Inland
Wind Velocity
a = 0.10
Profile
6 =
Note: a is the the wind exponent, and is the wind boundary layer
thickness.
Figure 5.14
5-Effective Areas andSmoke Movement
ues of wind exponent, and the values of Figure 5.14
were chosen to be consistent with those o f the 1997
ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals,Chapter 6,
Around Buildings."
Using Equation (5.35) with H(where His t he
upwind height of the wall of a building), the average
velocity of the gradient wind can be expressed as
where
= velocity of the gradient wind above the building,
= wind velocity the top of the wall,
H upwind height of the wall, (m);
6 boundary layer height in the vicinity of the build-
ing, (m);
a = wind exponent in the vicinity of the building,
dimensionless.
General values of boundary layer height, 6, are
listed 5.14 for the terrain categories. and these
were also chosen to be consistent with those of
ASHRAE Fundamentals. The weather measures
wind data at airports and other typically at 33
m) above the ground. The average velocity of the
gradient wind can also be expressed as
where
velocity of the gradient wind above the wind
anemometer, fpm
U,,, = measured wind velocity, fprn
H,,,,, height of wind measurement, (m);
= boundary layer height in the vicinity of the
wind anemometer, (m);
wind exponent in the vicinity of the wind ane-
mometer,
For and wind measurement sites that are
near each other, the velocities of the gradient winds are
equal. Equating Equations (5.36) and (5.37) and rear-
ranging results in
a
(5.38)
met
Substituting this into Equation (5.33) yields
where
It can be seen that Equation (5.39) has the advan-
tage in that can be used to calculate wind pressures
based on measured design wind data.
The above discussion is for buildings without large
local obstructions. For buildings with such obstructions,
specialized tunnel tests are needed to determine
the pressure coefficients due to the wind. Such tests are
routinely conducted for structural analysis of large
buildings. For both structural and smoke management
purposes, the wind flow around buildings is fully devel-
oped turbulent flow, and the flow coefficients are inde-
pendent of the Reynolds number. Thus, the flow
obtained from wind tunnel tests for struc-
tural analysis are applicable for smoke management
analysis. While the of a wind tunnel test
report from that of this section, the results are
applicable to smoke management analysis.
For about wind and smoke manage-
ment, readers are referred to Kandola
and 995). For additional information about wind
pressures on buildings see Aynsley and
Tamura and Kandola Several civil
engineering tests provide useful information about wind
engineering-for example, Dyrbye and Hansen (1997);
Liu 99 975); and and Scanlan
(
Example 5.10 Wind Pressure in a Suburban Area
A building is located in the of a large suburban area. and design velocity measurements at a nearby airport
is 22 of the windward wall is 120 the wind is and outside air density is 0.075
(1.2 Calculate the wind pressure.
From Figure 5.14, the city is terrain category 2 with a = and = 1200 (370 airport is 3 with
a, = 0.14and 6 900 ni).The height of the wind is H = m).
Note: R would be more accurate calculations. and wind tunnel should
available.
of Smoke Management
FromFigure5.14, the urbanareais terraincategory1with =0.33 and =1500 (460 m).
I
FromEquation C -
6 33
Example 5.11 Wind Pressure in an Urban Area
For the conditionsof Example what is the windpressure if the were located in a largecity?
FromEquation is in. (22 Pa).
Note: As with Example 5.10, data froma wind tunnel test would be more accurate than thesecalculations, and such wind tunnel data
should be used when available.
Forced VentilationSystems
Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC)
systems frequently transport smoke during building
fires. When a fire starts in an unoccupied portion of a
building, the HVAC system can transport smoke to a
space where people can smell the smoke and be alerted
to the detection of fire or smoke, the HVAC
system be designed so that either the fans are
shut the system goes into a special smoke con-
trol mode of operation. The advantages and disadvan-
tages of these approaches are complex, and no simple
consensus has been reached regarding a preferred
method for various building types. However, if normal
HVAC operation continues, the HVAC system will
transport smoke to every area the system serves. As the
fire progresses, smoke in these spaces will endanger
life, damage property, and inhibit fire fighting. Although
shutting down the HVAC system prevents it from sup-
plying oxygen to the fire, system shutdown does not
prevent smoke movement through the supply and return
ducts, air shafts, and other building openings due to
stack effect, buoyancy, or wind. Installation of smoke
dampers can help inhibit this movement. A third
alternative fire mode for HVACsystems consists of con-
tinued HVAC operation, while return air to the
outside in an attempt to minimize smoke transport
throughout in the building by the HVAC system. While
this third approach has not been experimentally or theo-
retically verified, it seems that it may have the potential
to minimize smoke transport through the HVAC system.
Computer 'simulation of smoke movement through
HVAC systems is discussed by Klote (1987).
Elevator Piston Effect
When an elevator car moves in a shaft, transient
pressures are -produced. A downward-moving elevator
car forces air out of the section of shaft below the car
and into the section of shaft above the car, as illustrated
in Figure Klote and Taniura (1986) developed the
following analytical equation for the pressure differ-
ence, due to elevator piston effect from the outside
to the elevator shaft above the car:
Machinery
Room Lobby
Building +-
Space
4--
+-
/v h' /<I h' L' L
Note:
direction of flow.
Figure 5.15 Airflowdue to the downward of
an elevator
where
P =
A, =
=
=
=
C =
A, =
=
air density within the shaft, (kg/m
3
);
cross-sectionalarea of shaft, (m
2
);
velocity of elevator car,
number of floors above the car, dimensionless;
number of floors below the car, dimensionless;
flow coefficient for building leakage paths, dimen-
sionless;
effective flowarea per floor the shaft and
the outside, (m
2
);
flow coefficient for flowaround the car, dimen-
sionless;
A, = free flow area in shaft around car, or
tional area of shaft less cross-sectional area of the
car, (m
2
);
The C, was at for a
car with only one car moving and at 0.83 for a
car shaft with both cars traveling side-by-side together.
The value for the two cars moving together is believed
to be appropriate for obtaining approximations of pres-
sures produced by the motion of a car in a single car
shaft. For the sake of simplicity in the analysis leading
to Equation buoyancy, stack effect, and
effects of the heating and ventilating system were omit-
ted. Omitting stack effect is equivalent to stipulating
that the building air temperature and the outside air tem-
perature are equal.
For the system of three series flow paths from the
shaft to the outside illustrated in Figure 5.15, the effec-
tive flow area, A,, per floor is
= effective flow area, (m
2
):
A,, = leakage area behveen the lobby and the shaft,
= leakage area between the buildingand the lobby,
leakage area between the outsideand the building,
(m').
A detailed discussion of effective flow areas is pro-
vided later in this text. a similar manner to the devel-
opment for stack effect, the pressure difference from the
lobby to building interior can be expressed as
= pressure difference the building to the
lobby, in. (Pa);
pressure difference from the outside to the shaft,
in.
A, = effectiveflowarea betweenshaft and the outside,
= leakagearea between the buildingand the lobby,
(m
2
).
This series flow path analysis does not include the
effects of other such as and dumbwait-
ers. Provided that the leakage of these other shafts is rel-
atively small compared to Equation (5.42) is
appropriate for evaluation of A, for buildings with open
floor plans. Further, Equation (5.43) is appropriate for
closed floor plans, provided all the flow paths are in
series and there is negligible vertical flow in the build-
ing outside the elevator shaft. The complicated flow
path systems probably require case-by-case evaluation,
which can be done by using the effective area tech-
niques presented later in this manual.
To test the above theory, experiments were con-
ducted in a hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Figure
5.16 shows measured pressure differences across the top
floor elevator lobby while a car was descending. Also
shown is the calculated pressure difference, which is in
good with the measurements. This experi-
ment is described in detail by Klote and
Figure 5.16 Pressure difference across elevator- lobby
of a Toronto hotel to piston effect.
Example 5.12 Pressures Due to Moving Elevator Car
What pressure differences are produced by a downward-moving elevator car with a velocity of fpm(3.05 in a single-
shaft?The shaft is 20 stories high and the car is on the 18th floor =2 and =17). The areas are
area between lobby and 1.60 (0.149)
area between building and lobby 0.42 (0.039)
0.54 (0.050)
area between outside and building
cross-sectional area of shaft
60.4 (5.61)
A,, free flow area around car
19.4 (1.80)
Use C 0.65, C, =0.83, and p 0.075 FromEquation theeffective area is 0.325 (0.302 m'). From Equation
the pressure difference the outside to the shaft, is 0.30 in. (75 Pa). From Equation the pressure differ-
ence the buildingto the lobby is 0.18 in. (45 Pa).
The pressure difference, cannot exceed the
K,,
= 1.66 (1.00).
upper limit of
where
upper limit of the pressure difference from the
building to the lobby, in. (Pa);
air density within the shaft, (kg/m
3
);
= cross-sectional area of shaft, (m
2
);
= effective flow area per floor between the
and the outside, (m
2
):
= velocity of elevator car, fpm
= free flow area in shaft around car, or
tional area of shaft less cross-sectional area of
the car, (m
2
);
= leakage area between the building and the
(m
2
);
= flow coefficient for flow around the car,
sionless;
This relation is for unvented shafts or
shafts for which the vents are closed. The pressure dif-
ference, is strongly dependent upon U, and
A,. For example, Figure 5.17 shows the calculated rela-
tionship and Udue to one car moving in
a single-car shaft, a double-car shaft, and a
car shaft. As expected, is much greater for the
single-car shaft. It follows that the potential for smoke
problems due to piston effect in single-car shafts is
f
stack effect induced pressure differences indicates that
they -- can be larger than those of other driving forces-
(Tables 5.1 and 5.2).
Operation of elevators by the fire during a
--
fire can result in smoke pulled into the elevator
shaft by piston effect. It seems a safe
--
that fire fighters should favor of elevators in
shafts over ones in singe-car shafts.
developed another analysis of piston effect.
including the influence of elevator smoke control, and
experiments conducted by Klote and (1987)
were in good agreement with this
The
values used in calculation
U, car velocity 600 fpm(3.05
C, flow for flow around elevator car 0.83
p, air density in shaft
0.075 (1.20
A,, effectivearea betweenshaft and outside 0.325 (0.0302
area between buildingand lobby 0.42 ft
2
(0.039 m
2
)
A,, cross-sectional area of shaft 60.4 ft
2
(5.6 m
2
)
A,, free flow area around car 19.4 ft
2
(1.80 m
2
)
FromEquation the upper limit of pressuredifference the buildingto the lobby is 0.19 in. (47 Pa).
2. What would be the upper limits of pressuredifferenceif the car were ina double-car ora quadruple-carshaft? For multiple-car
shafts, C, 0.94 is used. The areas for these shafts are:
For double-car shaft
A,, cross-sectional area of shaft
120.8 ft
2
1.22 m')
79.8 ft
2
(7.41 m')
For shaft
A,, cross-sectional area of shaft
241.5 (22.44
200.5 ft
2
(18.63 m')
Equation upper limits of pressuredifference from the building to lobby are:
For the double-car shaft: 0.035 in. (9.0 Pa).
For the quadruple-carshaft: in. Pa).
Pressure differences, for other car velocities are on Figure 5.17.
Car Velocity
, , ,
2 3 4
40
SingleCar
Shaft Quadruple
Car
Double Car
Shaft
ioo 200
Car Velocity (fpm)
Figure 5.17
the elevator to
to effect.
LOCATIONOF NEUTRALPLANE
In this section, methods of determining the location
of the neutral plane arc described for a single shaft con-
nected to the outside only. The methods of effective area
can be to this analysis to buildings. Using
these neutral plane locations, the rates and pres-
sures can be evaluated.
Shaft with a Continuous Opening
The flow and pressures of stack effect for a
single shaft connected to the outside by a continuous
opening of constant the top to the bottom of
the shaft is illustrated in Figure The following
analysis of this flow, and the resulting location of the
neutral plane, developed by and
(1975). The pressure difference the shaft to the
outside is expressed by Equation The mass
rate, through differential section, of the
shaft below the neutral plane is
where
A' = area unit
5.14 Locationof Neutral Plane
I
Figure 5.18 stack a shaft
to a
opening.
To obtain the mass tlow rate into the shaft, this
equation can be integrated the neutral plane ( h 0)
to the bottom of the shaft =- H,,).
In a similar manner. an expression for the mass
sate from the shaft can be developed, where H is
the total height of the shaft.
For steady the mass flow rate into the shaft
equals that leaving it. Equating Equations (5.46) and
like terms, and substitut-
ing, Equation (5. 24) yields
where
=
H =
=
=
with Uniform
Calculate the location of the neutral plane for a
(30.5 m) tall building of floor-to-floor leakage. The
inside temperatureis 72F and the outside temperature
is (-18C).
FromEquation the neutral plane is located at a height of
48.8 (14.9 m) above the bottom of the building. This is
slightly different fromthe generally accepted approximation of
Pressure
Figure 5.19 stack for a single with
openings.
Shaft With Two Vents
Normal stack effect for a shaft with two openings is
illustrated in Figure 5.19. The pressure difference
the shaft to the outside is expressed by Equations (5. 25)
and (5.26). To simplify analysis, the distance? H,
between the openings is considered much greater than
the of either opening. Thus, the variation of pres-
sure height for the openings can be neglected, and
I
the mass flow rate into the shaft can be expressed as
distance from the of the to the neutral
ft (m);
height (m); (5.50)
absolute of air in shaft. "R ( K) ;
where A , and are the areas above and below the neutral
temperature ofoutside air. "R ( K) .
plane. Equating these as done above yields
where
H, = distance the bottom of the shaft to the neutral
plane, (m);
H = heightofshaft,
= absolute temperature of air in shaft, "R (K);
= absolute temperature of outside air, "R(K);
A, = area above neutral plane, (m
2
);
= area below neutral plane, (m
2
).
The location of the neutral plane is highly depen-
dent on the ratio For that approaches zero,
H, approaches H. This means that if the area at the
tom is very compared to the area at the top, then
the neutral plane is at or near the top area. Equation
(5.5 l ) is a strong function of the flow areas and a weak
function of temperature.
5.15 Location of Neutral Plane
with Two Equal Openings
What is the locationof the neutral plane in a l00 m) tall
shaft equal areas A,) at the shaft top
and bottom? The inside temperature is 72F and the
outside temperature is 8C).
From Equation(5.5 the neutral plane is located 46.4 fi (14.1
m) above the area. This is onlya little less than Example
5.14 with the continuous opening (48.8 ft
Example 5.16 Location of Neutral Plane
with Two Unequal Openings
What is the location of the neutral plane in a (30.5
tall shafi a 4 ft
2
(0.37 openingat the top and a I
(0.093 opening at the The inside is
and the outside is
From Equation (5.5 the neutral plane is located 93.3 fi (28.4
m) above the area. This illustrates the extent to which
areas can cause the plane to be
the building's mid-height.
Vented Shaft
The flow and pressures of normal stack a
shaft connected to the outside by a vent and a continu-
o u s opening are shown in Figure 5.20. The
analysis is tor a above the neutral plane, but a simi-
lar one can be a vent below the neutral plane.
This analysis is an extension of one by and
975) a top The mass flow
into the shaft is expressed by Equation For sim-
plicity of analysis, the height of the vent is considered
small in comparison to the shaft height, H. Thus, a con-
stant pressure difference can be used to describe the
flow through t he vent. The mass flow out of the shaft is
the sum of the flow out of the continuous opening,
expressed as Equation plus the flow out of the
vent of area A, located at an elevation of H, above the
shaft bottom. .
The conservation of mass equation for the shaft can
be written as
Canceling like terms and incorporating Equation
results in
As would be expected, this equation reduces to
Equation (5.48) for A,. = Equation (5.54) can be rear-
ranged
Neutral Plane
For relatively large vents, the ratio
approaches zero. As approaches zero, the first
and third terms in the above equation approach zero, and
the equation is reduced to H, = H, Thus, the neutral
plane is at or near the vent elevation, for a vent area very
much greater than the area of the continuous opening
(A'H). As with the above equation is a
strong function of the flow areas and a weak function of
temperature.
Regardless of whether the vent is above or below
the the neutral plane will be located
between the height described by Equation ( 5. 4) for an
unvented and the vent elevation, H, Further, the
larger the value of A, the closer the neutral plane
will be to H,
CHAPTER 6
he management," as used in this
manual, includes all methods that can be
singly or in combination to smoke move-
ment for the benefit of occupants or firefighters or for
the reduction of property damage. The use of barriers,
smoke vents, and shafts are traditional methods
of smoke management. The effectiveness of barriers is
limited to the extent to which they are free of leakage
paths. The effectiveness of atrium smoke vents and
smoke shafts is limited to the extent that smoke must be
sufficiently buoyant to overcome any other driving
forces that could be present.
Fans are used the intent of providing smoke
protection by of pressurization. mechanisms
of dilution, pressurization, airflow,
and buoyancy are used by themselves or i n combination
to manage. smoke conditions in fire situations. These
mechanisms are discussed in the sections below.
MANAGEMENT
Compartmentation
Barriers with fire endurance to remain
effective throughout a fire exposure have a long history
of providing protection against fire spread. In such fire
compartmentation, the walls, partitions, floors, doors,
and other barriers provide some level of smoke protec-
tion to spaces remote tlie fire. section dis-
cusses the use of passive while tlie
use of in with pressuriza-
tion is discussed later. Many codes, such as the NFPA
10 (NFPA provide specific
criteria for the construction of barriers, including
doors and smoke dampers in these barriers. The extent
to which leaks through such barriers depends on
the size and shape of the leakage paths in the barriers
and the pressure difference across paths. Hazard
analysis (chapter 9) can be used to evaluate the perfor-
mance of
Dilution Remote From a Fire
Dilution of smoke is sometimes referred to as
purging, smoke removal, smoke exhaust, or
smoke extraction. Dilution can be used to maintain
acceptable gas and particulate concentrations a room
subject to smoke infiltration through leakage paths
an adjacent space. can be effective if the rate of
smoke leakage is small compared to either tlie total vol-
ume of the safeguarded space or the rate of purging air
supplied to and removed from the space. Also, dilution
can be beneficial to the fire service for removing smoke
after a fire been estinguished. Sometimes, when
doors are opened, flow into areas to
be protected. Ideally, such occurrences of open doors
only happen for short periods of time during evacu-
ation. Smoke has entered spaces remote the
fire can be purged by supplying outside air to dilute the
smoke.
The following is a simple analysis of smoke dilu-
tion for spaces i n which is no tire. At time zero =
0), a compartment is contaniinated with some concen-
tration of smoke and no additional smoke flows into the
compartment or is generated within it. Also, the contam-
inant is distributed throughout tlie
Chapter 6-Principles of Smoke Management
space. The concentration of contaminant in the space
can be expressed as
This equation can be solved for the dilution rate and
the time.
where
= initial concentration of contaminant
C = concentration of contaminant at time,
a
= dilution rate in number of air changes per minute
=
time after smoke stops entering space or time after
which smoke production has stopped, minutes
e = constant, approximately S
The concentrations and C must be ekpressed in
the same units, and they can be any units appropriate for
the particular contaminant being considered. In reality, it
is impossible to ensure that the concentration of the con-
taminant is throughout the compartment.
Because of buoyancy, it is likely that higher concentra-
tions would tend to be near the ceiling. Therefore,
exhausting smoke near the ceiling and supplying air
near the floor will probably dilute smoke even faster
than indicated by Equations (6.2) (6.3). Caution
should be exercised in the location of the supply and
exhaust points to prevent the supply air from blowing
into the exhaust inlet and, thus, short-circuiting the dilu-
tion operation
6.1 Smoke After the Fire is
1. the fire department puts out a fire, they want to clear
the smoke quicklyso that they can make an inspection todeter-
mine if the fire is completely out. If the HVACsystem is capa-
ble of a dilution rate of 6 ach. how long it take to reduce
the smoke concentration to of the initial value?
The dilution rate, a, is 0.1 changes per minute, and is
From Equation the to get the concentration to
is 46 minutes. Consideringthedesire of the tire department
to quickly inspect the area, such a long purging time will prob-
ably be excessive.
If the tire department wants the space to be purged in
minutes. what dilution rate is needed?
The time, is 10 and is 100. From Equation
the dilution rate is changes per minute. or about 28
changes per hour.
Example 6.2 Smoke Dilution in a
Space Remote from the
Aspace is isolated froma fire bysmoke barriers and
ing doors so that no smoke enters the compartment when the
doors are closed. However, when a door is opened, smoke
flows through the open into the space. If the door is
closed when the contaminate in the space is 20% of the bum
room, what dilution rate is required so that six minutes later the
concentrationwill of the room?
The time, is 6 minutes, and is 20. FromEquation
the dilution rate is about changes per minute or 30 ach.
Caution About Dilution Near a Fire
Many people have unrealistic expectations about
what dilution can accomplish in the fire space. The anal-
ysis of the previous section is not applicable to spaces in
which there is a fire. There is no theoretical or experi-
mental evidence that using a building's heating, ventilat-
ing, or air-conditioning (HVAC) system for smoke
dilution will result in any significant improvement in
tenable conditions within the fire space. is well
that HVAC systems promote a considerable degree of
sir within the spaces they serve. Because of this
and the fact that very large quantities of smoke can be
produced by building fires, it is generally believed that
dilution of smoke by an HVAC in the fire space
will not result in any practical improvement in the tena-
ble conditions that space. Thus, it is recommended
that systems intended to improve hazard
conditions within the fire space or in spaces connected
to the lire space by large openings not be used.
Pressurization
Systems using pressurization produced by mechani-
cal fans are referred to as in this book and
in NFPA 92A (NFPA A pressure difference
across a barrier control smoke movement, as illus-
trated in 6.1. Within the barrier is a door. The
high-pressure of the door can be either a refuge area
or an egress route. The low-pressure side is exposed to
smoke from fire. Airflow through the gaps around
the door and through construction cracks prevents
smoke infiltration to high-pressure side. the
door in the barrier is opened, airflow through the open
door results. When the air velocity is low, smoke can
against the airflow into the refuge area or egress
route. as shown in Figure 6.2. This smoke can
be if the air velocity is sufficiently , as
shown in Figure 6.3. The magnitude of velocity neces-
sary to depends on energy release
rate fire. as discussed in the
\\\
Figure 6.1 Pressure across a barrier of a
control system can
to side of
High PressureSide
Relatively
Low Air
Velocity
Figure 6.2 against air
open
Low PressureSide
. . \,\
,
......................................
Caution:
, , , ,
..................................
Because it supplies
oxygen to the fire.
airflow needs to be
used with great care.
High Air
Velocity
Figure 6.3 an open door-
way
Pressurization results in airflows of high velocity in
the small gaps closed doors and in construction
cracks, thereby preventing smoke through
these openings. Therefore, in a strict physical sense, the
pressurization is equivalent to tlie mechanism
that is discussed in the nest section. However, consider-
ing these mechanisms as separate is advantageous for
discussing systems.
For a or more large openings, air
velocity is the appropriate physical quantity for both
design and there are only
small cracks, as around doors, design-
ing to and of is impractical.
Principles of Smoke
In this case, the physical quantity is' pressure
difference. Consideration of the two mechanisms as sep-
arate has the added advantage that it emphasizes dif-
ferent considerations that need to be given for opened
and closed doors.
To ensure that expansion are not a
lem, pressurization systems should be designed so that a
exists for smoke movement to the outside. This
path could be as simple as relying on a top-vented eleva-
tor shaft, ed
exhaust. It is important that some
be The pressurization systems most
used are pressurized stairwells and zoned smoke
control. Elevator smoke control is less common.
Detailed design analysis and general considerations
about these pressurization systems are discussed later in
this manual.
Airflow
Airflow has been used extensively to manage
from fires in subway, railroad, and highway tun-
nels. Large flow rates of air are needed to control smoke
and these flow rates can supply additional oxygen
to the fire. Because of tlie need for complex controls,
airflow is not used so extensively in buildings. The con-
trol problem consists of having very flows when a
door is closed and then having those flows increase sig-
nificantly when that door opens. Further, it is a major
concern that the airflow supplies oxygen to the fire. This
section presents the basics of smoke control by airflow,
which demonstrate this technique is not recom-
mended, except the fire is suppressed or, in the
rare cases, when fuel can be restricted with confidence.
(1970) determined that airflow in a corri-
dor in there is a fire can almost totally prevent
smoke from flowing upstream of tlie fire. As illustrated
in 6.4, the smoke forms a surface sloped into the
direction of tlie oncoming airflow. Molecular diffusion
is believed to result in transfer of trace amounts of
smoke, producing no hazard but just the smell of smoke
upstream. There is a velocity below in which
smoke will flow and developed tlie
relation for this critical velocity:
critical air velocity to prevent smoke backflow,
release rate into
corridor width,
density of air,
specific heat downstreamgases,
absolute temperature of gases.
K = constant on the order of
g = accelerationof gravity.
The units are not given for Equation as it is
valid for any homogenous system of units (Appendix
A). The downstream properties are considered to be suf-
ficiently far downstream of the fire for the properties to
be across the section. Note is for the
downstream gases, and p is for upstream gases. This
means that p is not calculated The critical air
velocity can be evaluated at p = (1.3
= 0.24 (1.005
and K= I.
where
critical air velocity to prevent fpm
= energy release rate into (kW);
W = corridor width, (m);
K, = 86.3 (0.292).
Equation (6.5) can be used when the fire is located
in the corridor when the enters the
through an open doorway, air transfer grille, or other
opening. The critical velocities calculated Equa-
tions (6.4) and (6.5) are approximate because an approx-
imate value of K was used. However, the critical
velocities from this relation are indicative of the kind of
air velocities required to prevent smoke from
fires of different sizes. As be from Figure 6.5,
the critical velocity is less for wider corridors. Examples
6.3 and 6.4 illustrate the flows needed for different fires.
The equation of can be used to estimate the
airflow rate necessary to prevent smoke
through an open door in a boundary of a smoke control
system. (1980) developed another equation for
calculation of the critical velocity, and Tamura (1991)
conducted fire experiments to the critical
velocity for flow through an open
While the critical velocity can be calculated, the
oxygen supplied is a concern. Huggett (1980)
the oxygen consunied for combustion of numerous natu-
ral and synthetic solids. He found that for most materials
that are involved in building fires, the energy released
per unit of mass of oxygen consunied is approximately
5630 (13.1 Air is 23.3% oxygen by
weight. Thus, if all the oxygen in a pound of air is
Airflow
Because it supplies oxygen
to the fire, airflow needs to
be used with care. L
Heat Release Rale (MW)
0 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4
800
600 -
X
400
-
200 -
sumed, 1300 Btu of heat is liberated. Stated in the
system, if all the oxygen in a kg of air is consumed, 3.0
MJ of heat is liberated. As can be seen from Example
6.3, the air needed to prevent smoke can sup-
port an extremely large fire. In most locations of com-
mercial and residential buildings, fuel (paper,
cardboard, furniture, etc.) is present to support very
large fires. Even when the amount of fuel is normally
very small, short-term or transient fuel loads (during
building renovation, material delivery, etc.) can be sig-
nificant.
Because of the concern about supplying combus-
tion air to the fire, caution is recommended when air-
flow is used for smoke protection. The common use of
airflow to manage smoke movement in conjunction with
fuel restriction in rail and highway tunnels is probably
the lack of appropriate smoke management
alternatives. The use of fuel restriction or fire suppres-
sion limit the size fire for a smoke
relying on airflow has the potential for cata-
strophic failure. Therefore, the use of airflow is not rec-
ommended for smoke management in buildings except
when the potential for failure of fuel restriction or fire
suppression is evaluated to be acceptable. The methods
of tenability analysis discussed in Chapter 9 can be used
to evaluate the consequences of such failures.
Example 6.3 Airflow to Prevent Smoke
from a Small Fire
An energy release rate of 142 (150 can be thought
of as the size of a large wastebasket What flow rate of air
is needed to prevent smoke such a fire in a cor-
ridor 4 (1.22 m) wide and 9 (2.74 m) high?
From Equation the critical velocity is 286 fpm (1.45
The cross-sectional area of the corridor is 4 9 = 36
(1.22 2.74 3.34 m
2
). The flow rate is .the cross-sectional
Example 6.4 Airflow to Prevent Smoke
from a Large Fire
An energy release rate of 1420 (1.5 MW) would result in
a large portion of the corridor completely involved in
fire. What flow rateof air is needed to prevent smoke
fromsuch a fire in the corridor of Example
From Equation the critical velocity is 616 fpm(3.13
The flow rate is about 22,200 (10.5 m
3
/s).
6-Principles of Smoke Management
Example6.5 AirflowThrougha Doorway andFire Growth
Thomas indicated that his relation for critical velocitycanbe usedtoobtaina fordoorways. A involved
fire could have an energyrelease rate on the order of2270 MW). estimate of critical is the
Thomas equation for a door 3 (0.9 m) wide?
From Equation the critical about 793 If thedoor hasanof area 20 (1.9 m
2
), this would amount
a of 15,900 cfin (7.48 m
3
/s).
I
2. Consideration of a smallerfire, such as the wastebasket tire of Example may beappropriatefor manysituations. What flowrate
does the Thomas relation indicate is needed to prevent for the above door?
142 kW), W=3
From Equation thecritical velocity is about 300 (1.5 Fora door area of 20 (1.9 m
2
), this wouldamount toa flow
6000 cfin m
3
/s).
3. What size can this airflow support? Consider that all of the oxygen in theair is consumed, and that the air density is 0.075
I
Approximately 1300 Btu of energy is released when the oxygen in a pound of air is consumed, 15,900 can support the following
size fire:
= 25,800 (27.2 MW)
ft
For theenergy release rate would be 10,200 (1 MW). Thesefiresare very Airflow intended to prevent smoke
can causea fire to grow significantly if there is sufficient material to bum. Therefore, the use of airflow for smoke control is
not recommended except when the fire is suppressed or in the rare cases when fuel can be restricted with confidence.
Buoyancy
Buoyancy of hot combustion gases is employed in
both fan-powered and non-powered venting systems.
Such fan-powered venting for large spaces is commonly
employed for atriums and covered
with atrium smoke management systems is that
the sprinkler flow will cool the smoke,
and, thus, system effectiveness. There is no ques-
tion that but
unknown to what extent that cooling
ness of fan-powered venting. Further research is needed
area. However, the existing information can be
used to develop new design for fan-pow-
ered venting systems. NFPA 92B (NFPA pro-
vides methods of design analysis for smoke
management systems in large spaces, such as
and shopping malls.
AIRFLOW AND PRESSURE DIFFERENCE
For a crack, gap, or other opening with a pressure
difference across it, a flow will result from the higher
pressure to lower pressure. Many different equations
have been used to express the relation between fluid
flow rate and pressure difference with regard to air and
smoke flow in buildings. This section contains a discus-
sion of some of the more common equations, as well as
a detailed discussion of flows through the gaps around
doors. The flow through a crack or other opening can be
represented by the general function,
where
V = volumetric flow rate through the path,
= pressure difference across path,
f general functional relation.
The particular of the function f depends on the
.
geometry of the opening and Reynolds number. The
Reynolds number is
where
R, = Reynolds number, dimensionless;
D, = hydraulic diameter of flow path, in. (m);
U = average velocity in flow path, fpm
v = kinematic viscosity, (m
2
/s);
1.39 X
Values of kinematic viscosity are listed in Tables
A.8 and A.9 of Appendix A. The hydraulic diameter is
four times the cross-sectional area of the path divided by
the "wetted perimeter" of the path. For example, the
hydraulic diameter of a circle is the diameter of the cir-
cle, and the hydraulic diameter of a square is the side of
the square. For the long rectangular gaps around doors,
the hydraulic diameter is the gap thickness =
where is the gap thickness). The Reynolds number is
usually thought of as the ratio of-kinetic forces to vis-
cous forces. Later sections discuss different approaches
that apply for flow dominated by viscous forces, kinetic
forces, or both.
The pressure difference above can be expressed as
where
= pressure at path inlet,
p, = pressure at path outlet,
p = gas in path,
= of the path inlet,
= elevation of the path outlet,
g = acceleration of gravity.
Equation (6.8) is for constant density in the flow
path and for flows where the values of the inlet pressure,
outlet pressure, inlet elevation, and outlet elevation are
all constants. This representation is not appropriate for
inlet and outlet pressures that vary considerably the
elevation, as is the case for flows of hot firs gases.
However, for smoke control design, analysis of flows is
limited to building and outside temperatures.
Thus, this representation is appropriate for smoke con-
trol analysis, as well as general considerations of airflow
in buildings.
Orifice Equation
For large Reynolds flow is directly pro-
portional to the square root of the pressure difference
across the path:
where
= volumetric flow rate through path,
= flow rate through the path,
C = dimensionless flow
A = flow area (or leakage
= pressure across path, in.
p
= density gas in path, (kg/m
3
);
= 776. (1.00);
12.9
Dynamic forces dominate flow with Reynolds num-
bers greater than about 2000 or 4000, depending on path
geometry. At these Reynolds numbers, the flow
becomes turbulent. For turbulent flow, the velocity at a
given point fluctuates rapidly in an apparent random
manner.
Equation is similar to Equation (6.9) except
that it has been multiplied (remembering that
= Equation (6.9) has been applied so exten-
sively to orifice flow meters that it is often referred to as
the orifice and Equation (6.10) also is referred
to by the same name.
The orifice equation is also commonly used for
analysis of airflow in buildings and for analysis of
management systems. Because the orifice equa-
tion is based on Bernoulli's equation, it strictly applies to
steady, frictionless, incompressible flows. However, the
was introduced to account for friction
due to viscosity and for dynamic losses. The flow
coefficient depends on the Reynolds number and the
geometry of the flow path. For flows through gaps
around doors and through construction cracks, the coef-
ficient is generally in the range of 0.6 to 0.7, but the
presence of stationary vortices in larger such
as doorways can reduce the flow coefficient to
about Flow areas are discussed later.
For standard air density of p =0.075 (1.20
and for C=0.65, Equation (6.9) can be expressed as
= (G.
where
volumetric flow rate through the path, cfm
A flow area (also called leakage area), (m
2
);
pressure difference across path, in. (Pa);
(0.839).
Equation (6. I l ) gives flow at standard temperature
70F and standard pressure of
psi (l 0 l
Frequently, volunietric flows are adjusted to stan-
dard rates. The mass flow rate is
divided by the standard density to obtain the standard
rate. This is convenient because it
engineers to think in terms of the familiar volu-
metric rates. Further. these standard flows can be
treatsd as mass rates because they only deviate
mass by a constant.
Chapter6-Principles of Smoke Management
Equations and 1) are extensively
used for analysis of smoke control systems in this man-
ual. For normally constructed buildings, these equations
are recommended for all smoke control calculations. By
a normally constructed building, it is meant t o be one
that has at least tight wall and floor leakage and that
does not have gasketed or sealed interior doors. Tight
leakage of walls and floors is discussed in the section on
flow areas. The rest of the flow equations presented in
this section are included for unusual cases of very
tight construction.
Example 6.6 Flow Calculated the Orifice Equation
Calculate the volumetric flow through a path by the orifice
equationfor the following values:
A=1 (0.0929 m
2
)
C=
in. (12.4 Pa)
p =0.081 (1.30
From Equation (6 the flowrate is 560 (0.26
2. Calculate the above flowfor standard of
(1.20
Equation is cfm Thisflow
isat p=0.08 (1.30 and not standard (or
Plane Poiseuille Flow
For Reynolds numbers, flow is directly propor-
tional to the pressure loss. Viscous forces dominate flow
with Reynolds numbers below about 100 to 1000,
depending on particular path geometry. Plane Poiseuille
flow is an exact solution to the Navier-Stokes equations
for the flow of a viscous fluid between parallel and
infinitely long plates. The velocity distribution between
the plates is parabolic, as illustrated in Figure The
fluid velocity varies only in the perpendicular
to the flow, and this type of flow is referred to as
flow. The average velocity, U, for plane Poiseuille flow
is proportional to pressure loss
where
a distance benveen plates (gap thickness);
dynamic viscosity;
p = pressure
Real gaps in buildings are not infinitely long, and
some distance is needed for the parabolic profile to
become established, as illustrated in Figure The
pressure losses over this inlet length are greater
than those of developed parabolic flow. Further,
Figure6.6 Parabolic profile for- Poiseuille
between two plates.
FullyDeveloped
Figure 6.7 in a gap.
there are inlet and outlet losses due to just outside
the gap. These deviations from plane Poiseuille flow can
be significant and are accounted for in methods of anal-
ysis presented later.
Exponential Flow Equation
In order to accommodate the flows, which are
between viscous dominated and kinetic dominated, the
following exponential relation has been used exten-
sively in analysis of airflows through buildings:
where
V volumetric
C, flow coefficient for exponential flow equation, ft
3
(in. (m
3
pressure difference across the path, in. (Pa);
flow exponent,
For a flow exponent of n = Equation (6.13) is
essentially the same as the orifice equation. For = I ,
Equation (6.13) describes viscous dominated tlow. As
be expected the above discussion,
exponent n varies from 0.5 to l .
Equation (6.13) only approximates the relation
flow pressure and the values of
C, and depend on the range of This equation has
proven useful for the evaluation of flows through many
small cracks in buildings at low levels of pressure differ-
ence. However, this equation is not directly related to
the geometry of the flow path, and the values of C, for
particular flow paths must be determined empirically.
of exponents of inte-
rior paths are often taken at and exponents of exte-
rior walls often are considered to be about 0.6 or 0.65.
Gap Method
Gross and (1988) developed a general-
ized approach, the gap method, for determining the
leakage through gaps of different geometry such as
those of door assemblies. They developed a functional
relationship between the dinlensionless variables NQ
and NP.
and
where
NQ = flow rate;
NP = dimensionlesspressure
R,
= Reynolds number, dimensionless(Equation (6.7));
a = thickness i n direction perpendicular to flow,
in. (m);
= depth of gap in direction, in. (m);
Principles of Smoke
= pressure difference across gap, in.
= hydraulic diameter, in. (m), =
p
= densityof gas in gap,
v = kinematic viscosity, (m
2
/s);
Gross and used an analytical method of
Miller and Han (197 1) to account for the pressure losses
in the entrance region before fully developed flow is
achieved in a straight-through slot. Their relation for
flow versus pressure difference is shown in Figure 6.8.
Three regions of flow through the straight-through slot
were identified, and equations for these regions are:
Region 1 dominated region-for
Region 2 (Transition region-for
NQ = (6.17)
where a= 1.01746 -0.044181 Log,
Region3 (Kinetic dominated region-for
The equations for regions I and 3 were developed
by Gross and Haberman, and the exponents are as
expected; considering that region 1 is dominated by vis-
cous forces and region 3 is dominated by kinetic forces.
Region 2 is a transition between the other two regions,
--
Region l
+-
Region 2 Region 3
Pressure Difference, NP
6.8 Flow gaps
Gross
Tabl e 6.1:
Fl ow Fact or s f or Si ngl e- and Doubl e-Bend Ga p s
Dimensionless Flow Factor Flow Factor
Pressure for Single-Bend for Double-Bend
Difference, NP Slot, Slot, F2
Less than or
equal to 4,000
7,000 0.98 0.939
10,000 0.972 0.908
15,000 0.960 0.880
20,000 0.952 0.862
40,000 0.935 0.826
100,000 0.9 0.793
200,000 0.890 0.772
400,000 0.872 0.742
0.848 0.720
2,000,000 0.827 0.700
and an approximation developed by Forney (1989) is
used for this region. This approximation is particularly
attractive for computer applications because it is contin-
uous with the expressions for the other two regions.
Equations (6.7) and (6.14) can be combined to
obtain a relation for volumetric flow rate through a
Nondimensional Pressure Difference. NP
Figure 6.9 factors for gaps (adapted
Gross and
Gap Thi i ness, a (mm)
0 1 2 3 4 5 7
-
1 Bend
C
0.6 -
E
0.4 -
Note: Gapdepth in flow
6
is 2 in.(50.8mm). pressuredifference
- is 0.04in. Pa) . and air
temperatureis
straight-through slot.
where
rate,
tlow;
depth of gap in flow direction, in.
hydraulic diameter, in. (m), =
length of gap, (m);
kinematic viscosity, ft
2
/sec
60
0.25
Gap Thickness, a(in)
Frequently, slots around doors one or more
bends. For single- double-bend slots, the
flow, NP, can be by multiplying values
for a slot by and
(where is for single-bend slots, and is for a
ble-bend flow factors are presented in
Table 6. I Figure 6.9.
6.10 shows predicted by the gap
a gap gaps bends. As
would bc gap
Figure 6.10 coefficients gaps
gaps
and the is less for gaps bends than for
straight gaps.
is espected the gap predictions for a
relatively gap (and relatively large Reynolds num-
ber) would be closer to those of the orifice equation than
predictions of the exponential equation. Figure
6.1 1 compares of the orifice equation, the
exponential flow equation, and the gap method a
in. 2.7 wide gap, and it can be seen that the pre-
dictions of the orifice equation are almost identical with
of the gap method. As might be expected for a 0.1
in. (2.54 mm) gap, the predictions of the exponential
flow equation with = 0.65 are much to those of
the gap (Figure
The design book of Klote and
used Equations (6.9) and (6.1 for all smoke control
analysis because it that the orifice equation
was for design analysis. Klote and
(1985) reevaluated this use of the orifice equa-
tion and the exponential flow equation. They experi-
mentally determined coefficients and exponents for
the leakage paths French Research
using regression analysis. Computer flow simulations For most of the applications of this book, flows are
using the exponential flow equation with experimentally represented and calculated by the orifice equation.
approaches to prescribing values for C and Aare:
simulations using the orifice equation. It can be con-
cluded
chosen
in normally constructed buildings yields acceptable
I
obtain the desired value of the CA product.
for pressurization smoke control design pur-
poses, No similar study was conducted for smoke
desired value of the CA product.
agement systems without pressurization.
flow through the gaps between the door and the door at a
pressure differenceof in. (37.3 Pa)? Use the follow-
ing properties of air at 70F (21
For the at the door bottom:
a = m) = = l.OO in. (0.0254 m)
1.75 in. (0.0445 m)
=0.15 in. (37.3 Pa)
FromEquation (6.1 NP=
Equation 2950.
From Equation V cfni m
3
/s) flow
throughslot at door bottom.
For slots at and sides:
a=0.12 in. m) = = in.
m)
L= 17 ft(5.18 m) = in. (0.0602 m)
0.15 in. (37.3 Pa)
FromEquation (6.1 NP=51000.
From Equation NQ=
From Equation V = cfin (0.0855 if the slot
had been straight.
From Figure6.9, = for a single-bendslot.
= = cfin (0.0792 flow through slots at
top and sides.
Total 152 + 168=320 l
FLOW AREAS AND COEFFI CI ENTS
In design of control systems, airflow
paths must be identified and evaluated. Some leakage
paths are obvious, such as gaps around closed doors,
open doors, elevator doors, and air transfer
grilles. Construction cracks in building walls and floors
arc less obvious but no less important.
The first approach is used with orifice flow meters
and many other flow paths for which the cross-sectional
area can readily be determined and for which C values
are available. For flow coefficients of many read-
ers are referred to Idelcnik
The geometry of construction cracks in walls and
floors is complicated and for these cracks, measurement
of cross-sectional areas is impractical. second
approach above is used for these cracks with the flow
areas listed in Table 6.2 for C 0.65. It is believed that
actual leakage values for walls and floors are primarily
dependent on rather than construction
a
...
0
-
0 . 6
E
Note: Gap thicknessis 0.5in (12.7 mm). 3
gap depth in flowdirectionis 2 in. (50.8
pressure differenceis 0.04 in. H,O
and air is 70 . .
0
l I
0 0.1 0.2 o!
Figure 6.11 of
a 0.5 (12.7 wide
Exponential
m
with = 0.65
..
0.015
Gap Method of Gmss
and
-0.1 0.2
0
0 0.3
Pressure Difference
Figure 6.12 of
I
Chapter 6 of Smoke Management
in
Door
Figure6.13 Dimensions for Example (a) front of door;
gap at top andsides, and (c) gap at bottom.
Table 6.2:
Typical Leakage Areas of Walls a nd Floors of
Commercial for C 0.65
Area
Construction Element
Exterior Building Walls
(includesconstruction cracks,
cracks around windows and
Stairwell Walls
X
(includesconstruction cracks but
not cracks around windows or doors
0.
loose
3
l . Flow area ratios for C= 0.65 0.3 in. (75
2. A flow area. A , is wall area, and floor area. Values
area ratios based on pressurization in buildings
by and and
1978) and Sham et al.
3. Values from average on rangs
of of other constructionelements.
Elevator Shaft Walls
(includes construction cracks but
not cracks around doors)
materials, and, in some cases, the flow areas in particu-
lar buildings may vary from the values listed. The sec-
ond approach above also was used for the flow areas of
elevator doors listed i n Table 6.3.
The gap method can be used to determine values of
Cand A for flow through gaps around doors. Tables 6.4
and 6.5 provide this flow information using approaches
and 2, respectively. The flows by these
tables are equivalent to each other, and users can select
the approach convenient to their application.
Additional data concerning building components
are also provided in Chapter 25, "Ventilation and Infil-
tration, of the 1997 Handbook-Fundamen-
The leakage flow rates of door assemblies can be
measured and rated at ambient temperature and elevated
temperatures in accordance with 1784 (1990).
For open stairwell doorways, (1973) found
that stationary vortices in the doorways that
the resulting flow through those doorways was about
half of that which would be expected without such vorti-
ces. Using approach I , Table 6.6 lists flow areas of open
stairwell doorways for C= Alternatively, approach
2 can be used where C= and the flow area is about
half the cross-sectional area.
The determination of the flow area of a vent is not
always straightforward because the vent surface is usu-
ally covered by a louver and screen. Thus, the flow area
is less than the vent area (vent height times width).
Because the slats in are frequently slanted, cal-
culation of the flow area is further complicated.
0.35 X
0.84
0.66
Floors
(includesconstruction cracks and
gaps around penetrations)
Tight
3
A
v
e
ra
g
e
Table6.1:
Typical FlowAreas for Elevator with C 0.65
Door Wi dth Flow
m Tightness m
2
Closed Doors 3.0 0.914 Tight 0.34 0.032
Average 0.48 0.045
Loose 0.60 0.056
Tight
Average
Loose
Tight . 0.37 0.035
Average 0.53 0.049
Loose 0.66 0.06
Tight
Average
Loose
Tight
Average
Loose
OpenedDoors 3.5 1.07 6.0 0.56
I. This table for doors 7 (2.13 m) areas C= at 0.1 in.
Values of area in by and Shaw
Table 6.2:
Flow Coefficients for Gaps Around
Thickness Cap Thickness
Width at Top and Sides at Bottom Cross-Sectional Flow
in. m in. in. ft' m'
36 0.9 0.02 0.25 6.36 0.090 0.0084 0.57
Chapter6-Principles of Smoke Management
Table 6.3:
FlowAreas of Gaps Around UsingaFlowCoefficient of 0.65
Cap Thickness Cap Thickness
Width at Top and Sides at Flow
in. m mm in. mm
m
2
36 0.914 0.02 0.508 0.25 6.35 0.079 0.0073
l . This table is for doors 7 ft(2.13 m) 1.75 in. (44.5 thick. and with a door slop protruding 0.61in. (15.7
2. The flow area should not be confused cross-sectional of the gaps. The flow area is for i n C= 0.65.
gap method.
Table 6.4:
Areas and FlowCoefficients for Open Stairwell
Door Width Flow Area
FlowCoefficient
Condition of Door in. m C
Propped Fully Open 36 0.914 21.0 1.95 0.35
Person in 36 0.914 10.5 0.78 0.35
Propped Fully Open 44 25.7
Person in 44 12.5 0.35
1. This i s for a door o f 7 m).
2. The arca as arca fully opsn door. for hcing only a person
Principlesof Smoke Management ,
Example 6.8 FlowArea of Stair
I. What is the leakage area betweenan interiorstairwelland the if thestairwell are of average tightness?The stair
well door is 7 (2. i3 m) by 3 (0.914 m), with a 0.08 in. m) gap on thesides and top and with a 0.25 in. m) gap a
the bottom. Thestairwell is 8 (2.44 m) by (5.49 m) with a floor to ceiling height of 10 (3.05 m).
For the stairwell walls:
Wall area is =520 (48.3 m
3
). From Table 6.2 for a stairwell wall of average tightness, the ratio of the leakage area
wall area is 0.1 I X The leakage area of the wall is (520) =0.057 (0.0053 m
2
).
For the around the door:
FromTable 6.5, the flowarea of thisdoor is 0.169 (.O m
2
).
Total flow area:
Because these flow areas are in parallel (Chapter the total flow area is the sum of the individual areas: 0.057 +0.169 =
(0.0210 m
2
) flowarea between the stairwell and the buildingon a per floor basis.
Part 2. What would the flow area be if the construction were loose and the door 0.75 in. (0.019 m)?
For the stairwell walls:
From Table 6.2 for a stairwell wall of loose tightness, the ratio of the leakage area to wall area is The leakage area of the
wall is (520)= ft
2
.
For the around the door:
FromTable 6.5, the flowarea of this door is 0.320
Total flow area:
The flowarea between the stairwell and the building on a per floor basis is +0.320 0.502 (0.0166 This is about double
the flowarea of the first part, illustratingthe extent to which flowareas can vary.
PRESSURE LOSS OF SHAFTS AND DUCTS
Straight Ducts and Shafts
The pressure losses due to friction in ducts and
shafts is represented by
where
= pressure loss in shaft or duct due to friction, in.
= dimensionless friction factor of shaft or duct;
L shaft or duct length, (m);
= hydraulic diameter of shaft or duct, (m);
p = density of gas inside shaft or duct.
U = average velocity inside shaft or duct,
=
The hydraulic diameter of shaft or is
where
A = area of the duct or shaft, (m
2
);
P = perimeter of duct or shaft, (m).
Equation is Darcy-Weisbach equation for
pressure loss in ducts and pipes.
For ducts and pipss, the friction factor can be
obtained from the traditional Moody diagram (Figure
or it can be calculated the Colebrook equa-
tion.
where
E = roughness of the inside surface of the duct. (m);
R, = Reynolds number (sse Equation (6.7)).
Some categories of duct roughness, are listed in
Table 6.7. Equation can be solved numerically
Reynolds Number.
Figure 6.14 diagram in ducts
Table 6.7:
Duct Roughness categories
1
Roughness Roughness, e
Duct Material
Category ft mm
Uncoated carbon steel, clean Smooth 0.000 0.03
PVC pipe
Galvanized steel, longitudinal seams, 50 in. (1200 mm) joints MediumSmooth 0.0003 0.09
Galvanized steel, continuously rolled, spiral seams, in. (3000 mm)
joints
Galvanized steel, spiral with l , 2, and 3 ribs, 144 in. (3600
joints
Galvanized steel, longitudinal seams, in. (760 Average 0.0005
Fibrous glass duct, rigid Medium Rough 0.003 0.90
Fibrous glass duct liner, air side material
Fibrous duct liner, air side spray coated Rough 0.0 3.0
Flexible duct. metallic
Flexible duct. all types of and wire
by the Raphson For
(Figure the friction factor can be calculated
6. As by of National
In network computer flow (Chapter 8), it
Institute Standards and
numerical solution is by
can be useful to use the area for a
= solving or shaft. This is the area of an orifice that has the
Principles of Smoke
pressure loss as a section of duct. The flow through the
orifice.is
The flow also can be expressedas
P =
where
where
= cross sectional area of the duct or shaft, (m
2
);
P = volumetricflow rate throughtheduct or shaft,
(m
3
/s);
C = dimensionless flow
A, = equivalent area, (m
2
);
= pressure difference across path, in. (Pa);
U = average velocity in the duct or shaft,
Considering Ap and combining Equations
and (6.25) results in
p
= density gas in duct or (kg/m
3
);
K, = 776. (1.00).
Figures to show area ratios (A,
fully rough flow for the duct roughness categories listed
in Table 6.7.
Example 6.9 Equivalent Area of A Shaft
Calculate the equivalent area of a concrete shaft 8.6ft (2.62 m)
Hydraulic Diameter, D, (m)
by ft (3.66 with a length equal to the floor height of 12
From Table the roughness of a concrete duct is
rough. This indicates that the beobtained Figure
6.19. From this figure, =12.5, and
2 2
A, = = 12) = 1290 ft ) .
This large equivalent area is indicative of a duct section with a
small pressure to friction.
0 20 40 60 80
Hydraulic Diameter, (R)
Figure 6.15 Area ducts.
Hydraulic Diameter, D,, (m)
. . ..: .
. . I . .
0 20 40 60 80
Hydraulic Diameter. D,,
Chapter 6-Principlesof Smoke Management
HydraulicDiameter, (m)
Hydraulic Diameter, (ft)
Fi gure 6.18 Area ratio for mediumrough ducts.
Hydraulic Diameter. D, (m)
HydraulicDiameter, D, (R)
Fi gure 6.19 Area ratio for rough ducts.
Stairwells
Tamura and Shaw showed that the pressure
losses due to friction in is similar to that of
shafts, and this pressure loss is
where
pressure loss in stairwell due to friction, in.
K,,, dimensionless friction factor of stairwell;
L height of section of ft (m);
= hydraulic diameter of stairwell, (m);
p
= density of gas inside stairwell,
U average velocity inside stairwell,
K,, = 1.66
A relationship for the equivalent orifice area for the
stairwell can be obtained in the same manner as
done for the duct.
Values of K,, are listed in Table
Calculate the equivalent area of a stairwell 8 ft (2.44 m) by
18 ft (5.49 m) with a length equal to floor height of 12 ft
(3.66 m). There are no people in the stairs and the treads are
l. FromTable6.8,thefrictionfactor, K =0.28.
equivalentarea isA, =0.28 (8 18)=40 (3.72
2. An alternateapproach is below.
From Equation (6.2
- ------ = (3.38 m).
P 18)
From Equation
SYMMETRY
The concept of symmetry can be used to simplify
networks, thereby simplifying analysis.
advances in network (Chapter 8) have reduced
the need for such symmetry can be
useful. Figure illustrates the floor plan of a
story building that can be divided in half by a plane of
symmetry. Flow areas on one side of this plane are squal
to corresponding areas on other side. If the s and
pressures are solved for one side, those on the other side
are also known. To apply symmetry to a building,
floor must be it can be divided in the
manner by the of symmetry. If wind are
included in the analysis, the wind direction must par-
allel to the plane of symmstry. It is not that
the building bc geometrically as shown
of Smoke Management
Table 6.8:
Typical Friction Factors and Area Ratios for
Stairwell Type Floor Height Friction
ft m Tread people
2
Factors, Per Floor
Conventional 12 3.6 Open None 29 0.30
Conventional 12 3.6 Closed None 32 0.28
Conventional 8.5 2.6 Open None 6 0.24
Conventional 8.5 2.6 Open High 104 0.19
Conventional 8.5 2.6 Closed None 7 0.22
Conventional 8.5 2.6 Closed High 170 0.15
Scissor 14 4.3 Closed . None 0.32
I . Based on data and Shaw and and (1988).
"High"is high density of 0.18 (2.0
I
6.20 Building floor-
Figure 6.20; it must be synimetric only respect to
flow.
DOOR-OPENING FORCES
door-opening forces due to the pressure differ-
ences produced by a smoke control system must be con-
sidered in any design. Unreasonably high door-opening
forces can'result in occupants having difficulty or being
unable to open doors to refuge areas or escape routes.
This is addressed in the next section. The following
analysis is for a door hinged at the edge with a door
knob, as shown in Figure 6.2 Users need to adapt the
analysis to fit conditions, as ots inset
edge.
The forces on a door in a control are
illustrated i n Figure and sum of the
about the hinge is
Pressure
Side
Figure 6.21 of a
where
F =
=
A =
=
=
total door force, Ib
of the door closer and other friction,
door width, ft
door area, f? (ni
2
);
pressuredifference across the door, in. (Pa);
distance doorknob to the knob side of the
door. (m);
5.20
The moment to overcome the door closer and fric-
tion consists of all moments about the hinge due to the
door closer or friction forces such as friction in the
hinges or rubbing of the door against the door frame.
The force at the knob needed to overcome hinge friction
is about to 2 (2.3 to 9 N). Some poorly fitted doors
rub against the frames, resulting in extremely high
opening forces. Ideally, such poor workmanship will be
identified and corrected during building commissioning.
The component F,, at the knob to overcome the
door closer and other friction is
Chapter6-Principles ofSmoke Management
This can be substituted into Equation (6.29) to obtain
and this can be solved for the pressure differenceas
(F-F, )
where
F = total door opening force, (N);
F, = force to overcome the door closer and other fric-
tion, (N);
W = door width, (m);
A = door area, (m
2
);
= pressure difference across the door, in. (Pa);
d = distance fromthe doorknob to the knob side of the
door, (m);
5.20
This relation assumes that the door-opening force is
applied at the knob. This force to overcome the door
closer is usually greater than 3 N) and, in some
cases, can be as large as 20 (90 N). Caution should be
exercised in evaluating the door closer force because the
force produced by the closer when the door is closing is
often different from the force required to overcome the
closer when opening the door. Many door closers
require less force in the initial portions of the opening
cycle than that required to bring the door to the full open
position. For this discussion, the force to overcome the
door closer and other friction is that force at the very
beginning of the opening process. pressure differ-
ence component of the door-opening force can be deter-
mined from Figure 6.22 for a door 7 ft (2.13 m) high
with a knob located 3 in. (0.076 m) from the edge.
Figure 6.22 forces
Example 6.11
1. What is the door-opening force for a door 7 by 3 ft
(2.13 m by 0.9 m) subject to a pressure difference of
in. (62 Pa)? The force to overcome the door closer and
other friction is (44 N), and the knob is 3 in fromthe
door edge.
W= 3 ft(2.13 m) d = 0.25 (0.076 m)
=0.25 in. (62 Pa) F, =
A =3 7 = 21 (1.95 m
2
) = 5.2 (1.00)
From Equation (6.3 l), the door-opening force is 25 ( l
N). Alternately, Figure 6.22 gives (66 N), and adding
this to the door closer force gives 25 ( l N).
What is the pressure difference across a door that has a 30
(133 door-opening force and a frictional and door closer
force of 5 (22 N)? The door is the same size as in part
above.
N)
5 (22 N)
From Equation Ap is 0.42 in. (104 Pa).
DESIGN PRESSURE DIFFERENCES
It is appropriate to consider both a and a
minimum allowable pressure difference across a barrier
of a control system. The values discussed in this
section are based on the recommendations in NFPA 92A
(NFPA The maximum allowable pressure dif-
ference should be a value that does not result in exces-
sive door-opening forces. The force that a particular
person can exert to open a door depends on that person's
strength, the location of the knob, the coefficient of fric-
tion between floor and shoe, and whether the door
requires a push or a pull.
Read and Shipp (1979) studied door-opening
forces, and they present strength data for the very young
(age to 6 years) and the elderly (age 60 to 75 years).
From Tables 6.9 and 6.10, the five pushing
force for the very young females is only (29 N),
and the five percentile pushing force for the elderly
females is only 20 (91 N). The five percentile push
force of healthy male adults is 45 (200 N). These
forces are gradually applied, and a method of
suddenly applying the force results in a peak force of
175 (780 These push forces are one handed, and
the subjects are not leaning forward; the push force
increases t o 146 (652 N) for a forward leaning two-
handed push.
The Life Code (NFPA states that the
force required t o open any door in a means o f egress
shall not exceed 30 (133 N). Based on the data of
Read and Shipp, it seems that this 30-lb (133 N) limiting
force is appropriate for most occupancies, but care
should be exercised when building occupants are likely
to have low levels of pushing and pulling strength. For a
30-lb (133 N) limitation on door-opening force with a
side-hinged door with a singe knob, the maximum
allowable pressure differences are listed i n Table 6.1 I .
The fire of buoyancy of "hot" smoke can be
incorporated in the selection of the minimum design
pressure difference. Unless otherwise stated, the mini-
mum design pressure differences used in this manual
incorporate buoyancy and are based on the idealization
that the mass through the leakage paths is constant
for the duration of the fire. A method for handling vari-
able mass through these paths is presented in
Chapter 9.
The control system should be designed to
maintain this value under likely conditions of
stack effect and and when there is no building fire
(such as during acceptance or routine testing). NFPA
92A (NFPA suggests minimum design pressure
differences, and these values are listed in Table 6.12.
The values for nonsprinklered spaces are those that will
not be overcome by the buoyancy forces of hot gases.
These values for sprinklered buildings were calculated
the equation for buoyancy of combustion gases
(Chapter 5) for a gas temperature of
for a neutral plane located at a height of two-thirds of
the ceiling height below the ceiling and with a safety
factor of in. Pa).
Tabl e 6.9:
Funct i onal St r engt h Val ues f or Age Gr oup 5 t o 6
Fifth
Mean, Percentile,
Function . (N) (N)
Push M 20 (90) 26 7.2 (32)
F (73) 26) 10 (46) 6.5 (29)
Pull M 27 (120) 41 (184) (82) (77)
F l9 (141) l l (48) 8.7 (39)
I . Note: Shipp applied and pulls o r two-handed
Chapter 6-Principlesof Management
Table6.10:
Functional Strength Values for Age Group 60 to 75
Fifth
Mean, Maximum, Minimum, Percentile,
Function Gender
Push M 53 (237) 121 (540) 21 (92)
23 (101)
Pull
F 45 (201) 91 (407) 22 (100) 21 (95)
I. Note: Adapted Read and Shipp Subjects used only one hand. Suddenly pushes and pulls or hvo-handed forward-leaning
pushes would have resulted in forces.
Table 6.11:
MaximumAllowable Pressure Difference Across Doors, in.
Door Closer
Force, Door Width, in. (m)
(35.6) 0.41 (102.) 0.37 (92.1) 0.34 (84.5) 0.3 (77. l ) 0.28 (69.7)
(14.5) 0.37 l) 0.31 0.30 (74.6) 0.28 (69.7) 0.26 (64.7)
(53.4) 0.34 (84.5) 0.30 (74.6) 0.27 (67.2) 0.25 (62.2) 0.23 (57.2)
(62.3) 0.30 (74.6) 0.27 (67.2) 0.24 (59.7) 0.22 (45.7) 0.21 (52.2)
I . Adnpted from NFPA door opening force is (133 and the door i s 7 m).
Table 6.12:
Suggested Minimum Pressure Design
Design
Building Ceiling Pressure
Height,
ft (m)
in. (Pa)
AS 0.05 2.4)
NS 9 (2.7) 0.10 (24.9)
NS l (4.6) (34.8)
I. NFPA For purposes, a control should maintain mini-
mum likely conditions of or wind.
2. AS for and NS nonsprinklsrsd.
3. smoke zone adjacent spnces areas
arc in the control
Principles of
Pressure differences produced by smoke control
systems tend to fluctuate due to the wind, fan pulsations,
doors opening, doors closing, and other factors. Short-
term deviations from the suggested minimum design
pressure difference may not have a serious effect on the
protection provided by a smoke control system. There is
no clear cut allowable value of this deviation. It depends
on tightness of doors, tightness of construction, toxicity
of smoke, airflow rates, and on the volumes of spaces.
Intermittent deviations up to 50%of the suggested mini-
mum design pressure difference are considered tolerable
in most cases.
WEATHER DATA
The indoor to outdoor temperature difference has
an impact on building airflows and pressures. For some
analyses, wind data may be needed. The 1997ASHRAE
Handbook-Fundamentals, Chapter 26, "Climatic
Design Information," provides weather data for loca-
tions throughout the world. NFPA 92A and NFPA 92B
suggest that the 99.6% heating dry-bulb (DB) tempera-
ture and the 0.4% cooling DB temperature be used as
the winter and summer design conditions. NFPA 92A
and NFPA 92B also suggest that the 1% extreme wind
velocity be used as the design condition.
CHAPTER7
Air Moving Equipment and Systems
T
he National Board of Fire Underwriters exam-
ined the NFPA fire data from January 1936 to
April 1938 to the extent of
hazards due to heating, ventilating, and air-con-
ditioning (HVAC) (NBFU 1939). Of 25 fires
recorded, had of parts of the air-moving
system. Ducts, duct linings, and filters bunied. In five
cases of no fire i n the HVAC smoke was distrib-
uted by the This report has a impact
materials and of modern HVACsys-
tems, as is apparent from examination of current codes
and standards. The report recommended that HVACsys-
tems be shut during fire situations to prevent them
spreading and supplying combustion air to
the fire. System shutdown became standard response
to fire. However, operation of the HVAC system a
controi mode has a alternative
--
i n recent years, as discussed in later chapters.
The information i n this chapter is provided as a
broad and general background on air-moving systems.
The material was selected to aid in understanding of
the smoke control systems discussed in later chapters.
This information should help tire protection engineers,
firefighters, and code to with
HVAC designers and to recognize and understand
HVAC equipment. Because energy conservation is a
major concern, energy efficiency of systems and equip-
ment is addressed in this chapter. This chapter is not an
exhaustive treatment of the safety requirements of
HVAC systems, and the systems should
be done by experienced professionals. Many publica-
tions provide detailed information about these sys-
tems and equipment (for example, ASHRAE
SMACNA 1990, 1987; Handbook of HVAC Design
The simplest consist of a fan in a housing,
such as a roof-mounted atrium exhaust fan. Most sys-
tems are more complicated, and some of
the following components: supply air outlets, return air
inlets, fresh air intakes, humidifiers, filters, heating and
cooling coils, preheat coils, and dampers. is
of a variety of materials, including steel,
aluminum, concrete, and masonry. of
glass, gypsum board, and fabrics is used with some
restrictions. Discussions of fans and dampers are pro-
vided later. The air-moving systems that are discussed
later are primarily intended for maintaining comfort
conditions. Exhaust systems for toilets, laboratories, and
kitchens are not discussed, but they are generally less
complicated and use many of the same
HVAC LAYOUT
I n large buildings, the heating and cooling loads
often vary considerably from one location to another.
Heat is transferred to or from the spaces near the exte-
rior walls depending on outdoor weather conditions.
Solar radiation affects each of the exterior zones differ-
ently. It is common to divide a building into four perim-
eter zones and a core zone as shown in Figure 7. l a. The
heating and cooling capacities the perimeter zones
to accommodate outside temperatures and
solar loads. Because of the heat produced by occupants,
and equipment. the core zones often need cool-
ing even in the winter.
The perimeter zones can be conditioned by a vari-
ety of means, including fan coil units, air conditioners,
and heat Generally, fan coil units are supplied
Chapter 7-Air Equipment and Systems
with hot and cold water to allow both heating and cool-
ing. Often, air conditioners and heat pumps are located
through-the-wall. Both fan coil units and
wall equipment can receive ventilation air directly from
the outside or from a ducted ventilation systeni. In large
buildings, ventilation air is needed to con-
trol the due to cooking, smoking, perspiration, and
other The perimeter zones may be served by
ducted forced air systems, and the core zone is usually
served by such forced air systems. Some types of forced
air systems are capable of satisfying a wide range of
needs simultaneously and are used to serve both perime-
ter and core zones. The different types of forced air sys-
tems are discussed later.
on a floor is often through ducts
located above a suspended ceiling. Return air is often
pulled through the plenum space above the ceiling, as
shown in Figure b. The return may be ducted above
the ceiling as well. Mechanical equipment of a forced
air system may be located on each floor (Figure 7. I b),
on one floor (Figure or on several floors (Figure
7. l d).
The arrangements above are but a few of those pos-
sible. There may be several forced air on each
floor. There may be several units located in a penthouse,
each serving its own vertical portion of the building.
Sometimes, several air are used and the areas
served are selected on the basis of having similar heat-
ing and cooling demands. These demands depend on
occupancy, the presence of heat-releasing equipment,
electrical lighting levels, and heat transferred to or from
the outside. For a complicated building (such as hospi-
tals, laboratories, and hotels), duct systems can be
to such a level that considerable study is
needed to understand which systems which areas.
FORCED AIR SYSTEMS
Four common types of forced air systems are
constant volume, single-zone systems,
constant volume systems with terminal reheat,
variable air volume (VAV) systems,
dual-duct systems.
There are numerous variations on these systems.
Generally; the heat source for heating coils is hot water.
However, other sources, such as steam or electrical
resistance heating, are possible. Cooling coils can be
supplied with chilled water or with refrigerant.
source of heating or cooling has effects on
In small and residences,
is by occurring air
through gaps cracks.
(a) Perimeter and Core Zones
(b) Supply and Plenum Return
Floor
29
25
20
15
Mechanical
Duct
(C) Central Systemin Penlhouse Floors
Figure 7.1 HVAC
system economics but little effect on airflow. The forced
air systems discussed in the following sections can
completely built in the field, factory-fabricated subsec-
tions can be field assembled, or completely factory fab-
ricated systems can be installed.
Constant Volume, Single Zone
Figure 7.2 is a representation of a single-fan, con-
stant volume The term "constant volume" is
used i n HVAC industry to indicate that the system
a constant or nearly constant volumetric flow
rate of air. This is used i n residences and some
small commercial applications. In return
air the living quarters is drawn at one location,
flows through filter, fan, and coils, and is distributed
back to the residence. This system does not the
capability of providing fresh outside air. These systems
are intended for applications where there is
natural air leakage through cracks i n walls and around
windows and doors for odor control.
Single-zone systems are so called because they
serve only one HVAC control zone, For a resi-
dential system is controlled by a thermostat to
the temperature in the quarters. Generally, the res-
idential system a control system,
allowing only "on" and operation to
and humidity conditions.
Frequently i n commercial buildings. constant vol-
ume systems have two fans and are capable
ventilation air as illustrated in Figure The return
fan permits lower supply fan speeds and quieter opera-
tion. The return air fan provides positive return and
exhaust from the conditioned space. During cold
weather, many large commercial buildings have so
much heat generated by equipment and people that cool-
ing is required. To save energy, cold outside air can be
used for this cooling. The system of dampers and con-
trols that maximizes the use of outdoor air for cooling is
called an economizer.
For systems with an economizer, the humidifier and
cooling coils need to be protected from freezing. Thus,
the preheat coil is used to temper the outside air to 38F
to (3C to when the outside air is below freez-
ing. The preheat coil and reheat coil can be used when
heating is required. The reheat coil used with the cool-
ing coil allows precise humidity control.
Constant Volume, Terminal Reheat
The constant volume, terminal reheat system is
intended to serve many HVAC control zones, as illus-
trated in Figure 7.4. This system can have an econo-
mizer as can all the following systems. The supply fan
provides cooled air to each zone, where it is reheated to
the temperature required to maintain comfort conditions
within that zone. The airflow rate through the system is
constant, and control is achieved by varying the heat
input to each reheat coil. This system is capable of
achieving a high level of temperature and humidity con-
trol for each zone. However, terminal reheat is not very
energy
Variable Air Volume
The variable air volume system varies the supply
rate of conditioned air to the space to maintain comfort
conditions. Additionally, the temperature of the supply
achieving variable flow. In the system depicted in
flow rate, the system is said to be in a "balanced
ure 7.5, flow to each zone is controlled by a damper or
tion." Many designers size the exhaust fan at about 80%
or 90% flow of th
p
rovide
sometimes referred to as the VAV terminal box.
ally, the supply and return fans are capable of variable
The intent is prevent normal infiltration of airborne
dirt, odors, and pollen from the outside into the building.
Figure is a line diagram illustrating the same sys-
tem as that of Figure the rest of this chapter, line
diagrams will be used to illustrate systems. The compo-
nents of the following are the as those
shown in Figure and
sors. Some of the approaches that are used to achieve
variable flow rates through fans are variable pitch inlet
Louver Damper
Fan
Exhaust
Air +-
C C
(a) Diagram showing duct thickness
Exhaust
Return Fan
Exhaust
ReturnAir Humidifier
Coil
/
Outside
\
Spaces
Filter Preheat Reheat
Air Damper . , Coil
(b) Diagram with line representation of duct
7.2 Figure 7.3 volume, single-zone
Chapter 7-Air Moving Equipment and Systems
Exhaust
Reheat Coil
Exhaust
Air
Humidifier
RetumAir
Damper
Air
O
u
t
sid
e Filter
Damper
Coil
Supply Fan
Figure 7.4 Constant with terminal reheat.
Figure 7.5 (VAC.')
vanes, discharge dampers, variable pitch motor sheaves, systems have been used in multi-room buildings to
eddy current couplings, variable speed DC motors, and accommodate highly variable heating and cooling loads.
variable frequency AC motor speed controllers. As with A dual-duct system can be constant volume or VAV.
constant voiunie systems, systems can be designed Operating costs of VAV dual-duct systems are less than
to provide building pressurization.
those of the constant volume systems.
Dual Duct FANS
The dual-duct system all the air at a
Standard 149 (ASHRAE
location and distributes it to the conditioned spaces
establishes testing and
two supply ducts. One cold air,
tation for fans used for smoke exhaust.
and other warm air (Figure 7.6). mixing box There are two general fan
plying each combines the two airstreams in the gal and axial. Figure illustrates basic parts of a
proper proportions to achieve comfort conditions. These fan. Flow within a centrifugal fan is
in a radial to the impeller. Figure 7.8 illus-
trates the basic parts of an axial fan. Flow within an
axial fan is parallel to the shaft.
Centrifugal Fans
Centrifugal fans used in the HVAC industry are
generally classified by design as forward
, curved, backward curved, and (Figure 7.9).
Forward-curved centrifugal fans rotate at a rela-
tively low speed and are generally used to produce high
flow rates and low static pressures. Backward-curved
fans rotate at about twice the speed of
fans and have a higher efficiency. The higher rotational
speed requires more expensive fan construction. Both
and backward-curved blades are sin-
gle width, stamped from sheet metal. fans are
basically backward-curved fans with blades of varying
thickness to improve fan efficiency. blades are
designed using the same technology that is used
to design wings.
Required performance and economics are major
factors in the selection of a fan type for a particular
application. However, the following generalizations can
be made concerning application. fans
are used for low-pressure HVACapplications, including
equipment. and backward-curved fans are used
for general purpose HVAC applications, and fans
are usually limited to large systems where the enernv
savings are significant.
fans (Figure 7.10) are an excep-
tion to the classification by type. Generally,
Exhaust Return
Damper Coil
these fans have blades and
vanes to direct air parallel to the shaft.
Tubular centrifugal fans are primarily used for
sure HVAC applications, particularly as return air fans.
These fans have significant space savings over other
centrifugal fans.
Backward rotation is a common problem
with systems with centrifugal fans. It is important to
note that backward rotation of fans results in
reduced flow in the normal direction. This problem is
often not recognized because of the mistaken belief that
backward rotation of these fans results in
flow. The normal direction of airflow and the direction
of rotation of centrifugal fans is shown on Figure
Axial Fans
The common types of axial fans used in buildings
are propeller fans, tubeaxial fans, and vaneaxial fans
(Figure 7.11).
For propeller fans, a variety of designs are
employed with the intent of achieving high rates at
low pressures. The of propeller fans have
or more blades and are usually of inexpensive construc-
tion (for example, these blades are often stamped from
sheet metal). Propeller fans are used for low-pressure,
high flow rate applications, including kitchen exhaust,
toilet exhaust, stairwell pressurization, and space venti-
lation.
Tubeaxial fans have a higher efficiency and can
operate at higher pressures than propeller fans.
ial fans have still higher and operating pres-
sures. Blades of tubeasial and vaneaxial fans can be
Exhau
Air
Outsid
Air
Figure 7.6
Chapter 7-Air Movi ng Equipment and Systems
of
Rim
Figure 7.7 Centrifugal fan components.
Guide Vane
Head
Figure 7.8 Axial fan
Forward-Curved Backward-Curved
24 to 64 Blades 10 to 16 Blades -10to 16 Blades
About 65% Efficiency About 75% Efficiency About 80% Efficiency
Figure types for fans.
. .
single thickness or design. Adjustable pitch
blades' are used on some vaneaxial fans to obtain high
Both tubeaxial and vaneaxial fans have the
advantages of straight-through flow and compact instal-
lation. Tubeaxial fans are used for low- to
sure HVACapplications, and vaneaxial fans are used for
low- to high-pressure HVAC applications.
Unlike centrifugal fans, backward rotation of an
axial fan normally results in backward flow. This back-
ward flow is at a reduced airflow rate. More information
about both centrifugal and axial fans is provided by
gensen ASHRAE and AMCA
1987).
DAMPERS
In air-moving systems, dampers are used to
balance airflow,
control airflow,
resist the passage of fire, or
resist the passage of smoke.
Balancing dampers are used in supply ducts and
return ducts to adjust the airflow to the design values.
These dampers can be of simple construction (Figure
7.12) or of multi-blade construction (Figure 7.13).
Centrifugal
Straightening Vanes
Figure fan.
Multi-blade dampers operated by electric motors or
pneumatic pistons to vary the flow rate are called con-
trol dampers. Dampers used to resist the passage of fire
are called fire dampers, and these can be multi-blade
dampers (Figure 7.13) or curtain dampers (Figure 7.14).
Dampers used to resist the passage of smoke are called
dampers, and these can also be either multi-blade
or curtain. Combination dampers can be used to balance
airflow, control airflow, resist the passage of fire, and
resist the passage of smoke.
Fire Dampers
Generally, multi-blade fire dampers are held open
by a fusible link and are spring loaded. In a fire situa-
tion, hot gases cause the link to come apart, allowing a
spring to slam the blades shut. In place of fusible links,
some manufacturers use other heat responsive devices.
In the United States, fire dampers are usually con-
structed and labeled in accordance with standard UL
555 (UL 1999). Prasad (1995) tested the ability of fire
dampers to close under conditions of still air, airflow,
ambient temperature, and elevated temperature. In
response to the findings of Prasad's findings, the 1999
version of UL 555 includes closure tests for static sys-
tem (with no airflow) and dynamic systems (with air-
flow). The dynamic tests can be at ambient temperature,
250F (120C) or 350F (180C).
Propeller
Propeller Roof
Wall Fan
Exhaust Fan Propeller Roof
About 25% Efficiency
Tubeaxial Fan
Arm'
-
Vaneaxial Fan
About Efficiency
Figure 7.11 Types of
.Duct
Damper Round Damper
7.12
Rectangular Damper
Chapter 7-Aii Moving Equipment and Systems
Channel Frame
\
Extension
Opposed Action Damper
Blade
Angle
,Channel Frame
Shafl
Extension
Section
Parallel Action Damper
Smoke Dampers
In the United States, smoke dampers are usually
constructed and classified for leakage in accordance
with standard UL stan-
dard includes construction and tests for
cycling, temperature degradation, dust loading
sure, salt-spray exposure. air leakage, and operation
under airflow. These are classified as I , or
Note: Horizontal (floor) type
curtain dampers must have
spring closure, but vertical
(wall) type curtain dampers
can have either spring or
gravity closure.
Figure 7.14
and the maximum are listed in Table
7.1.
particular class of damper specified be
--
selected based on the requirements of the application.
~-
For example, the dampers i n the supply and return ducts
can have some leakage adversely
smoke control system Thus, a
might select class or dampers for such an
application. However, a designer choose
for applications that a right
damper, such as a return air (Figure 7.3).
Table 7.1:
Leakage Cl assi fi cat i ons f or Smo k e Damper s
(Adapt ed from UL [UL
At 1.0 in. (250 Pa) At 4.0 in. (1000 Pa)
Classification
I 4 0.020. S I
I I 0.05 20 0.102
I I 40 0.203 SO 0.
At 8 in. (2000 Pa) At in. (3000
I I I 0.056 0.07
I I 3 0 .
-
I I 0. 7
CHAPTER8
Computer
S
moke management applications of computer
have increased dramatically in the last few
decades. Many computer models have been devel-
oped for fire science and fire protection engineering
applications by a number of Many of
these applications are very useful for smoke manage-
ment design. The CD
that accompanies this book contains a number of com-
puter applications that can be useful for smoke
(Table Most of these programs
developed at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST). The NIST computer applications
are in the public domain, hich means that they are not
covered by copyright protection and they can be freely
copied and used by anyone.
The computer applications on the CD can be classi-
fied as building airflow zone fire models, detec-
tor actuation models, CFD elevator evacuation
model, collections of engineering tools. This chap-
ter is a discussion of these classes of models
except for CFD and the elevator evacuation
model. The CFD models are dealt with in Chapter 17.
The elevator evacuation model, is discussed in
Appendix C.
The treatment in this chapter is of a general nature.
For details and equations of particular models, readers
should see the documentation for the model. The equa-
tions in this chapter are only intended to describe
of the important concepts of computer
and these equations are not to be used for cal-
culations. Accordingly, are not given for variables
of this chapter. However, all of these equations are
for units or any other unit (see
Appendix A)
BUILDING AIR AND
SMOKE nowMODELS
Computer programs that simulate building airflow
can be useful for analysis of pressurization smoke con-
trol systems. Airflow programs that can simulate con-
taminates or concentrations throughout a
building can be useful tools for hazard analysis. The
CONTAM program that is on the CD accompanying the
book has air and contaminate flow capabilities. and it
also is used for some of the examples of this book.
A discussion of the earlier models provides a back-
ground for CONTAM. All of the airflow programs also
calculate the pressures throughout the building. The
National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) devel-
oped airflow programs (Sander 1974; Sander and
Tamura The program (Klote 1982) sim-
ulated airflow and was specifically developed as a
research for analysis control
was extensively used for smoke control design
for much of the and 1990s. Yoshida et al. (1979);
Butcher et al. (1969); and Locklin (1 969): Evers
and Waterhouse (1978); and Wakamatsu (1977) devel-
oped programs that also simulate
Network Models
These models represent a building by a of
spaces or nodes, each at a specific pressure and tempera-
ture. The stairwells and other shafts can be by a
vertical series of spaces-ne for each floor. Air
through leakage paths regions of high pressure to
regions of low pressure. These leakage paths doors
and windows that may be opened or closed. Leakage
can also occur through partitions, floors, and exterior
Chapter 8-Computer
Table8.1:
Computer Software inthe Smoke
Software Name Comments
Classification
Building Air and CONTAM Airflow analysis including contaminants
Smoke Flow
Zone Fire ASET-C Available Safe Egress Time -C++ Language Version is part package
of engineering tools.
CFAST Consolidated Fire and Smoke Model
Model for the Prediction of Detector Activation and Gas Temperature in the Presence
ofa Smoke Layer
JET Model for the Predictionof Detector Activation and Gas Temperature in the Presence
a Smoke Layer
AZONE Atrium zone fire model includes anddelayedsmoke exhaust fan activation
Detector Actuation DETACT-QS DetectorActuation - Quasi Steady
DETACT-T2 Detector Actuation - Time squared
CFAST Detector actuation is one feature zone fire model
Detector actuation is one featureof this zone fire model
JET Detector actuation is one feature of this zone fire model
Elevator Evacua- Elevator Evacuation
tion
Collection Atria Smoke Management Engineering Tools
neering Tools
FAST Acollection of equations and fire protection engineeringtools includingCFAST
I. Note: All in this table public developed by NIST, except for AZONE. which was by H. Inc.
walls and roofs. The airflow through a leakage path is a
function of the pressure difference across the leakage
path.
In this air outside the building can be
introduced by a pressurization system into any level of a
shaft or even into other building spaces. This allows
simulation of pressurization, elevator shaft
pressurization, stairwell vestibule pressurization, and
pressurization of any building space. In addition,
any building space can be exhausted. This allows analy-
sis of zoned control systems where the fire zone
is exhausted and other zones are pressurized. The pres-
sures throughout the building and steady rates
through all the flow paths are obtained by solving the
airflow network, including the driving forces, such as
wind, the pressurization system, and inside-to-outside
difference.
of the are similar
to other network and these assumptions are:
Each space is considered to be at one specific pres-
sure one specific temperature.
2. flows and paths are assumed to occur at
The net air supplied by the air-handling system or by
the pressurization system is assumed to be constant
and independent of building pressure.
4. The outside air temperature is assumed to be con-
stant.
S . The barometric pressure at level is assumed
to be standard atmospheric pressure (10 Pa).
The results of the program are not very sensitive to
changes in atmospheric pressure. For altitudes consider-
ably different from sea level, a more accurate value of
barometric pressure can be substituted by changing a
statement in the subroutine INPUT and in the sub-
routine CORR.
The following is a simple overview of a nehvork
model. This overview only considers one flow path
between any two nodes, but network models
allow a number of flow paths between
points. mass flow in a path between two nodes can
be represented as
where
. = mass node i to j,
functional relationships appropriate for a path
between nodes i and j,
pressure difference node i to node j.
A number of functional relationships for flow are
discussed in Chapter Possibly the orifice equation and
the exponential equation are the most ccmmon such
functions. A function can also be used to represent the
flow of a fan, which is an exception in that fan flow is
from a node of lower pressure to a node of higher pres-
sure.
The pressure difference can be expressed as
=
J
where
= pressure at node i,
= pressure at nodej,
= density gas at node
Z, = elevation of node i,
= elevation of nodej,
g = acceleration of gravity.
For steady flow, conservation of mass at node i can
be stated as the sum of the mass flows leaving node i are
zero. In equation form, is
where Mis the number of flow paths between node i and
other spaces. The mass flows entering node i have negative
values. Writing the conservation of mass equations for each
node in the building results in
+
+ ... = ,
Substituting Equation (8.2) into the set of
equations yields
where is the functional relationship for flows into node i.
Equation (8.5) is a set of nonlinear equations.
The this set of equations is the pressures
. . . for which all the right-hand side is zero. From these
pressures, all of the pressure differences and flows through-
out the building can be calculated.
Because of the in solving these equations,
the numerical routines of many of the above models
were slow and would sometimes fail to converge to a
solution. Such convergence failures seemed to happen
more with large and complicated networks.
An ASHRAE-funded research project (Wray and
1993) evaluated several algorithms to find the
most appropriate one for analysis of smoke control sys-
tems. They selected the routine developed by
Walton (1989) as the best algorithm based on successful
convergence, computational speed, and use of computer
memory. the routines of this study take advan-
tage of the repetitive nature of building flow networks,
so data entry for these routines is difficult and time con-
suming.
CONTAM Model
There are versions of this model:
(Walton 1997) for use with the DOS operating system
and CONTAMW (Dols et al. 2000) for use with the
Windows 95, 98, or NT operating systems. The techni-
cal aspects of these models are the same, and they are
referred to in this section simply as CONTAM. A simple
user guide for getting started with CONTAM is pro-
vided in Appendix D.
CONTAM uses an improved version of the
NET algorithm that was selected as the best algorithm in
the study mentioned above. Further, CONTAM has a
method of graphical data input that reduces both learn-
ing time and the likelihood of input errors.
CONTAM was developed for indoor air quality
applications, but it has been extensively used for smoke
management applications. This model simulates con-
taminant flow, as well as airflow throughout a building.
For smoke management applications, the contaminants
can be the products of combustion.
The CONTAM documentation considers the model
to be a model where the zones would be
rooms or floors of a shaft. The CONTAM model does
not include an energy equation, and so the temperature
of zones needs to be designated by the user.
CONTAM is like the network models above except
that i t treats pressures and flow paths in a more general
way.
The pressure in i is considered hydrostatic,
and it can be represented as
Chapter 8-Computer
Pressure
Figure 8.1 Bidirectional flow through an opening
between two zones.
Pi
where
= pressure in zone at elevation z,
= pressure at the floor = of zone
g = acceleration of gravity,
= density of air in zone i,
z = elevation above the floor of zone
The representation of pressure allows for simula-
tion of bidirectional flows between two zones connected
by a flow path. Such bidirectional flow can occur when
two zones at different temperatures are connected by a
flow path (Figure 8.1). This is not relevant for smoke
control systems that rely on pressurization, but it could
be significant for simulations of smoke transport that
does not include pressurization. For flow paths specified
at midheight of the floor, airflows, and pressures calcu-
lated by CONTAM are the same as,those of
within the limits of numerical convergence.
ZONE FIRE MODELS
Zone fire models have proven utility for fire
protection applications, including hazard analysis. The
concepts behind this type of fire model are the basis of
most of the engineering approaches to smoke manage-
ment for atria.
Early zone fire models include the Code
(Mitler and (Cooper the
Model and CCFM (Cooper and
1990). The University of Maryland has made
modifications to CCFM specifically for atrium smoke
management design (Milke and Mower 1994). The
ASET-C, CFAST, and JET are dis-
cussed below.
Because zone models were originally developed for
fires, this discussion will start with room fires. In a
(a) Sketch of a roomfire
N I
C
C
Fire
(b) Zone model idealization of a room fire
Figure 8.2 (a) sketch
room fire, hot gases rise above fire, forming a smoke
As the rises, it entrains air the room
so that the diameter and flow rate of the plume
increase with elevation. Accordingly, the temper-
ature decreases with elevation. The fire gases from the
plume flow up to the ceiling and a hot stratified
layer under the ceiling. The hot gases can flow through
openings in walls to spaces, and such flow is
referred to as a The is similar to a plume
in that air is entrained and the mass flow rate and
sectional area of the jet increase with elevation, and the
jet temperature decreases with elevation. Ths difference
is that the is through an opening in a
wall. Figure is a sketch a room fire.
The concept of zone is an idealization of
the room fire conditions, as illustrated in Figure
For this idealization, the temperature of rhs hot upper
layer of the room is unifonn and the temperature of the
lower layer of this room is also uniform. The of
the discontinuity layers is the
everywhere. This discontinuity i s called the smoke layer
In the at an infinitesimal dis-
tance above the the temperature and contami-
nant concentrations are of the smoke At an
infinitesimal distance below the interface, the tempera-
ture and contaminant concentrations are those of the
lower layer. However, in real fires, there is a gradual
transition rather than an interface.
The dynamic effects on pressure are considered
negligible, so that the pressures are treated as hydro-
static. Other properties are considered uniform for each
layer. Algebraic equations are used to calculate the mass
flows due to plumes and doorjets.
Many zone computer models allow exhaust from
the upper layer, and this capability is essential for simu-
lation of atrium smoke exhaust systems. Many of the
computer zone models estimate heat transfer by meth-
ods ranging from a simple allowance as a fraction of the
heat released by the fire to complicated
including the effects of conduction, convection, and
radiation. Zone model application to an atrium fire is
illustrated in Figures and
Rockett et al. (1987) compared measured data with
data computed by the Harvard Code for a series of fires
at the NIST Annex. The temperatures for one of those
fires are shown in Figure 8.4. It can be that the
temperature for the bum room is well represented by the
zone fire model idealization. However, the temperatures
in the corridor and lobby are only very roughly approxi-
mated by the zone fire model. This supports the opinion
that zone model predictions are less realistic for spaces
away from the fire room.
For general about zone fire mod-
els, readers are referred to Karlsson and Quintiere
Friedman Jones Mitler and Rockett
and Mitler (1984) and Quintiere
Mathematical Description
Many of the early zone fire models were
steady systems of algebraic equations, and the atrium
zone fire model, AZONE, discussed in Chapter 14, is
based on this approach. Other models are differential
equation-based, and this section is intended to provide
some the theory behind these equa-
The upper and lower layers of a one-room zone fire
model form control volumes, as illustrated in Figure
In general, the approach to zone is to write the
conservation equations for the upper and lower layers.
ASET-B is an exception in that equations are only writ-
ten for the upper layer.
The equation of conservation of mass for the upper
layer is
m,
=mass in the upper layer,
m, , . , , =mass flow rate into the upper layer,
=mass flow rate out of the upper layer.
The mass flow rates in Equation (8.7) depend on
the specific computer model. ASET-B only simulates
the plume flow into the upper layer with no allowance
for mass flow out of the upper layer. For this model,
is the mass flow of the plume and is zero.
For more complex multi-roomzone models, is the
sum of all mass flows into the upper layer (plume, door-
jet from another room, HVAC flow, etc.) and ..,is
sum of all mass flows out of the upper layer
from another room, HVAC flow, etc.).
The conservation of energy equation is also known
as the first law of thermodynamics. Because potential
energy and kinetic energy are relatively small, they are
neglected, and the energy equation for the upper layer is
I
(a) Sketch of an atrium fire
Plume
(b) Zone model idealization of atrium fire
Figure 8.3 sketch
zone
Chapter8-Computer Modeliig
TemperatureRise
Corridor
Note: indicates thermocouple tree.
TemperatureProfiles:
Measured
- Calculatedfrom
Zone Fire Model
25 50 75
I I
6 -
I Burn Room
0 150 200
TemperatureRise
Rise
TemperatureRise("C)
TemperatureRise TemperatureRise
Figure 8.4 a 100 200
et al. [I
Control Volume Boundaries
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I
I
I
Upper Layer
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Lower Layer
Opening
in Room
8.5
where
Q
= heat transferred to the upper layer,
For an ideal gas, C, R, and are constants
(Appendix A). The time derivative of Equation is
W work done by the smoke layer on the surround-
ings,
h ,
enthalpy of the mass flow into the upper layer,
h , enthalpy of the mass flow out of the upper
layer,
= internal energy of the upper layer.
Substituting this into Equation (8.9) results in
The heat transfer term, Q,, should not be confused
with the heat release rate of a fire. The heat transfer term
is for thermal energy that flows into the upper layer due
to a temperature difference. Because the upper layer is
relatively hot, the term Q,, is generally negative (for
example, heat conduction and thermal radiation from
hot smoke to the walls).
Work is the product of a force, F, acting through a
I (in differential work is =
The displacement for the upper layer is the moving
smoke interface, which is also the surface of the control
volume. The force is the product of at
the interface and the area of this surface ( F = The
work term is
Combining Equations (8.1l),
and (8.16) yields
Equation (8.17) is a form of the of
energy equation for the upper layer. The following con-
servation of mass and energy equations for the lower
layer can be developed in a similar manner:
and
Most zone fire models consider the gases to behave
as ideal gases, and an ideal gas is one that has the fol-
lowing equation of state:
=
where
p = absolute pressure,
V = volumeofgas,
m = mass of gas,
= gas constant,
T = absolute temperature of gas.
The enthalpy of an ideal gas can be expressed as
The conservation equations can be rearranged as
where C,, is the constant pressure specific heat. The inter-
nal of an ideal gas can be expressed as
whereC,.is the constant volume heat. The gas con-
stant of an ideal gas is
E,, = net energy release rate for upper layer,
The ratio heats, y. is
Chapter
net energy releaseratefor the lower layer,
room volume (V = V, +
Equations (8.20) through (8.23) were developed by
Jones and readers should see that reference for a
detailed description of the net energy release rate terms.
Information about solution of such systems of differen-
tial equations can be found in many texts on numerical
methods (for example, Burden et al. 198
Equations for plume mass flow and temperature are
discussed in Chapter Flow through doors and other
openings in walls or partitions are calculated in much
the same way as horizontal flow through an opening,
which is treated in Chapter 13, except that the pressures
are complicated by the possibilityof both air and smoke
on both sides of the opening.
ASET-CModel
ASET-C (Available Safe Egress Time-C Language)
is a program for calculating the temperature and posi-
tion of the hot smoke layer in a single room without
smoke flow to other spaces. ASET-C is one of the sim-
plest and easy to run zone fire models. As stated above,
ASET-C only simulates the upper or smoke layer. The
lower layer is considered to remain smoke free and at
ambient temperature. ASET-C is an adaptation of the
ASET-B (Walton and it is one of the engineering
tools in the package. Documentation is pro-
vided in Appendix E.
CFASTModel
CFAST is a multi-room zone model that predicts
the effect of a specified fire on temperatures, various gas
concentrations, and smoke layer heights in a
structure. CFAST has many features, including
forced ventilation, detector activation, and conductive
heat transfer. CFAST is the primary engineering tool in
the FAST package (Peacock et al. 2000). For a technical
description of CFAST see Jones et al. (2000).
Model
(Davis and Cooper 1989) is a single room
zone fire model that predicts plume centerline tempera-
ture, ceiling jet temperature, and ceiling jet velocity.
can determine activation times of fusible links
controlling vents and sprinklers in compartments
bounded by draft curtains, or combinations of
and draft curtains.
JETModel
Like JET (Davis 1999) is a
fire that plume centerline tempera-
ture, ceiling jet temperature, and ceiling jet velocity.
SET also can determine activation times of fusible links
controlling vents and sprinklers in compartments
bounded by walls, draft curtains, or combinations of
walls and draft curtains. The JETmodel incorporates the
conductivity factor to account for the effects of heat
conduction the sprinkler head.
DETECTOR ACTUATIONMODELS
Fire-driven ceiling jets can have a significant
impact on the performance of ceiling-mounted detection
hardware. The plume rises above the fire. As it impinges
on the ceiling, the plume gases and form a rela-
tively high temperature, high velocity, turbulent ceiling
jet, which flows radially outward (Figure 8.6). The tem-
perature and velocity of the ceiling jet are described by
(1972) correlations.
The detector actuation model, DETACT-QS, calcu-
lates the actuation time of thermal devices below
fined ceilings (Evans and The unconfined
ceiling assumption is appropriate for large spaces, such
as open plan spaces, but it does not account for
the effects of the smoke layer on the ceiling jet in a con-
fined space.
Figure 8.7 is a sketch of a ceiling jet in a room with
a smoke layer. For a fire below the smoke layer, the
plume penetrates smoke interface, continues to rise
toward the ceiling, and entrains smoke from the smoke
.....
Detector
(a) Sketch of ceiling jet and detector
Ceiling
Note: The ceiling jet flows
radially from the point wher
the plume impingeson the
ceiling.
(b) Idealized ceiling jet flow
Figure 8.6 a ceilirrg.
CeilingJet
Layer
I
Figure 8.7 Sketch of showing ceiling jet and
layer. When the ceiling jet reaches the walls, the flow The detector models account for the thermal lag of
turns downward. The effects of the smoke layer on detectors by use of the response time index (RTI), as
taken into account in the zone fire models discussed in Chapter 2. The RTI approach is appropriate
CFAST and JET. for the fusible links of sprinklers and smoke and heat
vents.
CHAPTER9
Hazard Analysis
M
ost management systems provide
smoke protection by minimizing people's
contact with smoke or by keeping smoke
completely away from people. As the name implies, ten-
ability systems provide protection by maintain-
ing tenable conditions. Tenability allow smoke
contact, but the systems are designed such that the tem-
peratures and concentrations of combustion products are
limited.
An analysis of these systems is called a hazard anal-
ysis, in that the level of hazard to life is evaluated. Tech-
nological advances have made hazard analyses feasible,
and tenability systems based on such analyses have
gained a level of acceptance in the last decade. NIST
developed a group of computer programs, HAZARD I
(Peacock et al. l), for hazard analysis in spaces con-
sisting of a relatively few such as residences.
Bukowski and Spetzler (1992) used HAZARD I to
reconstruct the fire at the Happyland club in the Bronx,
New York, that killed 87 persons. Klote et al. (1992)
extended hazard analysis to large multi-story buildings
for the study of staging areas for persons with mobility
limitations.
Hazard analysis is a powerful fire protection tool
that has application beyond smoke management. This
tool can be used to evaluate alternative building materi-
als and furnishings. The most common smoke manage-
ment applications are and
protection. Compartmentation systems can be with or
without pressurization. The atrium systems can have
any of smoke filling, smoke exhaust, or
natural venting. is also possible to use hazard
analysis to evaluate the of component failure.
HAZARD ANALYSIS CONCEPT
For a particular fire, smoke moves through the
building. As people evacuate the building, they are
exposed to this smoke, which has the potential to impair
vision and cause incapacitation or fatality. A hazard
analysis can be used to calculate such smoke flow and
the consequences for building occupants. A hazard anal-
ysis can consist of one or a number of fire scenarios.
Hazard analysis consists of the following compo-
nents: (I) fire scenario, (2) smoke transport, (3) people
movement, and (4) tenability.
Fire Scenario. As stated in Chapter 2, a fire sce-
nario can be thought of as the outline of events and con-
ditions that are critical to determining the outcome of
alternative designs. In addition to the fire location and
heat release rate, the fire scenario includes the status
of the doors, the HVAC systems, the smoke manage-
ment system, and other systems. For details about
design fires, see Chapter 2.
Species CO, etc.) generation can be
included in the fire scenario. The scenario may also
include specifics about the fuel, ignition of multiple fuel
packages, and the effect of fire suppression. The selec-
tion of the fire scenario be based on professional
judgement, analysis of historical fire data, or cods
requirements.
Smoke Transport. Smoke can far from a fire
and threaten life. The major driving forces that cause
smoke movement are naturally occurring stack effect,
buoyancy of combustion gases, expansion of combus-
tion gases, the wind effect, fan-powered ventilation sys-
tems, and elevator piston effect. These driving forces are
discussed in Chapter
Chapter 9-Hazard Analysis
As discussed in Chapter 3, smoke consists of the
and gases evolved when a material
undergoes pyrolysis or combustion, together with the
quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into
the mass. The evolved gases are part of the species men-
tioned above. Generally, when smoke flows away from
a fire, the concentrations of particulates and evolved
gases decrease. models for smoke
analysis are discussed later.
People Movement. People movement in fire situa-
tions is complicated. Some people will fight the fire.
Others move against the flow of evacuating people in an
attempt to find or rescue loved ones. Scme
based evacuation models are capable of simulating the
movement of individual people. As people move
through the building, they are exposed to smoke. This
time-integrated exposure can be used in tenability calcu-
lations. For about calculation of building
evacuation 'time and a discussion of computer-based
evacuation models, see Chapter 4.
In many applications, consideration is made for
people who are immobilized due to an accident or phys-
ical disability. a person would need to to be
rescued, and the wait could exceed the-time needed for
evacuation of the rest of the building.
Tenability. Tenability calculations estimate the
hazard to life of a scenario. Tenability calculations
address one or more of the following: exposure to
gases, exposure to heat, exposure to radiation,
and visibility through smoke. For calculation of expo-
sures and visibility, see Chapter
The exposures are time-integrated doses of toxic
gases, heat, and thermal radiation. These doses can be
based on the smoke concentrations at several locations
as people move out of the building. Alternatively, the
doses can be based on the smoke concentrations at one
an person waits for rescue.
Level of Complexity
The level of complexity of a hazard analysis
depends on particular application. Analysis of
of these can consist of rea-
soning, and others require detailed A
ways a hazard analysis can be simplified are dis-
cussed
Evacuation Simulation. For esposures
on immobilized people, the need for a
simulation can eliminated, pro-
vided is long. is
because considered a per-
son be a
a
may be building
Eliminate Heat Exposure Calculation. Detailed
heat exposure calculations are needed if the maxi-
mum temperature is relatively low. For exposure times,
Figure 3.7 can be used to make such an estimate.
Eliminate Radiation Calculation. If exposure to
heat does not cause incapacitation, exposure to
radiation not cause incapacitation. Exposure to heat
consists of direct bodily contact with hot smoke, and
exposure to thermal radiation consists of receiving the
radiant flux fromhot smoke. If the smoke temperature is
insufficient for heat exposure to be an issue, the smoke
temperature is also insufficient for radiation
exposure to be an issue.
Eliminate Toxic Gas Exposure Calculation. For
many hazard analyses, visibility is the controlling tena-
bility condition. The method described in Chapter 3,
"Tenability and Perfect Dilution,"can be used to deter-
mine if exposure to toxic gases is of concern for particu-
lar tenability criteria. (This same method can also be
used to help determine if heat exposure is of concern for
particular tenability criteria.) Alternatively, toxic gas
exposures can be estimated by a simple method, such as
the FED approach, to denionstrate that exposure to toxic
gases is of concern.
SMOKE TRANSPORT
For applications, smoke transport calculations
are done by computer. A wide range of computer mod-
els can be used, including ( l ) zone fire models, (2)
flow models, and (3) computational fluid
(CFD) models. The choice of the depends on
specific application. Smoke transport can also be evalu-
ated by physical (Chapter 15).
Use of the zone tire model FAST the network
flow CONTAM for hazard analysis is discussed
later. For general information about zone fire models
and building air and network tlow see Chapter
S. For general information about CFD
Chapter
Many of theses can simulate production and
gases HCI.
HCN, etc.), but of specific gases is not
generally necessary for design applications. Generation
of the specific gases requires detailed knowledge of
fuel, is usually not available in applica-
tions. approach presented in chapter is one of
many possible methods of calculating
mass of fuel consumed by the fire is
mass of fuel consumed, (g);
total heat release rate (kW);
chemical heat of combustion
1
The heat release rate, Q, and the mass of fuel con-
sumed, , are entered into the computer smoke trans-
port model, which calculates the concentrations of
material burned, C, at every location and each time
interval in the simulation.
TENABILITYCALCULATIONS
The following is one of many approaches to tena-
bility calculations, and more extensive information can
be found in Chapter Tenability analysis addresses vis-
ibility, gas exposure, and heat exposure.
The mass concentration of material burned, can
be obtained from zone fire The fractional effec-
tive can be used to obtain an approximation
of the effects of exposure to toxic gases.
where
FED =
=
At =
=
fractional effective dose at the end of interval i
(dimensionless);
concentration of material burned at interval
time interval,
lethal exposuredose from test data,
(g min).
This equation is for time intervals, as cal-
culated by computer models, and it evaluates the FED
for the exposure time at the end of interval i
time is An FED greater than or equal to one indi-
cates fatality. The concentration, is the denisty of
materials that started as fuel that have accumulated at a
location during the interval i. The concentration has
units of mass of the material burned per unit
The lethal exposure dose, is the product of the
and the exposure time. The is the concentra-
tion of airborne products that is lethal to
50% of the subjects exposed for a specified time. An
FEDof can be considereda rough indication of inca-
pacitation.
When a accurate evaluation of effects is
desired, the methods discussed in Chapter can be used.
The fractional incapacitating dose method is gen-
erally considered to be more accurate. Unlike the FED
method. calculation of calculation of spe-
cies concentration. The considcsed can be
to and CO. This allows simulation of the
synergistic effects CO production and depletion
on toxicity of CO. Considering this and that the CO
the dominant toxic gas in building fires, limiting the
gases to and CO is appropriate for many
applications. For information about CO production in
fires, see Table
For any instant, the visibility can be calculated from
where
= visibility at the end of interval i, (m);
K = proportionality constant (8 for illuminatedsigns,
and 2 for non-illuminated signs);
= mass optical density,
= concentrationofmaterial burned i n interval i,
Generally, contact with dry air of temperatures
greater than 250F 21C) can be expected to result in
skin Also, contact with dry air at a
less than approximately 250F (121C) leads to
For hyperthermia, heat exposure can be esti-
mated
where
= total cumulative dose (dimensionless);
At = time interval, minutes;
= temperature of air in "F ("C);
0.0152 (0.0273).
Incapacitation due to heat exposure would be
.
. . , .
If contact with gases does 'not in
tion due to thermal radiation from those
not result in incapacitation for the same
exposure time. Generally, exposure to thermal radiation
is not- For situations
where radiation is significant, see Chapter 3.
EXAMPLEHAZARD ANALYSIS
Hazard analysis has a wide range of applications,
and this was selected to illustrate some of the
capabilities and limitations of this technology. The
is a six-story hotel (Figure 9.1) with a lire in
one the guest rooms on the ground Both
Chapter9-Hazard Analysis
VEND HK
R01 R02 R03 R04 R05 R06 R07 R08 R09 R10
STG .. ELEV
(b) Plan for Floors 2 - 6 Note: Floor 7 has mechanical penthouse (not shown).
. .
..
R01 R02 R03 R04 R05 OFF , R07 R08 R09 R10
ELEV
(a)Ground Floor Plan
Rn Room STG Stoiage Room HK House Keeping
COR Corridor OFF VEND Vending
ELEV Elevator -Window
C
W
Office Window Door
t
Table 9.1:
Roughly St eady Temperatures for First Floor Rooms of Hotel Fire Example Based on FAST Simulation
Temperature
Location
Fire 1700 927
Corridor Section Open to Fire Room CORl 470 243
Corridor Section to the COR 280 138
West Sectionof Corridor 82
location
window and door of the fire room are opened. open
window is large enough to allow combustion air to sup-
port a fully developed 5 MW fire (Chapter ?).
CONTAM was used for the smoke transport analy-
sis. The temperature of most of the building locations is
73F and the outside temperature is (-
CONTAM does not include
equations, the temperature of the tire room and that of
the other spaces open to the burn needs to bc
The flow areas used i n the CONTAM simulation
are listed in Table For this simulation, the integrity
of the door is considered to be maintained, and warping
of the door is considered. When subjected to elevated
temperatures, some doors experience at
edges or may warp to increase the area of the
gaps around door edges. doors are sus-
ceptible to burn-through, and warping is more pro-
nounced with steel doors.
FAST was used to calculate these for the tenability calculations are
(Table 9. l). listed in Table 9.3.The valuesof K, and are
Table 9.2:
Building Flow Used for HazardAnalysis of Hotel Fire Example
Flow Path Path Name
Wall
Other Walls
Floor
WALL-EL
WALL
FLOOR
Other Openings:
Double Ext.
Single
Open Single
Elevator
Office
Open
m
2
DOOR-DB 0.30 0.028
DOOR-SG 0.17 0.016
DOOR-WP 21.0 1.95
DOOR-E 0.60 0.056
WIN-OF 20.0 1.86
36.0 3.33
VENT E 4.0 0.37
Equivalent Areas of Shafts:
Elevator Shaft FLOOR-EL 770
Stairwells FLOOR-SW 32 3.0
I . Flow areas arc for a loose or relatively leaky building. and for further areas. see Chapter 6. Flow coefficient, C. of was used for all paths
except Tor the open door, which 0.35.
2. These leakage paths are uniformly over the height door or window.
Table 9.3:
ParametersUsed for Hazard Analysis of Hotel Fire Example
Steady heat release rate,
5000 (4220 kW)
Chemical heat of 10,700 (25,000
Proportionality constant, K 8 (for illuminated signs)
Mass optical density,
1600 (0.33
Lethal exposure dose for a developed fire,
g
Exposure 30 minutes
for most applications, and the value of
applicable for fully developed fires. For appropriate
parameters for other fires, see Chapter 3. An
time of minutes was used for this example. For a spe-
cific application, the exposure time would depend on a
number of factors. If this were a failure analysis for a
design study, evacuation time be taken as 15 to 30
including the time before people moving.
For a fire reconstruction, the exposure time might be
taken from the estimates of the people movement based
on the fire event time line developed as part of the fire
investigation.
The tenability calculations did not explicitly
include heat exposure. Because the temperatures in this
are the of temperature can be
obtained from Figure 3.7. A person could withstand an
exposure to 180F (82C) for about minutes, and a
person could withstand exposure to 280F (138C) for
about 4 minutes, after which they would suffer skin
bums. Tolerance to higher temperatures would be much
less. From this, it can be seen that the probability of
fatality due to heat exposure is high for many spaces on
the first floor during this fire.
The results of the tenability calculations are listed
in Table Graphic presentation of tenability results
can be useful. The results of the toxicity calculations are
shown graphically in Figure and it can be seen that
the FED exceeds one for many spaces on the first floor.
For these spaces; the probability of fatality is very high.
The visibility is shown in Figure 9.3, and i t can be seen
that the visibility is less than 25 ft (7.6 m) throughout
the ground floor. On all floors, visibility in the stairs
is less than 25 ft (7.6 m).
Chapter 9 Analysis
Table 9.4:
Summaryof TenabilityCalculationsfor Hotel
Example
Time (minutes) to Visibility of FED for
30 min
Floor Room (61.0 m)
25 ft (7.6 m)
G COR 1.9 2.0 2.497
G
G
G ELEV
G HK
G OFF
G
G R02
G R03
G R04
G
G R06
. .
G
G R09
G R10
G R11
G R12
G R13
G R14
G
G RIG
G R17
G R18
G R19
G R20
G R21
G R22
G R23
G
G
2 COR
2 ELEV
2 HK
2 ROI
2
2
2 R01
2
2 ROG
2 R07
2
2 R09
2 RIO
2
Table 9.5:
Summaryof TenabilityCalculationsfor Hotel Fire
Time (minutes) to Visibility of FED for
30 min
Floor Room 200 ft (61.0 m) 25 (7.6 Exposure
R13 19.5 .NA 0.008
R14
R16
R17
R18
R19
R20
R2
R22
R23
STG
SW2
VEND
COR
ELEV
HK
R06
STG
SW2
VEND
COR
ELEV
SWI
CO
ELEV
I
R23
I
SW2
COR
ELEV
K
RI I
SW2
MECH
. ELEV I 3.6
Principles of Smoke Managemerit
3rd - 6th Floors
STG
Cross hatching indicates FED
between 0.5 and 1.O.
2nd Floor
Ground Floor
Shading indicates FED of 1.0 or more
Figure 9.2 Toxicity for- exposureof ho fire
Chapter 9-Hazard Analysis
4thFloor
Cross hatching indicates visibilitybetween25 m)
and 200 (61.0 m).
2nd Floor
Shading indicates visibility less than 25 R(7.6 m)
Ground Floor
This analysis needed to both a zone fire model prediction. The combined approach above works around
(FAST) and the network flow model Using these limitations to produce meaningful results. Hope-
a zone fire model to simulate smoke transport for such a fully, a combined zone fire and network flow
large building would be impractical, and a network flow be developed to produce even more realistic predictions
model lacks the desired fire simulation and temperature in the future.
CHAPTER10
Stairwell Pressurization
any pressurized are designed and
built with the goal of providing a smoke-free
escape route in the event of a building fire. A
secondary objective is to provide a smoke-free staging
area for fire fighters. On the tire tloor, the design objec-
tive is to maintain a pressure difference across a closed
door to prevent smoke infiltration into the
stairwell.
are often pressurized by a single dedi-
cated fan, but than one dedicated fan can be used.
Also, a fan normally used for some other purpose can be
used to pressurize a stairwell i n a fire situation. HVAC
system fans have been so used i t h modulating dampers
controlled by differential pressure sensors. However,
many control designers feel that the same fans
should not be used for both the HVACsystem and stair-
well pressurization because the dampers and controls
needed only for stairwell system may
be damaged during HVAC system maintenance or mod-
ification. Accordingly, it is not surprising that most
stairwell pressurization dedicated fans. In
this chapter, only systems with dedicated fans be
discussed. However, this material can be adapted by the
designer who must design a system without dedicated
fans.
The equations presented this chapter are for the
idealized conditions listed below.
The only pressurization system is the pressurized
stairwell.
The flow areas of the building are the same
floor to tloor.
The leakage between tloors is negligible.
The flow through other shafts (elevators, mail
chutes, etc.) is negligible.
The friction pressure losses in the stairwell are neg-
ligible.
The development and analysis of equations provide
considerable insight into stair pressurization. For most
practical designs, these idealized conditions are not
achieved, but analysis can be done with a computer net-
work model, such as CONTAM(Chapter The use of
such computer is discussed at the end of this
chapter.
,When other pressurization systems are present, the
total building flow network, including all of the pressur-
ization systenis, must be analyzed. For example, con-
sider a building two pressurized and a
zoned smoke control system where all three of these
smoke control are intended to operate at the
same time during a fire. Analysis of these systems
consist of analysis of all of the systems operating at the
time. Designs for the separate systems operating
alone cannot be ''just added" together to get a realistic
design for the three systems operating together. Later
chapters present example calculations of multiple sys-
tems operating together.
PRESSURIZATION SYSTEMS
I t is to provide detailed design methods
for the almost infinite number of possible stairwell pres-
surization systems. The intent of this book is to discuss,
in general, considerations and alterna-
tives and to provide detailed analyses of a few systems.
For the analysis of other systems, designers can, in
Chapter Pressurization
Caution: This system should not be used for
tall stairwells (see text).
Centrifugal
Roof Level
Figure 10.1 Stairwell top
many cases, use the same principles employed in this
manual to perfonn their own analyses.
Single and Multiple Injection
A single injection system is one that has pressuriza-
tion air supplied to the stairwell at one location. The
most common injection point is at the top, as illustrated
in Figure With this system, there is the potential
for smoke feedback into the pressurized
through the pressurization intake. Therefore, the
capability of automatic shutdown in such an event
should be considered.
tall stairwells, single injection systems can fail
when a few doors near the air supply injection point are
open. All of the pressurization air can be lost through
these open doors, and the system will then fail to main-
tain positive pressures across doors farther the
injection point. To this, some smoke control
designers limit the height of single injection
to eight stories; however, other designers feel this limit
can be extended to twelve stories. Careful design is rec-
ommended for single injection stainvells i n excess of
eight stories.
There is the potential for failure of a bottom injec-
tion system when the exterior door is opened. Some of
the supply air can short-circuit the system by
directly out the opened doorway. It is recommended that
supply inlets be at least one floor above or below
rior doors.
Duct
Shaft
Duct
Figure by injec-
tion located at
level.
Figure 10.3 by multiple
Figures and are two examples of many
possible multiple systems can be used to
overcome the of single injection
Figures 10.2 and 10.3, the supply is shown in a sep-
arate shaft. However, have built that have
eliminated the expense of a separate duct shaft by locat-
ing the supply duct i n the stairwell itself. If the duct is
located inside the stainvell, care must be taken that the
duct does an obstruction to orderly building
evacuation.
of Smoke Management
Many multiple injection systems have been built
with supply air injection points on each floor. These
resent the ultimate in preventing loss of pressurization
air through a few open doors; however, that many
tion points may not be necessary. There is some
ence of opinion as to how far apart injection points can
be safely located. Some designers feel that injection
points should not be more than three floors apart, while
others feel that a distance of eight stories is acceptable.
For designs with injection points more than three stories
apart, the designer should determine by computer analy-
sis that loss of pressurization air through a few open
doors does not lead to loss of stairwell pressurization.
Compartmentation
An alternative to multiple injection is
of the stairwell into a number of sections, as illus-
trated 10.4. The stairwell is divided into a
number of sections or compartments, each compartment
being from one to about eight floors high. The compart-
ments are separated by walls with normally closed
doors. Each compartment has at least one supply air
injection point. The main advantage of
tion is that it allows satisfactory pressurization of stair-
wells that are otherwise too tall for satisfactory
pressurization. A disadvantage is the increase in floor
area needed for the walls and doors that separate the
stairwell sections.
When the doors between compartments are open,
the effect of is lost. For this reason,
is inappropriate for densely
Roof Level
Each
has at one
supply injection
point.
Ground Level
lated buildings, where total building evacuation
stairwell is planned in the event of a fire.
can be an effective means of providing stairwell
pressurization for very tall buildings, when a staged
evacuation plan is used and when the system is designed
to operate successfully when the maximum number of
doors between compartments are open. This maximum
number of doors open between compartments would
need to be by an evacuation analysis. Com-
partmentation does have a disadvantage from an archi-
tectural standpoint in that it probably cannot be
achieved without increased stairwell landing space at
the location of the compartmentation doors.
Vestibules
A number of pressurized stairwells have been built
with vestibules, which can be either pressurized or not
pressurized. Vestibules provide an additional barrier
around a stairwell and, to some extent, a vestibule can
reduce the possibility of an open-door connection exist-
ing between the and the building. An evacua-
tion analysis can be to determine the extent
to which both vestibule doors are likely to be opened
simultaneously.
Analysis of a pressurized stairwell with an
surized vestibule can be performed using the same
methods employed for analyzing a system without a
vestibule except that the effective leakage areas from the
stainvell to the building would be used. These effective
areas can be detemiined by methods presented in Chap-
ter 5. No formal method of design analysis has been
developed for pressurized stairwells with pressurized
vestibules, and this topic is beyond the scope of this
manual.
Supply Air Intakes
In the pressurization systems illustrated in Figures
10.1, 10.2, and 10.3, centrifugal fans supply pressuriza-
tion air to the stainvell. A shield around the intake
should be considered to reduce adverse effects of wind
on the fan performance. This is especially important for
propeller fans, which are more susceptible to wind
effects than are other types of fan. Roof-mounted pro-
peller fans should have wind shields as illustrated in
Figure Because the horizontal component of wind
is about ten times greater than the vertical
component, wall-mounted propeller fans are
susceptible to wind effects. If wall-mounted propeller
fans are to be used, design analysis should address wind
effects to minimize the probability of these fans being
overpowered by the wind.
Outdoor movement that might result in
smoke feedback into supply air inlets depends on the
location of tire. location of points of smoke leakage
Chapter 10 Pressurization
from the building, wind speed and direction, and on the
temperature difference between the smoke and the out-
side air. At present, no formal method of analysis has
been developed for this complex outdoor airflow. How-
ever, some general recommendations can be made. The
supply air intake should be separated from exhausts,
outlets from smoke shafts and roof and 'neat
vents, or open vents from elevator shafts or other build-
ing openings that might expel smoke during a fire.
These smoke outlets include the outlets from a zoned
smoke control system. Ideally, this separation should be
as great as is practically possible. Because hot smoke
rises, consideration should be given to locating supply
air intakes below such critical openings. A commonly
used approach is to have all of the supply air intakes
near the bottom of the building and smoke outlets above
roof level. Another approach is to have the supply air
intakes on one side of the building and the outlets
on the other side and on the roof.
PRESSURE PROFILES
The pressure differences across a normally
vary over the height of the Analysis of the
pressure profiles of unpressurized shafts was presented
in Chapter 5. The analysis of pressure differences in
stairwells presented in this chapter is slightly more com-
plicated in that pressurization is incorporated.
To facilitate analysis, the following discussion is
limited to buildings that have the same leakage areas on
each floor. Figure 10.6 shows pressure profiles for pres-
surized stainvells located in three buildings
ent leakage characteristics, all of which have the same
stairwell and outside temperatures. These profiles repre-
sent winter conditions; that is, an outside temperature
less than the inside temperature.
In a building without vertical leakage between
floors or througli shafts other than the the
pressure profile of a pressurized stain\-ell is a straight
line. The slope of that straight line depends on the tem-
perature difference between the stairwell and the outside
and on the building leakage areas. This relation is dis-
cussed later in this chapter.
Figure shows typical pressure profiles of pres-
surized stainvells in a building with leakage between the
floors in building without leakage tloors
are except at the top and the bottom of
buildings. The extent of the deviation depends on the
magnitude of leakage area between floors. The pres-
sure depend on the leakage areas of the stair-
well, the and exterior as well as
tlie building, the and
outside air. Analysis of a building is
and generally only the aid of a computer.
Figure Stairwell pressurization by
propeller fan.
Topof Stairwell
Building
Between (Except at the ends.
this curve is the same as that for a
building without vertical leakage Building
Vertical
Leakage
P"
Building Vertical
Between
Leakage Through
an Elevator ,
I
I
,
of Stairwell
Pressure Difference
Figure 10.6 profile for
three buildings different leakage
characteristics.
The pressure difference across a stairwell at one
height can be much larger than at another height. There-
fore, i n addition to being concerned with the average
pressure difference across a a designer should
also be concerned with both the and the
mum pressure differences.
STAIRWELL ANALYSIS
In this section, a method of analysis is presented for
a pressurized stairwell in a building without vertical
leakage floors. This is the same zero floor leak-
age that was used for the analysis of stack
The performance of pressurized
stairwells in buildings without elevators may be closely
approximated by the method of analysis developed in
this section.
Neglecting the effects of leakage through floors and
other shafts increases the spread between the minimum
and maximum pressure differences. In this sense, the
analysis is conservative. This analysis considers only
one pressurized stairwell in a building; however, it can
be extended to any number of stairwells by use of the
concept of symmetry, as discussed in Chapter 6. The ini-
tial analysis does not include consideration of open
stairwell doors, but they are addressed later in this chap-
ter.
This analysis is for buildings where the leakage
areas are the same for each floor of the building and
where the only significant driving forces are the stair-
well pressurization system and the temperature differ-
ence between the indoors and outdoors.
Pressures
For many applications of pressurized stairwells, the
vertical flows within the stair shaft are low. enough so
that friction losses can be neglected. This is particularly
true of the simple stairwell system, which has closed
doors. Therefore, the absolute pressure in is
considered hydrostatic and can be represented as
= -
(10.1)
where
= absolute air pressure in stairwell at elevation in.
= absolute air pressure in stairwell at bot-
tom, in. (Pa);
= air density within the stainvell,
y
= elevation above bottom, (m);
= constant, (9.8).
For the case where the wind velocity is essentially
zero, the outside air pressure, is also hydrostatic and
can be expressed in the same manner.
where
absolute air pressure at elevation y, in. (Pa);
= absolute air pressure at stainvell bottom, in.
= air density outside the
The pressure difference from the to the
outside can be expressed as = and substi-
tuting Equations I) and ( l is
where
= pressure difference at elevation in.
= pressure difference at the bottom of the stair-
well, in. (Pa).
The above analysis assumes no change in densities,
and with elevation resulting in a slight
diction of pressure difference. The magnitude of this
overprediction increases with elevation and, for a
story building, the resulting error would be less than
4%. For purposes of this book, this overprediction is
'insignificant. By substituting the ideal gas law into
Equation can be expressed as a function of
temperature.
and where
b = temperature factor, in. (Palm);
= absolute temperature of outside air, (K);
= absolute temperature of stainvell air, (K);
K, = 7.64 (3460).
The effective flow area from the through
building to the outside is expressed on a per floor
basis as
= effective flowarea behveen the stairwell and the
outside, (m
2
);
= flowarea behveen the stainvell and the building,
= flow area behveen the buildingand the outside,
The areas in this equation are those of the entire
floor. I n such a case, the pressure difference,
bcnveen the stairwell and the building can be expressed
as
Chapter l 0-Stairwell Pressurization
The pressure differences and are related
as follows: = (10.14)
where
+ '
= volumetric flow rate of air to
which can be rewritten as
cfm
Pressurization Air
For the case where a stairwell is positively pressur-
ized throughout (i.e., the direction of air flow is from the
stairwell to the outside the entire stairwell height),
the flow from the stairwell to the outside can be written
in differential form as
. CA,,
The term is the distributed effective flow area
per unit height, which is uniform vertically. This distrib-
uted flow area is expressed as
where
distributed effective flowarea per unit
H = stairwell height, fi (m);
= number of floors.
Substituting Equations (10.4) and (10.1 into
Equation gives
This can be integrated from = to = H give
the total flow, from the stairwell to the building
and to the outside:
flow area between the stainvell and the building
per floor when stairwell doors are closed,
= number of floors;
= pressuredifference between the stairwell and
the building at the stairwell top when all the
stairwell doors are closed, in. (Pa);
= pressure difference between the stairwell and
the buildingat the stairwell bottomwhen all the
stairwell doors are closed, in. (Pa);
Because there is no vertical flow i n the building,
= This is the flow rate of supply air to the
stairwell necessary to maintain the pressure differences,
at the stairwell bottom and at the top.
In a building with vertical air leakage, the exact
evaluation of the system would require that the effect of
three or more of air at different temperatures be
included. Such an analysis is cumbersome and, for prac-
tical purposes, a computer is needed. For this reason, the
method of analysis presented in this section is based on
a building without vertical leakage. In order to make this
analysis conservative when applied to buildings with
vertical leakage, the temperature is replaced by
the building temperature. Thus, Equation (10.5)
becomes
where
( l
= absolute temperature of air in the building, "R
where is the difference between the stair-
well and the outside at the stainvell top = Because
the is a linear function of as expressed in Equa-
tion Equation 0.13)can be in of For a building temperature of 70F (2 and for
pressure from the stairwell to the building. For C = 0.65, conditions, the temperature factor b can be
this becomes obtained from Figure 10.7.
-20 -10 10 20 50
Temperature,
-25 -20 -10 -5 0 5
.
Outside Temperature,
Figure 10.7
Average Pressure Difference
The average pressure difference can be defined as a
pressure difference over the stairwell height
that would result in the total flow as a nonuniforni
pressure profile. The from the can be
expressed as
where
A, =
C =
P =
The
number of floors;
flow area,
flow coefficient;
average pressure across the effective
flow area, in.
density of air,
776
effective area can be either the area between
The subscripts SB and SO have been eliminated this
equation because it is applicable to flow stairwell
to either the building or the outside. When applying Equa-
tions (10.16) and to flow from the stairwell to the
building, A, = = and When
applying these equations to flow from the stairwell to the
outside, A, = and Equa-
tion (l 0.17) can be approximated by
The maximum error in this relation is approxi-
mately 6%and occurs when =0.
HEIGHT LIMIT
As stated before, two problems with pressurized
are that the minimum pressure difference may
be too low to prevent smoke infiltration and that the
pressure difference may be too high, making
door-opening forces difficult. These problems are most
likely to exist in tall buildings during periods of extreme
outside temperature.
In cases, satisfactory pressurization of a stair-
well can be impossible even when all the stairwell doors
are closed. By satisfactory pressurization, it is meant
that over the stainvell height is the pressure
difference greater than the maximum allowable pressure
difference or less than the minimum allowable pressure
difference.
For a building without vertical leakage, Equation
(10.5) can be substituted into Equation (10.7) and
solved for the height limit, H,,,, below which satisfactory
pressurization is possible:
H,,, = height limit, (m);
= niaximuni allowable pressure difference
between and the building, in.
the stairwell and the building or between the building = minimum pressure difference
and the outside. The average pressure difference needs between the and the building, in.
to be consistent with the effective area.
. ,
Equations (10.13) and (l 0.16) can be combined and
= outside design temperature, "R (K);
solved for to
= building temperature, "R (K);
(10.17)
flow area between the and the build-
=;[ /\/), - .
(m-);
10-Stairwell Pressurization
flow area between the building and the outside,
= (0.000289).
was replaced by in Equation 0.1 so that
the equation would yield conservative values of for
buildings with'vertical leakage. such buildings, the
actual pressure profiles depend on three or col-
umns of air at different temperatures. If the stairwell
temperature is between the outside temperature and the
building temperature, then Equation (10.19) will yield
conservative results.
The absolute value of the temperature term is used
in Equation (10.19) so that the equation will
both winter conditions and summer condi-
tions In many cases, much smaller
than and, in such cases, Equation (10.19) can be
The units for this equation are the same as those for
Equation (10.19). For a building temperature of 70F
and for winter conditions, the height limit, H,,,,
can be obtained from Figure 10.8. illus-
trates the use of height limit.
165
150
135
.
E .
:
.-
A .
90
.
a , .
60
45
30
-20 -10 0 20 40 50
SIMPLESTAIRWELLSYSTEMS
A simple stairwell system is one for which no
design provisions have been made to overcome the
in pressurization when one or more stairwell doors are
opened. Analysis of the simple stairwell system a
foundation for the analysis of systems with open
Some of the stainvell doors must be opened during
evacuation if the is being used. No consensus
exists concerning appropriate applications of simple
stairwell systems. A possible criterion for such an appli-
cation is that smoke leakage during times of low pres-
surization will not affect the use of the
stairwell during evacuation. In a lightly populated build-
ing (for example, telephone exchanges, luxury apart-
ments), the stairwell doors may only be open for a few
short during a fire evacuation. Applications of
the simple stairwell have so far been based on
judgment because no formal method of analysis has
been developed for evaluation of effects of intermittent
smoke infiltration. Such an analysis would need to con-
sider tenability conditions, evacuation analysis, and
analysis.
The simple stairwell system can use single or multi-
ple injection. One or more fans are used, which can be
axial, or propeller. When all
doors are closed, the must maintain
pressurization. When stainvell doors are open, the pres-
sure difference across closed stairwell doors usually
drops to low levels [in the range of 0.01 in. (3
These low levels are not sufficient to prevent smoke
infiltration into the stairwell, and simple stairwell
are only appropriats for applications for which
doors are closed for almost all of the time dur-
ing fire evacuation.
is for 20-story stairwells in
building. is used so that calculations are
needed for only one The same approach can
be used for three or more
The flow rate of pressurization air is highly depen-
dant on the leakage area. Because these areas can only
be roughly estimated in most situations, the fan needs
be sized conservatively so that the fan flow can be
adjcsted of pressurization during
system commissioning. fan sizing can be by choice
of high values of building or of safety factors.
The calculations of 10.2 are based on win-
ter design This is appropriate when the
difference for win-
ter is greater than design tempera-
ture difference design
data should
Example 10.1 Evaluate the Possibility of Stair Pressurization . ,
Is it possible to pressurize a 150 (46 m) stairwell if the outside design temperature is (-18 "C)? The minimum
maximum allowable pressure differencesare:
=0.05 in. 2.4 Pa)
=0.40 in. Pa)
Then =0.40 - =0.35 in. (87 Pa).
FromEquation (10.20) for "C), H, 160 (49 m).
Because H, is greater than the height of the stairwell, satisfactory pressurization of the stairwell is possible. If H, had
been less than the stairwell height, it would not necessarily mean that satisfactory pressurization is impossible, because
the estimate of H, Equation (Figure is conservative. (Note that this example has nothing to do with
single or multiple injection.)
Example 10.2 Simple Pressurization
Caution: The simple system does not take into account the effect of pressurization drop when doors are
opened. The design parameters for this simple system are: = 0.32 (0.030 m
2
), N 20, H = (61 m),
= (-10C) or (263 K), = (21C) or 530 "R (294 K), = 0.40 in. (100 Pa), and
= 0.05 in. (12.4 Pa). This analysis is of two in a building, and the concept of symmetry is used so that
analysis of only one is necessary. Therefore, the area, used in these calculations is half the value
for the whole building. The leakage area from the building to the outside is estimated at 2.54 (0.236 rn
2
). Therefore,
1.27 (0.1
Calculate the height limit Equation (10.19).
+ 2 (67 m).
474 530
The height limit is greater than the height of the stainvell, so the equations presented in this chapter can used for anal-
ysis. Calculate the factor from (10.5).
..
Set 0.05 in. Pa), and calculate the pressure difference at the top of the stairwell from Equation
= 0.05 + = 0.37 in (92 Pa).
Calculate the flow from the stairwell to the building Equation using p 0.075 (l
SYSTEMS WITH OPEN DOORS
As discussed in the preceding section, when any
stair door opens in the simple stairwell pressurization
systems, the pressure differences across closed doors
drop significantly. However, opening the exterior stair-
well door results in the largest pressure drop. This is
because the airflow through the exterior doorway goes
directly to the outside, while airflow through other open
doorways must also go through other building paths to
reach the outside. The increased flow resistance of the
building means that less air flows through other door-
ways than flows through the open exterior doorway. The
flow through the exterior doorway can be three to ten
times that through other doorways, and the relative flow
through the exterior doorway is greatest for tightly con-
structed buildings. Thus, the exterior stairwell door
the greatest cause of pressure fluctuations due to door
opening and closing.
For densely populated buildings, it can be expected
that many stairwell doors will be open during fire evac-
uation. Accordingly, stairwell pressurization systems in
such buildings should be designed to operate some
number of open doors. This design number of open
doors depends heavily on the evacuation plan, and spe-
cific guidance about this number is beyond the scope of
this manual.
Four types of intended to maintain accept-
able levels of pressurization with all doors closed and
with doors are discussed in this section.
System with constant-supply air rate and an exterior
stairwell door that opens upon system
activation (Canadian System).
with constant-supply air rate and a baromet-
ric damper.
System with variable-supply air rate.
System using stairwell pressurization i n combina-
tion with either fire floor venting or fire floor
exhaust.
The following is a discussion of these systems.
Field tests of these and other systems for stairwell pres-
surization were conducted by Butchzr et al.
(1978); and and
CanadianSystem
The with constant-supply rate and an
exterior stairwell door opens automatically upon
system activation is essentially the same that in the
of
(1985). The supply rate is actually constant. but i t
varies to the pressure across the fan.
For centrifugal fans this variation i n rate can be
Note: Canadiansystemcanbe singleor
multipleinjection.
n
Level
Figure 10.9 system exterior door
automatically system activation.
small. However, the term constant-supply is used to dif-
ferentiate this system from the ones with
ply air rates, but constant supply systems actually have
some variation in flow due to the pressure-flow charac-
teristics of the fan. Supply air can be introduced at one
location, or the system can be multiple injection, as
illustrated in Figure
By eliminating opening and closing of the exterior
stairwell door during system operation, the Canadian
system eliminates the major source of pressure fluctua-
tions. This is simple to design and relatively
inexpensive. Accordingly, is recommended
whenever it can meet the design requirements.
Systems with Barometric Dampers
This system has sufficient supply air when a design
number of doors are open. When all the doors are
closed, part of the supply air is relieved through a vent
to prevent excessive pressure buildup. Barometric
dampers that close when the pressure drops below a
specified value can, be used to minimize air losses
througha vent when doors are open.
There are two approaches to location of barometric
dampers: (I) in exterior stairwell walls or (2) i n walls to
other building spaces. Venting to building has the
advantage that the barometric dampers maintain the
pressure difference of interest, which is from the stair-
well to the building. However, venting to the building
has the disadvantagethat the air vented can supply oxy-
gen to the fire. Exterior venting eliminates this disad-
vantage, but exterior vents can be subjected to adverse
effects of the wind.
Figure 10.10 a system vented to the
building at each built with vents
between the stairwell and the building, the vents typi-
cally have one or more fire dampers in series with the
barometric damper. As an energy conservation feature,
these fire dampers are normally closed and open when
the pressurization system is activated. This arrangement
can reduce the possibility of annoying damper chatter
that frequently occurs with barometric dampers.
Systems with Variable-SupplyAir Rate
Systems with variable-supply air can be used to
provide overpressure relief. The variable flow rate can
be achieved by using one of the many fans commer-
cially available for a variable flow rate. Alternatively, a
fan bypass arrangement of ducts and dampers can be
Notes:
1. Vents have barometricdamperand one or two fire
dampers in series.
2 A system with vents can be single or multiple injection
Roof Level
Building
' I
Figure 10.10 pressurization system with
vents to at
used to vary the flow rate of air to the stairwell.
The variable-flow fans are controlled by one or more
static pressure sensors that sense the pressure difference
between the stairwell and the building. When doors are
opened, the pressure drops and the flow rate of
supply air is increased to achieve at least the minimum
design pressurization. When all the doors are closed, the
stair pressure increases and the flow rate is reduced to
prevent excessive pressure differences.
In the bypass system, the flow rate of air into the
stairwell is varied by modulating bypass dampers,
which also are controlled by one or more static pressure
sensors that sense the pressure difference between the
stairwell and the building. The system operates in essen-
tially the same way as the variable-flow fan systems to
prevent excessive pressure differences and provide at
least the minimum design pressure.
The response times of these sysiems depend on the
particular components used for the pressurization sys-
tem including the feedback controls. Figures 10.1 and
10.12 show response times of systems tested at the
fire tower of the National Research Coun-
cil of Canada
Systemwith Fire Floor Ventingand Exhaust
Smoke venting and smoke exhaust of the fire floor
can improve the of a pressurized stairwell.
This smoke removal or may not be part of a zoned
smoke control system (Chapter 12). Smoke removal can
be accomplished by exterior wall vents, smoke shafts,
and fan-powered exhaust.
Besides providing a path for smoke removal, exte-
rior wall vents allow an increased pressure difference
across the closed door on the fire floor. Venting
the fire floor can also aid tire fighters in smoke purging
after the fire has been put out.
II Peak Pressure
Time (minutes)
1.47in
(365 Pa)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 55
Time (minutes)
Figure 10.12 Response time of pressurization system with system.
Smoke shafts are similar to external wall vents
except that smoke the fire floor is vented through a
shaft. The venting is aided by buoyancy forces of hot
smoke. Smoke shafts should be constructed in accor-
dance with local codes; specific. engineering data
regarding sizing of smoke shafts are available from
and Shaw 973).
ANALYSIS OFSYSTEMS
WITHOPEN DOORS
The analytical approach developed for simple stair-
well can be extended to pressurized stairwells
with open doors, provided that the frictian losses due to
airflow in the stainvell are negligible. Friction losses
can be minimized by having a multiple injection system
designed to minimize vertical airflow in the stairwell.
Because the pressure losses due to friction are consid-
ered insignificant for this analysis, the pressure differ-
ences described by Equations and
10.15 apply for both summer and winter conditions, as
is illustrated in Figure 10.13.
When all of the doors are closed, the pressure dif-
ferences are linear, as illustrated in Figures and
As expected, the pressure differences increase
with eievation in winter and decrease with elevation in
summer. When a door to the outside is opened, the pres-
sure difference across it increases, as shown in Figures
and 3d. This means that the flow through
open doorway can very large. This is espe-
cially true during the summer when the pressure differ-
ence is greatest at the shaft bottom where most exterior
doors are located (Figure doors are
opened to the difference across
the open doorway drops significantly, as in
Figures and However, the flow through
the large area of an opened doorway can be very large,
as can be seen from the examples discussed later.
In the winter, the pressure difference across opened
doors increases elevation. The greatest amount of
pressurization air is needed the design number of
opened doors are located in a section at the top of the
stairwell, as illustrated in Figure This forms a
conservative winter design condition. The
summer design condition is for the opened doors to
form a section at the bottom of the stairwell, as in Figure
Equation (10.14) applies when the effective
area between the stairwell and the building is thesams for
each floor. When some doors are opened and others
closed, this flow area varies floor to floor. Equation
be applied to vertical stairwell sec-
tions, where the values of and the values of are
the same at each floor. Both of these areas are used to cal-
culate the pressure differences and the effective flowarea.
Equation ( l 0.14) can be written in a general for C=
0.65 and p 0.075 (l as
where
volumetric flow rate from the section,
N number of floors in section;
A, = effective flow area per tloor stairwell, R- (m-):
G = the tlow factor,
The flow factor is
(a) Winter With All Closed
(b) Summer With All Doors Closed
Doors
Opened
Opened
(c) Winter With Some Doors Opened
(d) Summer With Some Doors Opened
H
Y
0
H
Y
0
P
(e) Winter With Design Condition (f) Summer With Design Condition
of Opened Doors of Opened Doors
Figure 10.13 with closed
-
Figure 10.14
where
= pressure difference at the of section, in.
= pressure difference at the top section, in.
= (0.559).
Equations and (1 can be used to calcu-
late either or where i
f
sBO
the flow from
the stairwell through building to the outside. When
calculating A, and the two pressure differences are
from the stainvell to the building. When
, A, is the effective flow area the stairwell
through the building to the outside, and the two pressure
differences are from the stairwell to outside. The
flow factor, G, can be obtained from Figure
Flows directly to the outside are handled differently
from those through the building. For the exterior doors,
exterior vents, or other openings directly to the
the flow can be as
where
rate from stairwell to outside,
dimensionless flow
flowarea between and outside,
pressure difference stairwell to outside, in.
density of gas i n path,
776.
The pressure is not always constant the
opening; therefore, the pressure difference, should
be evaluated at the midheight of the opening.
Design calculations for a Canadian
are presented as Examples and 10.4. in
these examples is only of one but it can be
thought of as being applicable to any number by appli-
cation of symmetry. The flow area, is on a per
stairwell basis. Example 10.3 and Example show
calculations of the pressurization air for a winter design
of (-10C) and a summer design
of It is an unusual occurrence that
the total pressurization air calculated for design
temperatures is the same cfm (5.26 As
expected from observation of Figure and
the tlow through the open exterior doonvay is greater
for than cfm in sum-
mer and 6,800 i n winter). For a taller
stairwell, the through the exterior in sum-
mer would be even greater.
As with the simple system, safety facrors
are needed to size the supply air fan or fans-the fan
needs to be sized so that the can
be adjusted to acceptable of pressurization during
commissioning. This fan sizing can be by choice
of high values of building leakage or of safety factors.
NONUNIFORMBUILDING FLOW AREAS
Flow areas that differ tloor to floor can result
i n significant challenges to stairwell pressurization. Pos-
sibly the most example of this is a building
with parking garages on floors. Figure 10.15
shows the pressure differences for a building with an
open garage. be seen pressure differences
are much greater on the floors where stainvell opens
into parking garage. figure is based on the same
assumptions as in discussions except rhat
Example 103 Winter Analysis Stairwell With Opened Doors
A Canadian stairwell pressurization system(see text for description) is to be designed for interior doors on 8 of its
floors. The other design parametersare: =1.27 (0.118 0.32 (0.030 with stairwell door closed,
(0.975 m
2
) with stainvell door opened, =14 or (263 K), = or 530%
(294 K), =0.40 in. (100 Pa), and =0.05 in. (12.4 Pa). Because the design temperatures are the
same as for Example 10.2, the temperature factor is 0.00170 in. (1.39 Palm). In order to ensure that the
II
is adequatelypressurizedat all levels, the pressure difference at the bottom of the stairwell door to the building is selected
as 0.05 in. (12.4 Pa), when that door is closed. Symmetry can be used to extend this analysis for any number of
stairwells in a building. with Example 10.2, estimated on a per stairwell basis.
Closed Door Section
The winter design condition consists of a section of opened doors from the stairwell top down, with the rest of the doors
forming a section of closed doors near the bottom of the stairwell. For thesectionof closed doors, the flowfromthe stair-
well to the building will be evaluated,and the following values are used: 2, = at y= = at y=
20 ft (6.1 m), and A, = AS selected, is 0.05 in. (12.4 Pa). From Equation 0.05+(0.0017
+ = in. (20.4 Pa). From Equation G = - - 669
I I
(3.40 nds). From Equation G =669 (2) (0.32) =400 cfin (0.2 m
3
/s).
Opened Door Section
For the section of opened doors, the flow from the stairwell to the outside will be evaluated,and the following values are
used: N = 8, = at = 20 (6.1 m), = at = 100 ft m), and A, First, must be
evaluated. Equation =0.05 =0.053 in. (13.2 Pa). The pressure differences,
and Ap,, are calculated from Equation (10.4) as follows: =0.053 + 0.087 in. (21.7 Pa) and =
0.053+ = in. (55.5 Pa). From Equation G = 1740 - - 0.057)
1020 fpm (5.18 nds). From Equation (1 = + (0.117 From Equation
1020 ( S ) 1.26 =10,300 cfm (4.9 m
3
/s).
Exterior Stairwell Door
Estimate flowthrough the cpened exterior doonvay with air density (1.20 aty 5 m).
The pressure difference is calculated from Equation 0.9) as 0.053 +0.00 0.062 in. (15.4 Pa). From
l
Equation = =6800 (3.2 m
3
/s).
Total Flow Needed During Winter
The total flowneeded to pressurize the stainveli in winter is the sum of these separateflows: =17,500
cfm(8.26 m
3
/s).
Chapter 10-Stairwell Pressurization
Example 10.4 Computer Analysis of a Pressurized
This is an example of a building with two stairwells and an elevator with two elevator cars. The building and
stairwells are stories. Each stairwell is pressurized by a fan supplying air at the second story. The
systems are of the Canadian design, which has an exterior door open automatically upon system The design
condition is for between the stairwell and the building. The minimum and maximum design pressuredif-
ferences are 0.05 in. 2.4 Pa) and 0.30 in. (74.6 Pa).
The computer program CONTAM was used for this analysis. Appendix G has a detailed list of the design parameters,
flowareas, computer runs, and computer output. The CONTAMrunsare listed
Building
Run Season Leakage Stair Doors Open on Floors
Summer Loose
2 Summer Loose G
3 Winter Loose G, 12, 13, 14, 15
4 Loose G
5 Summer Tight
6 G
The data and computer for this example are provided in Appendix G is usually to the
ues of areas in buildings, but design calculations can bracket building leakage conditions. Loose and tight building
leakage values are listed in Table It is expected that the building leakage will be these extremes.
As this is a Canadian system, the door to the outside on the ground floor (G) opens on system activation. The other open
doors selected because the expected airflows and pressures with these doors open represent the worst case (or near
worst case) conditions as illustrated in Figures and
Results of the CONTAM runs are listed
Minimum Maximum
Across Closed Across Closed
Stairwell Supply Stairwell Doors Doors
cfm in. in. Pa
20,500 9.67 0.053 13.2 0.6 15.2
closed stainvell doors would be at least the minimumdesign value of 0.05 in. 2.4 Pa). This same amount of
air was used for other runs loose building leakage (runs and 4). With doors closed, the highest pressure
ferences in the loose building occur during and it can be seen that the design value of 0.30 in.
Pa) is not exceeded.
Run is similar to run except it is for a tight building. Again the stairwell supply air was adjusted to so that
pressure would not be less than 0.05 in. 2.4 Pa) across closed stairwell doors. This flow rate used
6 to verify that design value would not be exceeded when doors are closed.
13,900 6.56 0.107 26.6 0.110 27.4
For run I, stairwell supply air was adjusted until a value was found such that all of the pressure differences across the
If loose building leakage values have been selected such that they be considered limits that are
unlikely to be exceeded, then the highest supply air rate calculated i n CONTAM be a
rate for the supply fans. For this example, this reasoning would result i n using fans sized a
20,500 (9.67
the floor-to-floor flow areas are not the same on each
floor.
When these floor-to-floor pressure difference varia-
tions are unacceptable, approaches to dealing with them
include:
modify the building flow network (possibly by use
of partitions or pressure relief vents),
eliminate the doors into stairwell on garage floors,
and use other stairwells for the open garage,
use hardware on the stairwell doors to the garage
floors that assists door opening by reducing door
opening forces.
Office Floor
OfficeFloor
Office Floor
Office Floor
Floor
Open Garage
Open Garage
(a) BuildingElevation
COMPUTER ANALYSIS
USING A NETWORK MODEL
Except as noted otherwise, the preceding sections
based on thesimplifying assumptions the only
pressurization system being the pressurized stairwell, (2)
the flow areas of the building being the same from floor
to floor, (3) the leakage between floors being negligible,
(4) the flow through other shafts (elevators, mail chutes,
etc.) being negligible, and (5) the friction pressure losses
in the stairwell being negligible. Network computer mod-
els (Chapter 8) can be used to account for all of these and
many others. Example 10.4 uses the computer model
to analyze two pressurized stairwells in a
story building with elevators.
(b) (c) Summer
CHAPTER11
Elevator Smoke Control
T
chapter addresses two very different kinds of
elevator control systems. One has the
objective of providing smoke protection for the
elevator system so that it can be used for fire evacuation.
Most elevators worldwide do not have protec-
tion, fire protection. and other features necessary for
to be considered as a of fire evacuation.
Elevator systems not specifically designed and built for
fire evacuation should not be used in fire situations
1988). the use of elevators for fire
evacuation is a topic that has received considerable
attention i n recent Because the concept of eleva-
tor evacuation is so this chapter provides a general
overview of the topic i n addition to the smoke control
considerations.
The other kind of elevator smoke control system
addressed in this chapter is intended to prevent
flow to other floors by way of the (elevator
shaft). The problems that can result migra-
tion through are illustrated by the fire at the
MGM Grand Hotel (Best and 1982). The fire
occurred on the ground floor, but smoke migrated to the
upper floors where the majority of the fatalities
occurred. The at this hotel did not have any
special smoke protection, and they were one of the
major paths of smoke to upper floors.
TOP
The requirement for vents at the top of the
ways has been in codes for so many decades that the
original intent of the vents is uncertain. The com-
mon reasons that authors of book have heard for
these vents are that they ( l ) vent smoke during a build-
ing fire, (2) vent odorous gases, and (3) prevent
sive pressures at the top of the due to a rising
elevator car.
The idea that vents are needed to prevent exces-
sive pressures is doubtful for two reasons. First, vents
would also be needed at the bottom of the if
the pressures from elevator cars needed to be
relieved. Second, the pressures produced by moving ele-
vator cars are very as described in the following
section about piston effect.
To understand the of idea venting odorous gases, a
historical perspective is needed. In 1853, an elevator
safety device to prevent elevator cars from falling was
developed by Elisha By the elevators
gained wide acceptance i n many large cities. During the
19th and early 20th centuries, the standards of sanitation
were not as advanced as those of today, and it is likely
that open elevator hoistways were used as trash chutes
by some people. Further, it is possible that vents were
required at the top of elevator hoistways to relieve some
of the malodorous gases emanating from garbage at the
bottom of the hoistway.
Regardless of the original purpose for these vents,
the idea that they can significantly improve smoke con-
ditions during a building fire has gained wide accep-
tance even in the absence of supporting data. Research
is needed to evaluate the effect of vents on the hazard of
smoke exposure during building fires.
For most of the elevator pressurization systems dis-
cussed in this chapter, there is either no top vent or the
top vent is closed. For energy conservation, these-top
vents are often normally closed. Such closed
vents should remain closed during elevator pressuriza-
tion unless the open vent is part of the pressurization
system design. The capability of remote operation of top
vents may be desired by the fire service.
Chapter 11-Elevator Smoke Control
(a) Lobby
Used for Elevator Evacuation
(a)
Used for of
Migration
Figure 11.1 Elevator effect in pressurized ele-
vator-
PISTON EFFECT
The transient pressures produced when an elevator
car moves in a shaft are a concern for elevator
control. Such piston effect can pull into a nor-
mally pressurized elevator lobby or hoistway. Analysis
of the airflows and pressures produced by elevator car
in a pressurized was developed by
Klote based on continuity equation for the
contracting control volume in above a
moving elevator car. The elevator system can be with or
without enclosed lobbies (Figure 1.
Piston effect experiments (Klote and Taniura 1987)
were conducted on an elevator of a hotel in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada. This elevator each floor of the
building, and was pressurized by
a vane axial fan. Figure is a of
sured and calculated pressure differences due to an ele-
vator car ascending tlie ground floor to the top
floor. The general trends of the calculations are in agree-
ment with the measurements. On the ground floor, pis-
ton effect causes a rapid drop in pressure by a
gradual pressure increase as car moves away from
the ground floor. A reduction in pressure is expected
below an ascending car. This pressure reduction
decreases as the car away due to the of
increasing leakage area of shaft below the car. On
the top floor, piston effect due to ascendin, car
causes a gradual pressure increase with distance traveled
until the car gets close to floor. On a middle floor
(the 8th) the pressure increases as tlie car approaches,
drops suddenly as the car passes, and increases after it
travels ground and Stli floors, tlie
extremes of calculated deviate from those of
the curves by only about 0.004 in. (I Pa)
and, for the 15th floor, the extremes deviate by about
0.03 in. (S Pa).
From the analysis by Klote, equations wers devel-
oped for the critical pressure difference at which piston
cannot overcome the elevator pressurization
both for to prevent migra-
tion the and for systems intended for
elevator evacuation.
Without Enclosed Lobby
This section is limited to elevators without enclosed
lobbies, and elevator pressurization systems dis-
cussed i n this section are intended to prevent smoke
migration through the The critical pressure
difference, is froni the shaft to tlie building:
where
= critical pressure difference, in. (Pa):
= air density in lb/ft
3
j;
= cross-sectional area of hoistway, (m
2
):
= leakage area lobby and building.
7
= free area around elevator car, ft- (m-):
= area and outside,
= car
C,
flow for flow around car, dimension-
less;
= 1.66
The flow C,, was determined experimen-
tally (Klote and at about 0.94 for a mul-
tiple-car and 0.83 for a hoistway. The
effective area from the elevator to the outside is
a
0.20
- -50
C
-40
a 15th Floor
0.10
-
a
V)
-20
0.05- a
-10 .
0 20 30
lime (seconds)
.
0.15-
-40
a
0.10
-
3
V) -20
Floor
0.05-
-10
0 20 30
lime (seconds)
r
0 20 30
lime (seconds)
Measured
- Calculated
Figure 11.2 differ-
to of an
cat-.
where is the leakage area between the building and the
outside in (m
2
). Example 11.1 illustrates calculation of
the critical pressure difference for an elevator pressuriza-
tion system without enclosed lobbies.
With Enclosed Lobby
For elevator pressurization systems intended for
fire evacuation, the elevator lobby is enclosed to help
protect people waiting for the elevator during a fire
emergency. The critical pressure difference, is
from the elevator lobby to the building:
where is the leakage area between the building and the
lobby in (m
2
). Equation is the same as that for the
upper limit of pressure difference due to effect in an
in Chapter 5 even though the
equations were derived differently. The effective area
between the and the outside is
where
A,, = leakage area between lobby and hoistway, ft
2
= leakage area between the building and the outside,
(m
2
).
Example 11.2 illustrates calculation of the critical
pressure difference for an elevator pressurization system
with enclosed lobbies.
SMOKE CONTROL FOR PREVENTION OF
SMOKE MIGRATION
These systems consist of supplying air to the hoist-
way with the intent of producing a pressure difference
sufficient to prevent smoke flow into the in the
event of a fire. Upon fire detection, the general proce-
dure is for elevator cars to be taken out of ser-
vice and automatically recalled to the floor.
Some elevators also have the capability for recall to an
alternate floor in the event of a fire on the ground floor.
some localities, the elevator doors remain open after
the car reaches the ground floor or the alternate floor. In
other localities, the elevator doors are closed after suffi-
cient time to allow passengers to leave the car. The fire
service has elevator keys allowing them to operate
vators for rescue and for transportation of personnel and
equipment to fight the fire.
As stated for stairwell pressurization, the flow rate
of air is highly dependant on the leakage area. Because
Chapter -Elevator Smoke
Example11.1 Piston Effect and Pressurization to Prevent SmokeMigration
A with two cars is pressurized to a minimumof 0.05 in. Pa) the to the building. This
system is to prevent smoke movement through the elevator shaft, and there is no enclosed elevator lobby. the pres-
sure difference due to elevator piston effect be a problem? The are: 1.52 (0.141 m
2
), =
From Equation (l A, = m
2
).
From Equation ( l l. l), in. (6.9 Pa).
The is pressurizedat a level above Therefore, piston effect will not pull smoke into the hoistway.
Example 11.2 Piston Effect and Elevator Evacuation
I . A has two cars and is pressurized to a minimum of in. (12.4 Pa) the elevator lobby to
the building. the pressure difference due to elevator piston effect be a problem? The parameters are: A,, = 1.60
(0.149 A,, 0.42 (0.039 A, = (0.0502 = 121 m
2
), A, = 79.8 (7.43 m
2
),
p 0.075 U 500 (2.54 C, 0.94.
Equation (l A, =
Equation 0.024 in. (6.0 Pa).
The is at a level Therefore, piston effect will not pull the elevator lobby.
2. If the i n the is for a car, will piston effect be a The parameters are the same
as above, A, =60.4 ft
2
(5.6 A, =19.4 and 0.83. The area is the same.
From Equation (l 0.13 in. (33 Pa).
The is pressurized at a level below Therefore, piston effect may pull into elevator lobby. Pos-
sible solutions include a slower car speed. use of another elevator with multiple in the hoistway, and a higher of
Also, is an uppennost value, and a more detailed analysis might show that piston effect is
still not a problem. piston lasts only a few seconds, and a hazard analysis could be used to the
on life
(a) (b) Summer
Figure 11.3 . for pressurized elevator shaft
idealized building with outside doors
these areas can only be roughly estimated in most situa-
tions, the fan needs to be sized so the
fan flow can be adjusted to acceptable levels of pressur-
ization during system commissioning. This fan sizing
can be by choice of high values of building leakage or of
safety factors.
Analysis by Simple Equations
The equations for analysis of stairwells
presented in Chapter can be adapted for use with
pressurized elevators by redefining the subscript S in the
analysis from stairwell to hoistway. Such an analysis is
then applicable for the idealized conditions listed below.
The only pressurization system is the pressurized
elevator.
The flow areas of the building are the from
floor to floor.
The leakage between floors is negligible.
The flow through other shafts mail
chutes, etc.) is negligible.
The friction pressure losses i n the are
Figure shows the pressure difference profiles
of a pressurized elevator in a building exterior
ground floor doors open With the exterior doors open,
the pressure on the ground floor is nearly the same as
that outdoors. For a mathematical description of this,
readers should see the section on effective areas i n
Chapter 5. Example 1.3 is based on the pressure differ-
ence, from the elevator to the being equal
to the pressure difference, the elevator to
outside at the ground floor.
Analysis by Network Model
Network computer programs can be for analy-
sis of systems simplifying conditions
the simple equations. This approach has the advantage
of being able to account for complicated building flow
networks. Network models including CONTAM are dis-
cussed in Chapter 8.
Example 11.4 illustrates use of CONTAM for
analysis of a pressurized elevator system. Because of
through the and floors and friction losses
in the shafts, the pressure profiles for this example (Fig-
ure 1.4) differ those for the ideal building without
vertical leakage (Figure
With Stair Pressurization
Often elevator hoistways are pressurized in con-
junction with stairwell pressurization, as i n Example
I This example is the same as 1.4 except
for the pressurized stairwells. Because of pres-
surization, the pressure profiles of Example 1.5 (Figure
!1.5) are closer to those of the ideal building without
vertical leakage (Figure l l than those of Example
I 1.4 (Figure 1.4).
SMOKE CONTROL FOR
ELEVATOR EVACUATION
Throughout of world, there are signs next
to elevators indicating that they should not be used in
fire situations that stairwells should be used for fire
elevators are not as means
of fire egress, and they should not be used for fire evac-
uation. However, some peopie use
because of physical disabilities, and for these people,
fire evacuation is a serious problem 1988; Pauls
and
This section discusses smoke control systems that
can be used to smoke protection for elevators as
a part of an elevator protection scheme to allow
fire evacuation by elevators. The information in
chapter is based on a joint project of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and (NIST) in the United
Chapter -ElevatorSmokeControl
Example PressurizedElevator
theair neededto a summer with the floor exterior of thebuildingopen. Thereisnovent at the too
f theshaft (or the vent is closed), and the flow of the vent canbe
I
Elevators
Stairwell
Typical Floor Plan
h e parametersare:
o fstories 6
per story 12 (3.66 m)
lumber of i n 2
summer design 89
design temperature 73
pressuredifference 0.05 in. (12.4
'low Areas on Ground Floor
elevator and building per floor lll
building and outside per floor 42 (3.9
Areas on Floors
elevator and buildingper floor 1.20
building andoutside per floor 0.80
h e analysisis done piecewise as describedTor pressurizedelevatorsi n Chapter The piecesare( l theground and rest
=0.05 in. 2.4
Equation(l0.9).
2
+ + in.
=S9 +460 = "R; =73 +460 = "R.
Equation(10.5).
K - -0.000418 in.
isH=6x12 =72
Equation
= G.163 = in. .
die ground the areais
3 3
density i n the building is p = = 0.0746
Equation (10.16). the flow the is
V =
The rest isH= 5 X =60 m).
Rearrange Equation (10.4) to get the pressure at the second
- - = in.
average pressure this section is
= -
2
in. Pa).
2
For upper Iloors. the area is
Equation the l l ow i n this is
3650
Example11.4 Elevator Pressurizationto Control Smoke Migration
Calculate the supply air needed for summer and winter design conditions to pressurize a 14-story hoistway.
Elevators
Stairwell
Typical Floor Plan
The design parameters and flow areas are:
Number of floors by elevator
Location of supply air inlet
Height between floors
Outside winter design temperature
Outside summer design temperature
Building design temperature
Winter stairwell temperature
Summer stairwell temperature
Minimum design pressure difference
Areas:
Leakage area of exterior building per floor
Flow area of two open exterior ground floor double doors
Leakage area between floors of the building
Leakage area of stainvell walls to the building
Leakage area of walls to the outside
Leakage area around closed single doors
Leakage area of walls to the building
Leakage area around closed elevator doors
Leakage area of closed vent at top of
Equivalent orifice area for friction losses in stain<-ell(see Chapter 6)
Equivalent orifice area for friction losses in (see Chapter 6)
Flow for all leakage and areas, except open doorways
Flow for open
Penthouse (l 5th floor)
12.0 3.66 m
14F
34C
70F
45F 7C
82F 28C
0.05 in. 12.4 Pa
2.26 0.210
84 7.8
0.850 0.0790
0.0102
0.1 0.0102
0.25 2.32
0.074 0.00687
0.63 0.0585
0.20 0.0186
40 3.72
1360 126
0.65
0.36
The program CONTAM was used for this analysis (output not shown). This program calculates pressures and flows throughout the
building. Because rates were needed that would result in a minimumpressure difference, the supply flow rate had to be changed
and the a of times until a supply rate was found that resulted in the desired minimum pressure difference. The
flow rates are:
Winter 8530
Chapter 11-Elevator Smoke
two design
and flowareas those used i nExample
Aswithh e previous example, flawsand pressures calculated using The flow are:
El evat or Each Stairwell
cfm U s cfm
Winter 15,900 7.500 5,853 2760
Summer 6.320 4,660
Elevator for Elevator Evacuation with Relief
Calculate the supply air needed for conditions to pressurize a 14-story elevator used for emergency fire evacuation. A vent
at topo f the elevator is used for pressure relief.
I i
Elevators
Lobby Stairwell
Typical Floor
The and areas are:
Number o f floors elevator
Location o f supply air inlet
between
Outside winter design
design
Building design
Winter
doors
pressure across doors
Penthouse floor)
3.66 m
93F
70F 21C
7C
in. 79.6 Pa
0.05 in. 12.4 Pa
Design doors open Ground floor and floors and
doors during Ground and 2. 5. and
m-
of building u-alls psr 2.26 0.110
ground doors S4 7.8
area 0.0790
to 0.0102
Leakage outside 0.11 0.0102
doors 0.25
area building 0.071 0.00657
0.63 0.0585
Leakage around 0.50 0.0465
at top 0.20
Equivalent arm i n h ] 40 5.72
i n 6) l
al l and 0.65 .
for open
(output had to run rerun a
in open are:
I
I and
in.
74.9
74.1
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Pressure Difference (in.
(a) Elevator pressure differences in winter
(b) Elevator pressure'differences in summer
Note: Stairwells
are not pressurized.
I
-0.06 0 0.06
(c) Pressure difference from to building
Figure difference profiles calculated by
CONTAM for a elevator in
with outside exterior doors open
States and the Research Council of Canada
(NRCC) to evaluate the feasibility of using elevators for
the evacuation of the handicapped during a fire (Klote
and Tarnura 1987, Tamura and Klote
1988, Before this joint project, Klote
(1984, conducted field tests of several elevator
pressurization systems. It be emphasized that
conventional elevators do nor any protection
U
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
(a) Elevator pressure differences in winter
(b) Elevator pressure differences in summer
L
I
0 0.10 0.15 0.20
'Pressure Difference (in.
(c) Pressuredifference from stairwell to building
Figure 11 Pressure difference profiles calculated
by CONTAM for a elevator
in building with exterior- doors
open
scheme for fire evacuation, and fire evacuation by these
conventional elevator systems is not recommended.
Concerns Elevator Evacuation
This section provides a description of many con-
cerns about elevator evacuation, and the nest section
discusses these concerns along with one approach to
Chapter -Elevator Smoke Control
deal with them. The 1976 edition of the Life Code
(NFPA 1976) listed the following "problems" involved
with the use of elevators as fire
Persons seeking to escape from a fire by means of
an elevator may have to wait at the elevator door for
some time, during which they may be exposed to
fire, smoke, or developing panic.
Automatic elevators respond to the pressing of but-
tons in such a way that it would be quite possible
for an elevator descending from floors above a fire
to stop automatically at the floor involved in the fire
and open automatically, exposing occupants to fire
and smoke.
Modern elevators cannot start until doors are fully
closed. A large number of people seeking to crowd
into an elevator in case of emergency might make it
impossible to start.
Any failure, such as the burning out of elec-
tric supply cables during a fire, may render the
or might result in trapping
persons in elevators stopped between floors. Under
fire conditions, there might not be time to'pemiit
rescue of trapped occupants through emergency
escape hatches or doors.
I t is for elevators serving more than three
floors to dsscend autoniatically to the ground floor in
the of a fire. Fire fighters have keys to control ele-
vators during building evacuation and fire
fighting. However, infiltration into hoistways
frequently threatens lives and hinders use of elevators
by fire fighters.
In addition, there are three other concerns. First,
water from sprinklers or fire hoses could short out or
cause other with electrical power and control
wiring for the elevator. Second, pressurization
result in elevator doors open, limiting
movement of the car. Third, piston could pull
smoke into the elevator lobby or hoistway, and a
method of preventing this has already been presented in
this chapter.
Conceptual Solution for Elevator Evacuation
The feasibility of elevator evacuation for office
buildings and air traffic control towers is discussed by
Klote et al. ( 1992. 1994). In order to overcome the con-
cerns discussed i n the preceding section, an elevator
system used as a lire exit needs to have following
S. This the
to
Elevator lobbies, hoistway, machinery
room must be protected against fire and smoke.
Elevator equipment and electrical power must be
protected from the water exposure of and
fire hoses.
Elevator machine room must be protected from
overheating.
Reliable electric power must be supplied.
In areas of high seismicactivity, elevator equipment
must be protected from earthquakes.
The likelihood that elevators will be availabledur-
ing fires needs to be ensured by use ofmultiple cars
or by quick response maintenance contracts.
Elevator control must ensure safe and
evacuation.
Communications capabilities are needed between
people waiting for elevators and the fire service or
appropriate building personnel.
Evacuation capacity of the elevator system must be
adequate for the number of people intended to use
the system.
As previously stated, elevator cars are controlled so
that they go to the ground floor in the event of a fire
alarm. In the event of fire on the ground floor, the eleva-
tor cars go to an alternate floor. The fire department or
other authorized personnel can then use the elevators for
evacuation. Firefighters, police, and uniformed guards
have positions of authority in our society. With the ele-
vators controlled by such authority figures, the likeli-
hood of a large number of people crowding into the
elevator and making it impossible to close the doors will
probably be reduced. Of course, there may be other
approaches to elevator control that could allow orderly .
evacuation by elevators.
Reliability of electric power consists of ensuring a
source of power and ensuring continued distribution of
power to where it is used. Considerable experience
exists in ensuring the supply of electrical power for crit-
ical functions in hospitals, communication facilities,
computer facilities, and the like. For these applications,
a major concern is providing backuppower when power
supplied by the local utility is interrupted. These appli-
cations operate most or all of the time, and they need
highly reliable power for all the time that they operate.
Fire by elevators is different in that this
mode of elevator operation is only needed during a
building fire. At most, the fire evacuation mode of an
elevator would be expected to operate for a few hours
per year. Thus, the probability of simultaneously having
a fire and the utility company's power inter-
rupted is relatively small. However, the probability of
having a power distribution failure during a fire is rela-
tively high. This is because frequently damages
electrical distribution within- buildings. Therefore, the
power distribution to the elevator and associated smoke
control fans should be such that it is highly unlikely that
a fire could electrical power to this equipment.
are numerous applications of electric power
and electronic systems being designed and built to func-
tion when in contact with water. Street lighting and traf-
fic lights operate during rain, -and swimming pool
lighting operates underwater. In fact, some elevators
operate on building exteriors where they are subjected
to rain and the other elements. It is beyond the scope of
this manual to examine specific approaches to making
these systems resistant to water; however, it is obvious
that the technology exists to make elevator systems
function when they are subjected to water.
Considerable information is available concerning
the fire resistance of walls, partitions, floors, doors, etc.
The ability to design and build elevator lobbies and
can withstand severe building fire has
existed for years. Smoke protection for elevator systems
is the topic of the next section.
Elevator doors jam open the force of the door
opener is insufficient to overcome force friction.
The friction force increases with the pressure
from the to the lobby. In tall buildings, eleva-
tor doors frequently open during extremely cold
weather. This is caused by stack induced pressure
differences. Elevator mechanics commonly adjust the
door-closing forces to prevent door jamming. During
elevator smoke control operation. the of door
jamming may decrease or increase. If the area
of the elevator lobby doors is less than that of the eleva-
tor doors, the pressure difference across the elevator
doors can be than that normally occurring. In field
Room ,,Lobby
(a) Shaft Pressuriiation
tests conducted by Klote no door jamming was
encountered at pressure differences as high as 0.3 in.
(75 Pa). When door jamming was encountered in
an elevator without smoke control, it was found that
only a small additional force applied by the palms of the
hands was sufficient to prevent jamming. Fire fighters
can be taught to overcome door jamming this way, and
elevator doors could be fitted with grips or handles to
aid in this effort.
Smoke Control Considerations
Smoke control systems for elevator evacuation
provide smoke protection for elevator lobbies,
hoistways, and machinery rooms. Protection of lobbies
is essential so that people will have a safe place to wait
for the elevator. Protection of the machinery room is
important to prevent damage to elevator machinery. Fig-
11.6 illustrates a system that pressurizes the hoist-
directly and indirectly pressurizes the elevator
lobby and the machinery room.
As stated for other pressurization systems, the flow
rate of air is highly dependant on the area.
Because these areas can only be roughly estimated in
most situations, the fan needs to be sized conservatively
so that the fan flow can be adjusted to acceptable levels
of pressurization during commissioning. This
fan sizing can be by choice of high values of building
leakage or of safety factors.
Pressurization air can also be supplied to the eleva-
tor lobbies. Examination of the relative leakage areas of
the elevator system provides insight into both
and lobby approaches to pressurization. Considering the
leakage from elevator lobby to the outside to be neg-
ligible,
Machinery
Room
.-
I
Car
Pit
rated enclosure.
(b) Lobby Pressurization
Building
Space
Fan
I
, ,.,
Note: The supply duct on
needs to be in a fire
Chapter Control
where
=
A, =
A,. =
pressure differencefrom to lobby, in.
pressure difference fromlobby to building, in.
H20
leakage area between the buildingand the lobby
in (m
2
);
leakage area between the lobby and the shaft,
For elevator doors with wide gaps that are common
in most buildings, the gap areas are generally in the
range of 0.34 to to m
2
), as shown
in Table 6.3,. Based on general experience with building
leakages, is about 0.4 for construction of average
tightness and about 0.1 for tight construction. From
Equation is therefore 0.16 and for
average and tight construction. Thus, the pressure in the
elevator lobby can be expected to be close to the pres-
sure in the hoistway, provided that the construction is
not leaky. Pressurization air can be supplied
to the elevator (Figure However, from
the above discussion, it seems that this direct lobby
pressurization does not in any significant
improvement in pressurization over supplying the air
into the as illustrated in Figure I I
Direct lobby pressurization has advantage
over direct pressurization in purging small
amounts of smoke from the lobby. Part of the pressur-
ization air to an elevator smoke control system goes
from the to the outside, and the rest goes from
the lobby through the building to the outside. With
direct lobby pressurization, both of these amounts flow
through the lobby. Such an increased rate tends to
better purge any small amounts of smoke that would get
into the lobby-before smoke control activation or when a
person is entering the lobby. The relative of this
improved purging to its cost has not been
evaluated. The following discussions have been focused
arbitrarily on the pressurization systems.
Pressure Fluctuations Due to Open Doors
Elevator systems must be designed to maintain
design pressure differences under the likely conditions
of opened and closed doors. Klote and
showed that opening a large flow path from the pressur-
ized spaces to the outside can in a loss
in pressurization. For example, opening the elevator
doors, elevator lobby doors. and exterior doors resulted
in a pressure drop from 0.13 in. (32. to 0.03 in.
(7 Pa) for a system without features to resist pres-
sure fluctuation. . .
During a fire, it is expected that several exterior
doors will be propped open, and the elevator doors will
open and close as elevators are used for evacuation. Fur-
ther, stairwell doors are likely to be opened and closed
as people use them for evacuation. It is envisioned that
lobby doors will close automatically upon smoke con-
trol system activation. However, lobby doors can be
inadvertently blocked and the closing mechanism can
fail. It is anticipated that occupants will close any such
opened lobby doors to prevent being exposed to smoke.
Doors may not be closed on floors where there is no
smoke danger or there are no people waiting in the ele-
vator lobby. The smoke control system should be
designed to maintain pressurization when some elevator
lobby doors are open on floors away from the The
examples presented later deal with pressure fluctuations
due to doors opening and closing.
Smoke Control Systems
Elevator smoke control systems can incorporate
features to deal with pressure fluctuations due to open-
ing and closing doors. An alternative is a pressurized
without provisions for these fluctuations such
that smoke transport through the is insignifi-
cant when evaluated by a hazard analysis. Features for
dealing with pressure fluctuations include pressure relief
vents, vents with barometric dampers, variable-supply
air fans, fire floor venting, and fire floor exhaust.
Pressure Relief Vent System
This has a constant supply air rate fan and a
pressure relief vent to the outside, as illustrated in Fig-
ure 11.7. The area of this vent is fixed and sized for
operation in the control system. The vent can be
fitted with automatic dampers if i t is desired for it to be
normally closed. The supply rate varies to some extent
with the pressure across the fan, but the term "constant
supply" is used to differentiate this fan from one that has
a variable supply rate. The vent must be large enough
that the maximum allowable pressure difference is not
exceeded when all doors are closed. When paths to the
outside are opened, air flows and the
pressure drops. This system maintain at
least the minimum allowable pressure difference when
some design combination of paths is open.
Damper System
This system is to the one above except that
the vent a barometric that closes when the
pressure drops a specified value. The use of these
dampers air paths from the
of Smoke Management
Vent
(This vent can
be an open
vent or a
barometric
damper.)
Machinery
Room
Figure Elevator control with a pressure
relief vent.
are opened, and the pressurization fan can be
sized smaller than for the above system. A
closed automatic damper in parallel with the barometric
damper can prevent damper chatter caused by the wind.
Variable Supply Air System
Variable supply air can be achieved by using one of
many fans commercially available for variable flow
rate. Alternatively, a fan bypass arrangement of ducts
and dampers can be used to vary the flow rate of supply
air to the hoistway. The variable flow fans are controlled
by one or more static pressure sensors that sense the
pressure difference between the lobby and the building.
There are two approaches for use of the sensors. The air-
flow rate can be controlled by the average of all signals
from the sensors or it can be controlled by the signal
from the fire floor.
Using the average of all the signals has the advan-
tage that no information is required about where the fire
is located. the fire floor sensor signal requires
about the fire location. This information can
come from smoke detectors, heat detectors, or sprinkler
water flow indicators. Using the fire floor signal has the
advantage that the system maintains a set pressure dif-
ference at this most critical location.
be in a fire rated shaft.
,
Figure 11.8 Elevator smoke control with fire jloor
exhaust.
System with Fire Floor Venting or Exhaust
Smoke venting and smoke exhaust of the fire floor
can improve system performance. The venting or
exhaust increases the pressure difference from the lobby
to the fire floor. The vents can be exterior wall vents or
nonpowered smoke shafts. Figure 11.8 shows a fan-duct
system intended to exhaust the fire floor. Upon detection
of fire or smoke, the damper opens on the fire floor and
the exhaust fan is activated. The detection system must
be configured to identify the fire floor.
Design Analysis
There are many different approaches that can be
taken to the design of the systems discussed above. The
design of an elevator smoke control system includes the
selection of a system for dealing with pressure fluctua-
tions, determining appropriate values for leakage areas
parameters, as well as calculating the perfor-
mance of the smoke control system. The objective of the
design analysis is to determine a flow rate of pressuriza-
tion air that result in acceptable pressurization with
a minimum and a maximum design number of large
open paths from the to the outside. Example
11.6 illustrates design of a pressure relief system.
CHAPTER12
Zoned Smoke Control
he stairwell systems and elevator systems dis-
cussed in previous chapters were primarily
intended to prevent smoke infiltration into these
shafts. However, smoke can flow through cracks in
floors and through unpressurized shafts to damage prop-
erty and threaten life at locations remote from the fire.
The concept of zoned smoke control discussed in this
chapter is intended limit this type of smoke move-
ment within a building.
SMOKE CONTROL ZONES
A building can be divided into a number of smoke
zones, each separated from the others by partitions and
floors. In the event of a fire, pressure differences pro-
duced by mechanical fans are used to limit the smoke
spread to the zone in which the fire initiated. The con-
centration of smoke in this zone goes unchecked.
Accordingly, in zoned smoke control systems, it is
intended that occupants evacuate the smoke zone as
soon as possible after fire detection.
Frequently, each floor of a building is chosen to be
a separate smoke control zone. However, a smoke con-
trol zone can consist of more than one floor, or a floor
can consist of more than one smoke control zone. Some
arrangements of smoke control zones are illustrated in
Figure 12.1. When a fire occurs, all of the
zones in the building, or only zones adjacent to the
smoke zone, may be pressurized. When the fire floor is
exhausted and only adjacent floors are pressurized, as in
Figure 12. I b, the system is sometimes called a "pressure
sandwich."
Open and Divided Spaces
Zoned smoke control works for smoke zones that
are open spaces, such as open plan Zoned smoke
control is more complex for potential smoke zones that
are divided into a number of separate Examples
Note: In these figures.
the smoke zone is indicated
by a minus sign and
are
indicatedby a plus sign. A
smoke zone can consist of
one floor as in (a) and (b) or
of more than one floor as in
(c). All the
zones in a buildingmay be
pressurizedas in (a).
or only the zones
adjacent to the smoke zone
may be pressurized as in
(c) and (d). A smoke zone
may be part of a floor as in (d)
Figure 12.1 of
Chapter Smoke Control
of divided spaces are nursing wings of a hospital, afloor
of a hotel, and a floor of an apartment building. There
has been some success with using divided spaces as
smoke zones when the entire divided space is also an
HVAC zone, but care needs to be taken to ensure even
distribution and exhaust air within each smoke
zone during smoke control systemoperation.
Zoned smoke control has also been used in con-
junction with smoke control
tion). An example is an office building where the
occupant floors are the smoke zones of a zoned smoke
control system, and the mechanical room and elevator
machine room are protected by compartmentation.
Another example is a hotel where the corridors are the
smoke zones, and the guest rooms are protected by
partmentation. Analysis of compartmentation smoke
management is discussed in Chapter 9.
SMOKE ZONE VENTING
of smoke from the smoke zone is important
because it. prevents significant overpressures due to
thermal expansion of gases as a result of the fire. Vent-
ing can be accomplished in the three
exterior wall vents,
shafts, and
mechanical venting (or exhaust).
When the first two of venting are used, it
is essential that adjacent zones (or all zones)
be pressurized in to maintain prsssure differences
at the boundaries of the smoke zone. Mechanical
exhaust by itself result in sufficient pressure differ-
ences for smoke control. However, in the event of win-
dow breakage or a large opening to the outside from the
smoke zone, exhaust might not be able to
ensure favorable pressure differences.
Smoke purging, consisting of equal air supply and
exhaust rates, is not considered here because i t does not
produce pressure differences that control smoke move-
ment. It is generally believed that such purging at the
airflows available with HVAC cannot signifi-
cantly reduce smoke concentrations i n a zone where a
large tire is located. Dilution away the fire is dis-
cussed in Chapter 6.
EXTERIOR WALL VENTS
Exterior wall vents can consist of or pan-
els that open automatically when the smoke control sys-
tem is activated. The system considered here consists of
a smoke zone without any mechanical exhaust
and that are pressurized.
I n order to minimize adverse wind, the
area wall vents be evenly among
Figure 12.2 Flowpattern due to smoke venting.
all of the exterior walls. For buildings that are much
longer than wide, the vents can evenly be divided
between the long sides. Exterior wall venting is
most appropriate for buildings with open floor plans and
least suitable when the floor plan is divided into
compartments. Because the flowof hot gases through a
wall vent can be substantial, precautions should be taken
in the design of exterior walls to minimize the possibil-
ity of exterior fire spread to floors above the vent.
Vent Areas
The following is a method for evaluating the size of
exterior wall vents presented in essentially the sams
form as originally developed by Tamura In this
analysis, each floor consists of a smoke zone. For the
analyses presented in this and the following section, ths
effects of fire are indirectly incorporated in the selection
of design pressure difference (Chapter 6). For
this system, the fire floor (smoke zone) is vented to
outside, supply and exhaust fans serving the fire floor
are shut off, and the floors above and below the
floor are pressurized.
Air flows from floors adjacent to the fire iloor and
through the vent to the outside, as illustrated in Figurs
12.2. Because the supply and exhaust fans are shut off
on the fire floor, the total airflow rate through the wall
vents equals the total flow rate into the vented floor
from the surrounding smoke control zones:
where
A,, = flow area of the exterior vent, (m');
A, =
flow area of the enclosure of the smoke
. .
zone to the other zones, ft
2
(m');
= smoke zone pressure, in. (Pa);
= outside pressure, in. (Pa);
building pressureon in.
The effective flow area, A,, includes the flow areas
of the walls of vertical shafts, floor constructions, and
duct openings (return and exhaust) of the smoke zone.
Effective flow areas are discussed in detail in Chapter 6.
Rearranging Equation (l yields
where
pressure difference zones
to the outside, (Pa):
= pressuredifference from the zones
to the smoke zone, in. (Pa);
pressure difference from smoke zone to the
outside, in. (Pa).
Then
Substituting the above into Equation (12.2) and
rearranging yields
A plot of Equation (12.3) is shown in Figure
This shows that for particular values of and A,, the
pressure difference, across the boundary of the
smoke zone increases as the vent area, A, increases. For
values of A ,
Opening a stairwell door on a floor of a
zone increases the pressure difference across the closed
stairwell door on the fire floor (smoke zone). This can
be explained by use of the concept of the effective flow
area (Chapter 6), and it is left to the reader as an exer-
cise. Opening doors in a stairwell on both a
zone floor and the smoke zone floor results in consider-
able airflow to the smoke zone, which is accompanied
by reduced pressure difference across the boundary of
the smoke zone.
12.1 Vent Areas and Pressure Differences
I . If the ratio of is what is the ratio of
From Equation = 0.5. Thus, the
pressure difference across the boundary of the smoke
zone is only half that from the building to the outside.
If is 2, what is
From Equation 0.8. This much
I
is 3, how does change?
From Equation 0.9.
Pressurization Airflow Rates
effective flow area, A,, of the enclosure of the
smoke zone to the other zones usually consists of the
sum of the flow areas between the smoke zone and
many other zones. This is expressed as
= flowarea of the enclosure of the smoke
zone to the other zones, (m
2
);
of adjacent zones;
Chapter 12-Zoned Smoke Control
flowarea between zone i and the
smoke zone, (m
2
).
Considering steady flow conditions, the mass flow rate of
pressurization air entering a zone equals the
flowrate of air leaving the zone:
= +
(12.5)
where
= mass flow rate of pressurization air into zone
=
mass flow rate from zone i to the smoke
zone,
mass flow rate from zone i to the outside,
The rate from zone i to the smoke zone can be
expressed in the of the orifice equation,
where
-
C =
P =
=
mass flow rate from zone i to tlie smoke zone,
dimensionless flowcoefficient;
flow area between zone and the
smoke zone, (m
2
);
density of air in flow path,
pressure fromthe zones to
tlie smoke zone, in. (Pa);
coefficient, 12.9 (1.00).
Similarly, tlie mass flow rate to the outside is
where
-
C =
-
P
=
mass flow rate from zone i to outside,
flowcoefficient;
flow area between zone and the
outside, ft
2
density of air in flow path,
pressure difference from the zones
to tlie outside, in. (Pa);
(1.00).
For an the gases leaving the
smoke zone are likely to be relatively hot. However, the
flows in question are both from the zones,
which are probably near building temperature. Consid-
ering the very approximate nature of flow area esti-
mates, the errors involved in using volumetric flow rates
at standard conditions are not significant. Such equa-
tions are
where
= volumetric flow rate from zone i to the smoke
zone, cfm (m
3
/s);
= flowarea between zone i and the
smoke zone, (m
2
);
= pressure difference from the zones to
the smoke zone, in. (Pa);
= coefficient, 2610 (0.839);
and
= flow rate zone i to the outside,
cfm
= area between zone i and the
outside, ft
2
(m');
= pressure difference froni the zones
to the outside, in. (Pa);
= coefficient, 2610
pressure difference from the zones
can be obtained from Equation (12.3) as
= pressuredifferencefrom the zones to
the in (Pa);
= pressure from the zones to
the zone, in.
A,.
= tlow exterior vent fire floor,
= flowarea of the enclosure of the
2
to the zones. (ni ).
. .
Principles of Smoke
Example 12.2 Supply Air andExterior Wall Vents
The smoke zone of a smoke system is to have
exterior wall vents and two adjacent zones. Supply
and return are shut off to the smoke and the
zones are pressurized. The zones have the same
flowareas:
4.5 (0.42 and
(0.28 m
2
). Use = 2, and 0.10 in. (25 Pa).
Howmuch pressurizationair is needed?
FromEquation 4 3.0 + = m
2
).
From Equation = = 0.13 in
(31 Pa).
From Equation = = 2500
(1.2
From Equation = = 4200
(2.0 m
3
/s).
The supplyair is 2500 +4200=6700 (3260 Us).
SMOKE
A smoke shaft is a vertical shaft intended to be a
path for smoke movement from the fire floor to above
the level of the roof. Generally, the driving force of
smoke movement is buoyancy, although the flow
through some smoke shafts is aided by mechanical fans.
This mechanical exhaust is addressed in the next sec-
tion. A smoke shaft can serve one floor, a group of
floors, or all the floors in a building. Smoke shafts have
openings above the roof level and on the floors they
serve. These openings are fitted with dampers that are
nomially closed. In a fire situation, only the damper on
the fire floor and the top outside damper open to vent
smoke outside. Smoke shafts should be constructed in
accordance with local codes. Tamura and Shaw (1973)
provide inforniation concerning sizing of smoke shafts.
Smoke shafts used in conjunction with pressurization of
zones can produce pressure differences to
restrict smoke to the smoke zone.
Smoke shafts lend themselves to use in buildings
with open floor plans. The air movement caused by
smoke shafts operating during normal effect tends
to pull smoke toward the smoke shaft inlet on the fire
floor. It is recommended that smoke shafts be located as
far as possible from exit stairwells, so that smoke in the
vicinity of the shaft inlet does not pose an increased haz-
ard during evacuation or fire fighting. Because hot
smoke frequently stratifies near the ceiling, it is recom-
mended that snioke shaft inlets be located in or near the
ceiling.
MECHANICALEXHAUST
Mechanical exhaust 'of the smoke zone can be
accomplished by either a exhaust or
by the exhaust fans of the system. Generally,
such exhaust is done in conjunction with pressurization
of zones. These systems can also include
stairwell pressurization.
Mechanical exhaust by itself can result in
pressure differences to control smoke. However, in the
event of window breakage or another large opening to
the outside from the smoke zone, the pressure differ-
ences can decrease significantly. For this reason,
mechanical exhaust alone does not constitute an ade-
quate smoke control system when there is a significant
probability of window breakage or an opening from the
smoke zone to the outside.
In the smoke zone, the location of the exhaust inlets
is important. These inlets should be located away from
exit stairs so that smoke in the vicinity of the shaft inlet
does not pose an increased hazard during evacuation or
fire fighting. Because hot smoke frequently stratifies
near the ceiling, it is recommended that smoke exhaust
inlets be located in or near the ceiling.
Exhausting air from the smoke zone results in air
from the outside and from other zones being pulled into
the smoke zone. This air flowing into the smoke zone
can provide oxygen to the fire. Most commercial air-
conditioning systems are capable of moving about four
to six air changes per hour, which probably accounts for
the popularity of six air changes in smoke control appli-
cations. Current designs are based on the assumption
that the adverse effect of supplying oxygen at six air
changes per hour is insignificant in comparison with the
benefit of maintaining tenable conditions in zones
from the fire. Thus, six air changes is recommended as
the upper iimit for exhaust airflow.
In any analysis of a smoke control system, the fire
effects of buoyancy and expansion need to be addressed.
This can be done directly as part of the analysis or indi-
rectly. As discussed in Chapter 4, the indirect approach
consists of establishing a minimum design pressure dif-
ference that will not be overcome by buoyancy pres-
sures from smoke at design temperatures. This
indirect approach is much simpler, and so human errors
in analysis, other aspects of design, construction, and
commissioning are less likely. The following sections
present both methods.
When the temperatures on both sides of the bound-.
ary of the smoke zone are the same, the pressure differ-
ence across the boundary is the same over the height of
the barrier. This is the condition under which smoke
Chapter 12-Zoned Smoke Control
(a) Pressure Difference Without Fire
(b) Control System Prevents
Protected Spaces
control are almost always tested. When
oases in the snioke zone are the buoyancy of the
hot gases results in a nonuniform difference.
Figure is a uniform pressure difference at the
design value. This minimum is selected
such that positive pressurization of the snioke zone con-
tinues, that the mass flow from
zones to the zone remains unchanged and that the
snioke zone does not exceed its design temperature
(Figure However, if this mass decreases.
may flow into the "protected" spaces, as illus-
trated in method of presented
i n the allows evaluation this
decreased
Exhaust FanTemperature
The mass flow through the exhaust fan is
where
=
mass flow rate of exhaust fan,
= densityof gases in exhaust fan,
=
volumetric flow rate of exhaust fan,
K, = (1.00).
The effect of fan temperature on smoke control sys-
tem performance is of concern. Fans are approximately
constant volumetric flow rate devices. Using the ideal
gas equation, the mass flow rate through the fan is a
function of the absolute temperature of the gases in the
fan.
where is the absolute temperature of the gases in the
exhaust fan in "R (K). Increased fan temperature decreases
the mass flow rate of the exhaust fan, resulting in a reduc-
tion in smoke control system pressurization.
The maximum allowable fan temperature can be
calculated as
where
= absolute temperature of the gases in the exhaust
fan, "R (K);
= absolute temperature of the gases in fan under
nonnal conditions, "R (K);
= allowable fraction reduction in mass flow rate
through fan.
Example 12.3 Fan Temperature
If a reduction of 20%in the mass flowrate is acceptable,
what is the maximum allowable fan temperature?
I
The are: 70 +460 530 "R,
From Equation (1 -0.2) =663 or
Example a 20% reduction i n mass
through the fan occurs at 203F When
I-IVAC systems are used for smoke control, they exhaust
air from all or of the rooms on a floor. Thus,
tire gases and lower temperature air from remote rooms
are and the fan temperature is lower than
that of the gases. Also, heat transfer. from
exhaust duct lowers the fan temperature.
Table 12-1:
Typical Gas Temperatures and Densities for
Severe Building Fires
Temperature Density
"F "C
Fire space is a room or corridor 1700 927 0.0184 0.294
involved in fire
space is a 800 427 0.0315 0.504
room or other space connected
to the fire space by an open door
or other large opening
Removedspace is a room or 400 204 0.0462 0.739
other space connected to a com-
municating space by an open
door or other large opening. The
removed space is not connected
to the fire space or is only con-
nected to it by very small cracks
or
Separated space is a room or 80 27 0.0736 1.18
other space not connected to any
three spaces above, or it is
only connected to them by very
small cracks or gaps
The temperature of the gases in the fan can be con-
servatively estimated by considering dilution of hot
gases with cooler gases and neglecting heat transfer.
Considering constant specific heat, the fan temperature
can be expressed as
where
temperature of the gases in the exhaust fan,
density of gases in space j,
V
volumetric flow rate of fromspace j, cfm
temperature of gases in space j, "F("C);
n = number ofspaces.
Table 12.1 lists typical gas temperatures and densi-
ties for severe building fires that can be used in Equa-
tion 2.14). The following idealized types of spaces are
addressed in this table:
Fire space
Communicating space
Removed space
Separated space
A fire space is a room or a corridor that is
involved in fire. A communicating space is one that is
connected to the fire space by an open door or other
large opening. A removed space is a room or other space
connected to a communicating space by an door or
other large opening. The removed space is not con-
nected to the fire space or is only connected to it by very
small cracks or gaps. Aseparated space is a space that is
not connected to any of the three spaces above, or it is
only connected to them by very small cracks or gaps.
To determine the extent of each type of space, a
floor plan should be evaluated in light of likely locations
of fires, doors likely to be opened, and doors likely to be
closed. Example 12.4, it can be seen that cool air
from the separated spaces mixes with the hot gases
other spaces and cools them. If the fan temperature is
too high, the zone can be increased in size so that air
from separated spaces will further dilute the hot gases.
Example and
Smoke Control Zone Size
A smoke control system exhaust rates from the following
spaces:
Fire space: 0.189
Communicating S00
space:
Removed space: l 0.850
Separated space: 6000 2.83
Table provides descriptionsof these spaces, gas temperatures, and
densities. Will the fan have a adverse of
the performance of the system'?
From Example 12.3, the fan temperature can be 203F or less
and the effect on system performance will be acceptable.
From Equation (l 2.14).
' = I
= ,,
- "F "C)
557.3
Fan temperature will affect
Chapter12-ZonedSmoke Control
USEOF WAC
In many buildings, the HVACsystem serves many
zones, as illustrated in Figure For such a system,
smoke control is achieved by the following sequence
upon fire detection:
The smoke damper in the supply duct to the smoke
zone is closed.
The smoke dampers in the return duct to
zones are closed.
If the system has a return air it is closed.
Precautions must be taken to minimize the proba-
bility of smoke feedback into the supply air system.
Exhaust air outlets must be located away from outside
air intakes. To conserve energy, most HVAC systems in
modem commercial buildings have the capability of
L
(a) Normal HVAC Operation
Mechanical Outside
Penthouse - Air
air within building spaces. During normal
HVAC the return damper .is completely or
partially open to allow air from building spaces to be
mixed with outside air. This mixture is conditioned and
supplied to building spaces to maintain desired tempera-
ture and humidity. This process is shown in Figure 12.6.
During smoke control operation, the return damper must
be tightly closed to prevent smoke feedback into the
supply air, as is illustrated in Figure
Duct
Smoke
,/Damper
Return
As discussed in Chapter 7, smoke dampers are sup-
plied in several leakage classifications. The particular
class of damper specified should be selected based on
the requirements of the application. For example, the
dampers in the supply and return ducts shown in Figure
12.5 can have some leakage without adversely affecting
smoke 'control system performance. Thus, a designer
- I
L
Mechanical
Penthouse Air
l
P
am
p
er
C
L
(a) Normal HVAC Operation
Notes:
I.Smoke control is achieved by closing the smoke damper in the supply duct to the smoke zone
and closing the smoke dampers in the duct to the other zones. Return air damper (not shown)
must be closed to prevent smoke from being pulled into the supply air.
For simplicity, distribution ducts on each floor and equipment in the penthouse are not shown.
12.5 o f system HVAC selves
Return Fan
Exhaust
Air From Return
Supply Fan .
Outside
Equipment: Filters,
Heating Cooling
Coils, etc.
12.6
Return Fan
Outside
Heating Cooling
Figure 12.7 with capability the
mode.
might select class 111, or IV for such
an Further, a designer choose class I
dampers for applications require a very tight
damper (for example, the return damper illustrated in
Figures and
Some designers have eliminated the smoke damp-
ers from return air system in the mistaken belief that
the resulting system would still be This idea
consists of shutting a smoke damper in the supply to the
smoke zone and relying on return air pulled
from the zone to produce a significant pressure differ-
ence. However, shutting the supply to the smoke zone
lowers the pressure there and. these supply-damper-
only systems, the return from the smoke zone is
also reduced. Field tests on such sponsored by
U.S. Veterans Administration have indicated that
these supply-damper-only systems produce insignificant
pressure differences (Klote Thus supply-damper-
only systems are not recommended. In a fire situation,
small pressure differences can be overcome by
buoyancy of hot smoke, stack or other
occurring building airflows. Figure 12.8 illustrates
failure of a supply-damper-only system to control
smoke movement with resulting smoke to floor
above the fire floor due to buoyancy or stack effect.
For systems where the HVAC system serves only
one smoke control zone, smoke can be achieved
by putting KVAC systems in modes below.
return fan-on, supply fan off, return
closed, and damper open (option-
ally outside air may bc closed).
Mechanical Outside
. Penthouse
Return
Duct
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
...
A
Smoke
Supply-Damper Only System
--CAUTION ---
THIS SYSTEM MAY NOT WORK AND
SHOULD NOT BE USED.
Notes:
1. This system is not recommended because
it generally does not achieve satisfactory
pressure differences to control smoke
movement.
1. For simplicity, distribution ducts on each
floor and equipment in the penthouse are not
shown.
Figure 12.8 of achieve
only shutting a smoke
supply
This kind of system was tested at new Veterans
Administration hospitals (Klote where each floor
of each wing was a smoke control zone supplied by a
separate HVAC system. This performed well, was espe-
cially simple, and required no expensive dedicated
equipment.
ANALYTICAL APPROACHES
return fan on, Most smoke control systems are in buildings
return damper closcd, air a of floors, shafts, and rooms per floor. As
(optionally exhaust air closed). other smoke control systems, flows at
Chapter 13-Fundamental Concepts for Atria
Mass Flowwith Virtual Origin Correction
Q = heat of the fire,
Heskestad's equation for the mass flow of an
= diameterof fire, ft (m);
symmetric plume is
0.278 (0.083).
. 5/3 2/3
= C,, - + -
In Figure 13.1, the virtual origin is shown above the
, ,
for
flow in plume at height,
convective heat release rate (kW);
height above fuel, ft (m);
virtual correction of the
plume, (m);
tlame height, ft (m);
0.022 (0.071 );
0.19 (0.026);
0.0126
0.556
Because smoke defined to include the air is
the of combustion, all of the
mass flow in the plume defined as
being smoke. I t follows that these equations can be
thought of as for the production of smoke
from a tire. Simplitied plume equa-
will be presented later, and the same
also apply to
A of the is that
tire is circular, experimental have used
liquid pool However, a tire need not
be for the axisymmetric plume equations to be
useful. The effective fire diameter can be expressed as
... , : .
= (13.3)
where A is area of the fire. At distance above the
the plume fire that is will nearly the
as that from a fire.
Vi r t ual Or i gi n
Heskestad's (1953) relationship for the ori-
is
C, - I D,. 3.4)
of fuel, but it can also below the fuel. The
sign convention is: for the virtual origin above the top of
the fuel, is positive, and for the virtual origin below
the top of the fuel, is negative. The convective portion
of the heat release rate, can be expressed as
where is the convective fraction of heat release as dis-
cussed in Chapter 2. The convective fraction varies
about 0.15 to and using a value of =0.7 is common
for most design applications.
Flame Height
Equations (13.1) and (13.2) are dependant on the
mean flame height of the fire. The height depends
on the fire geometry, the conditions, the heat of
combustion, and the ratio. A relationship
(Heskestad 2002) for height that can be used for
fuels is
where
flame height,
0.788 (0.235).
This flame height is the elevation where
mum temperature is (500 K). The ceiling
heights of atria are relatively and i t is tlie nature of
atria smoke management that the elevations, of inter-
est are much greater than either virtual origin, or the
height,
Cent er l i ne Plume Temper at ur e
The temperature varies over the plume cross sec-
and the temperature is greatest at
line of the plume, as shown in Figure 13.2. The
centerline temperature is of interest in the unusual cases
atria are tested by real fires. The tem-
peratureequation (Heskestad 1986) is
Principles of Smoke
Radial
Distance Distance
Figure 13.2 Radial variation of
plume.
D
-
(13.9)
where
= diameter of visible axisymmetric plume, (m);
= height above fuel, (m);
=
plume diameter ranging from 2 to 4.
This equation indicates that the axisymmetric
plume diameter can vary significantly, and it is sug-
gested that the value of be chosen so that the results
of calculations are conservative.
AXISYMMETRIC PLUME WITHOUT
Axisymmetric plume equations that neglect the vir-
tual origin are often used for atria applications because
is much greater than The equations are
listed below, and the consequences of this simplification
are discussed later.
ture at elevation "R (K);
absolute ambient temperature, (K);
Mass Flow:
density of ambient air,
. I
I (13.10)
For the conditions of (294 K), p, of
(1.2 g of and of
(I .OO "C), Equation becomes
where
= centerline plume at
elevation
= ambient temperature,
338 (25).
Plume Diameter
that a fire is composed of
eddies, determination of the plume diameter is difficult.
The plume diameter has been based on both visual
observations and temperatures. One definition of this
diameter is that i t is the position at which the plume
temperature has decreased to fraction of the
temperature. following equation is a way of
expressing the expected range of diameter (Figure 13.1)
of an axisymmetric plume:
and
= mass in axisymmetric plume at heightz,
= heat release rate of fire, (kW);
= height above fuel, (m);
= mean height, ft (m);
(0.071);
0.0042 (0.00 18);
(0.032).
It should be noted that when is less than the
condition of z being much greater than may not be
met. the separate equation above for z is
included
Flame Height:
C, , , =
Chapter -Fundamental Concepts for Atria
Centerline Temperature: Discussion
where
absolute centerline axisymmetric plume tempera-
ture at elevation z, (K);
= absolute ambient temperature, (K);
p,
density of ambient air, (kg/m
3
);
g
= accelerationof gravity. (m/s
2
);
0.0067
For the conditions of (294 K), p, of
ft
3
(1.2 kg/m
3
), g of m/s
2
), and of
"F (I .OO "C), Equation
where
= temperature at
("C);
= ambient ("C);
338 (25).
13.1 Simple Plume Calculations
For a 4000 (4220 kW) is the mass flow and
temperature of plume at of 35 (10.7 m) above
the Use a fraction of0.7, and the ambient
is 72F.
From Equation heat release rate is
= = = (2950
From Equation the mean flame height is
= = = ft (3.9
Because plume mass is calculated from Equa-
tion
.
NI = +
From Equation the is
The purpose of this section is to evaluate the impact
of neglecting the virtual origin correction. To do this, the
fire diameter needs to be addressed. The heat release
density of a fire is q = . Substituting this relation
into Equation results in the following equation for
the effective diameter:
Table 2.2 lists heat release densities for some ware-
house materials and pool fires. In this table, q ranges
from 8 (90 to 1250 ft
2
(14,000
The low value is for a proprietary silicone
transformer fluid, and the upper value is for polystyrene
jars in compartmented cartons stacked ft (4.57 m)
high. These extreme fuel arrangements are not likely to
be found in atria, and eliminating them results in a range
of 35 ft
2
(400 to 900 ft
2
(10,000
Figure 13.3 shows the effect of heat release density,
on the location of the virtual origin. For 35 ft
2
(400 is about -2.6 ft (-0.8 m) at of 1900
(2000 kW) and -14 ft (-4.3 m) at Q of 24,000
(25000 kW). The negative values of indicated
that the virtual origin is below the fire surface. For 880
ft
2
(10,000 is about 3.9 ft (1.2 m) at
Q of 1900 Btuls (2000 kW) and ft (3 at of
24,000 (25000 kW).
Figure 13.4 shows the impact of the virtual origin
correction on plume mass for q 35 ft
2
(400
and ft
2
0,000 Neglect-
ing the virtual origin correction results in overprediction
for q = 35 ft
2
(400 and underprediction
Heat Release Rate. (1000s
0 5 10 15 20 25
Heal Release Rate. (1000s
Figure 13.3 The o f release q,
Elevation. (m)
Virtual Origin Correction: - 4000
=
= 35
None
.
6000
Heat ReleaseRate
4000 -
S
2000 -
0
0 75 225 300
Elevation, z (ft)
..
.-
Figure 13.4 Comparison of ~ I OWpredictions and
correction for virtual origin.
for = (10,000 over- and
underpredictions are with reference to Equation I).
An estimate of the uncertainty of Equation 3.1) is
not available, it should be noted that the state of
technology is such the above ranges be
within the uncertainty of Equation (13.1). Further, fire
spread radiation can result in a number of nearby
fires with separate joining together as they rise.
Theories have yet to be developed for such multiple fire
plumes. There is no question that both Equations
and (13.10) reflect the important trends of flow
being a strong function of and a weak func-
tion of the convective heat release rate, Q,. However,
when using Equation it is suggested that the
location of the fire surface be conservatively selected.
For example, if fires be possible anywhere from the
floor level' to 3 m ft) above the floor, conservative
selection the fire surface would be at the floor.
Figure compares the predicted flame heights
from Equation 3.6) the relation of
Equation 3.13). Again, the approsimate relation is in
the of the range of predicted values. It is appar-
ent that height, increases with In atria smoke
management design, height is primarily used to
ensure that the plume flow equations are appropri-
ate. The height, from about 8 ft (2.4
to m) (2 kW) and from about
(4.3 m) to ft 25,000 Btuls (26,000
kW).
Heat Release Rate, (1000s kW)
Heat Release Rate. (1000s Btuls)
Fi gure 13.5 of height
and origin
WALL AND CORNER PLUMES
A fire that is located next to a wall will entrain air
over a smaller perimeter than a fire located far from a
wall. The fire and wall plume may be considered half
that of the axisymmetric plume (Figure 13.6). Thus, the
mass flow rate of a plume is half that of an
metric but the analogous fire for the
ric plume is twice that of the "real" fire creating the
plume. The mass rate of a wall plume can be esti-
mated as
I . Let Q be twice that of the wall plume.
2. Apply a plume equation to calculate the mass
Figure 13.6
,, , , ,
(a) Fire far from walls (b) Fire at wall
(c) Fire at interior (d) Fire at exterior
corner corner
3. The smoke production of the wall plume is
This approach is very rough for heights in tlie range
of the flame height, but the flow becomes more realistic
for higher elevations, The approach can be applied to
any axisymrnetric model, but for consistency
with the information above, would be calculated
from Equation (1
above approach can be extended to plumes
from tires in corners. relatively high elevations
above the fuel, Equation can be to
become
where is a location factor that is i n
For information about and
plumes,
Example 13.2 Wall and Corner Plumes
For the Q, and of Example 13.1, what is the mass flow
of a plume for each fire location shown in Figure
The mass flows are calculated from Equation (13.16) as fol-
lows:
Mass Flow,
Fire far from walls 1 121 55
Fire at exterior corner 46
Fire at wall 2 78 35
Fire at interior corner 4 51 23
As expected, the mass from Equation (13.16) for a fire
far from walls has the mass flow as axisymmetric
plume in The presence of a wall or corner
reduces air entrainment into the so the mass flow of
these plumes is less than that of the axisymmetricplume.
BALCONY SPILL PLUMES
A balcony spill originates from a fire when
the smoke under a balcony and spills into the
13.8). tlie fire is in a room that
opens onto the balcony, the rate can be
approximated as (Law CIBSE 1995):
( l ) (13.17)
= mass tlow i n at
= release of lire,
W = plume as it spills balcony, ft (m);
= above balcony, ft (m);
H = height of balcony top of fuel, ft (m);
0.12 (0.36).
When draft curtains are used (Figure the
width, of tlie spill plume is the distance between the
curtains. In the absence curtains, following
approximation can be used.
= width opening the tire room, ft (m);
h = distance from opcning to tlie balcony edge, (m).
Equations (l 3.17) and ( l 3. IS) apply when the
height of opening to room is
below such that of the ceiling
jet in tlic not directly contribute to the
out thickness of the ceiling jet
is 10% to 20% of the height from the
base of to ceiling. on i t can be
stated that the momentum of the ceiling jet is not a con-
tributing factor when the top of the opening is not
greater than 80% of the distance from the base of the
fire to the ceiling. .
For spill plumes not consistent with the conditions
of Equation scale (Chapter CFD
(Chapter or other correlations can be
used. While et al. (1999) is a source of other
rather than HRR. Those using the correlations of Mor-
gan et al. will need to convert HRR to fire perimeter.
Equation(l 3.17) is extensively used for design anal-
ysis, but there is controversy about the extent of its appli-
cability. ASHRAE Technical Committee 5.6 is planning
a research project consisting of large-scale fire experi-
ments to check the applicability of Equation (13.17) and
to develop for some spill plumes not consis-
correlations, most of these are in terms of fire perimeter tent with the conditions of Equation
Example 133 Balcony Plume
What is the mass flow of a balconyspill plume with the parameterslisted below?
Heat release rate, Q
500 (528 kW)
Height above balcony, m)
Height of balcony above top of fuel, H ft (3.05 m)
Width of the opening from the tire room,
6 ft (1.83 m)
Distance from the opening to the balcony edge, b (3.66 m)
From plume width as it spills under the balcony is approximated as
Equation the mass flow of the spill plume is
I
Section View
Doorway
I
Front View With
Draft Curtains
Front View
Draft Curtains
Figure spill
Figure 13.9
WINDOWPLUMES
A plume is one that flows through an open-
ing such as a window or door to a room with a fully
involved fire (Figure As described in 2, a
fully involved fire is one where all, the combustible
materials in room are burning. The high intensity of
a fire why window plumes are not nor-
mally considered design in sprinklered buildings.
In a fire, fuel in the room would burn
outside the opening. The heat release rate of a fully
developed tire is constrained by combustion air that
can reach lire. and such a fire is referred to as being
Accordingly, the size of the fire
on the size and shape of the opening to the
room and material burning. Based on
fire data Ior and polyurethane in a room with a
single rectangular opening, the average heat release rate
i
where
= release of the fire, (kW):
A,,.
= area of ventilation (m');
H!,.
height of opening, (m):
61.2 (1260).
equations for axisymmetric plume or
and corner plumes can be adapted for the window
plume. This is by determining the entrain-
ment at tip of the coming out of the
opening and determining height in the axisymmetric
plume that would yield same entrainment.
The in the asisyrnmetric equation
to bc adjusted by
Inserting this factor into Equation (13.10) yields an
equation for axisymmetric plumes:
+ (13.2
Inserting the same factor into Equation (13.16)
yields a general equation that incorporates the presence
of walls:
where is the height above the top of the window. Substi-
tuting Equations and (13.20) into Equation (13.22)
results in
where
(0.68);
C,,, 0.18 (1
Equations (13.22) and (13.23) apply to wall and cor-
ner plumes, and with = I , these equations become the
same as the window plume equations. I t may be noticed
that Equation (13.23) does not contain a heat release rate
tenn, and this can be so because the fire is ventilation con-
trolled such that the heat release rate depends on the
tilation opening. This analysis of window is based
on the assumptions concerning entrainment and the
adaptability of the general wall model, but it has
not been experimentally verified.
AVERAGE PLUME TEMPERATURE
The average temperature of the plume can be
obtained from a law of thermodynamics analysis of
the plume. Consider the plume as a steady flow process
with the control volume shown in Figure 13.10.
Neglecting the small amount of added to the
plume flow due to combustion, the first for the
is
+
where
=
heat generated within the control volume,
heat transferred surroundings into the con-
trol volume. (kW):
flow rate.
Principles of Smoke
enthalpy of flowenteringthe control volume,
h,
enthalpy of flow leaving the control volume,
change in kinetic energy,
= change in potential energy,
W
work done by system on its surroundings,
For the steady plume, the work is zero and the
changes in kinetic and potential energy are negligible.
The heat generated is the heat release .of the fire
= Q). Heat is transferred from the plume by con-
duction and radiation to the surroundings (Q, =
where Q, is the radiated heat), so that = + Q,).
Specific heat can be considered constant = The
first law leads to an equation for the plume temperature.
where
= average plume temperature at elevation z, "F
= ambient temperature, "F ("C);
= specific heat of plume gases, "F "C).
Fire plumes consist primarily of air mixed with the
products of combustion, and the specific heat of plume
gases is generally taken to be the same as air = 0.24
"F (1.00 "C)].
13.4 Average Temperature
What is the average temperature of plume in Example
From Equation average temperatureis
As expected, the average plume temperature is less than the
centerlineplume temperature.
MAXIMUM PLUME HEIGHT
The plume flow were developed-for
strongly buoyant plumes. When is not hot
enough to rise, it will stagnate or be carried away by
existing air currents. Combining Equations and
(13.25) yields the following espression for the
mum height at plume can be consid-
ered strongly buoyant.
where
= maximumheight at which plume is considered
buoyant, (m);
= convectiveheat release rate,
= minimumtemperature rise of plume above
ambient, "F("C);
=
19.1
Equation applies to plumes.
The idea of minimum temperature rise is that it is the
smallest temperature rise at which the has suffi-
cient buoyancy to continue to be a strongly buoyant
plume.
No research has been conducted to determine the
appropriate value of the temperature rise for
applications and velocities of air currents. Until
better information is available, (2C) is suggested.
Figure 13.1 I shows the height for this
minimum temperature rise.
For a total heat release rate of 500 (530 kW).
the plume height from Figure 13.11 is about
130 (40 m). For a total heat release rate of 2000
(2100 kW), the maximum plume height is about 220 ft
(67 m). While the maximum height is not a con-
cern for most designs, it needs to be considered for atria
with high ceilings.
at Elevation z ,,
Chapter13 Concepts for Atria
15 20 25
I I I
E
-
N
500 -
m
.-
135 'G
1. Maximum plume height is for an
a
plume with a minimum
temperature of 3.6
-
2. This figure is for =
0
I I I
0.5 5
-
0
15 20 25
Figure 13.11 height.
VOLUMETRICFLOW
The flow of a plume is
where
= mass flow in at height
V = volumetric smoke flow at elevation z, (rn
3
/s);
= density gases at elevationz,
AIR AND PLUME DENSITY
The density of air and gases is calculated
from perfect gas law:
where
p density of air or plume gases,
p = absolute pressure, (Pa);
R = constant, K);
temperature, (K).
The absolute pressure is often taken to be standard
of 21 (101,325 Pa), and
the gas constant is generally taken to be that of air,
is ft (287 K).
At atmospheric pressure be con-
sidered constant for purposes of calculating air
smoke density. This means can be considered
and can be calculated.
Air p,
A..
Floor
(a) Sketch of Gravity
Smoke Venting
(b) Pressure Profile of
Smoke Layer
Figure 13.12 smoke venting.
where
p,. reference density,
= absolute reference temperature, (OK).
There are an infinite number of possible p,; pairs.
and one that can be used for such calculations is p,. =
0.075 530 (294 K).
CONFINEDFLOW
As already noted, the of a plume increases
with height. For a tall narrow atrium, the plume may
contact all of the before the reaches
the ceiling. Where a plume contacts a wall, i t cannot
entrain air. For smoke management purposes, the smoke
layer interface should be considered the elevation where
the smoke contacts all or most of the atrium walls.
NATURAL VENTING
Natural vents consist of openings in the ceiling
through which smoke due to buoyancy. The hot
smoke layer under the acts to force smoke out of
the vent and to pull air through other openings
into the atrium. The analysis of natural that fol-
lows is adapted an analysis by et al.
and it is illustrated in Figure 2. The
ature in below the smoke layer is considered
the same as that outside.
As discussed in Chapter the mass out of the
vent and in the opening can be expressed by the
orifice as
and
A, vent area, (m
2
);
, .
where
=
i
c, =
A, =
A; =
-
-
-
=
K,, =
(13.3 = openingarea, (m
2
);
p, outside air density,
mass flow rate through the vent,
= accelerationof gravity, 32.2 (9.80 m,
= depth of smoke layer belowthe smoke vent, R (m);
mass flow rate through the inlet opening, (kg/
flow coefficient of the vent (dimensionless);
= absolute temperatureof smoke, "R (K);
inlet opening (dimension-
less);
area of the vent, (m
2
);
area of the inlet opening, (m
2
);
density of the smoke,
density of the outside air,
pressureof smoke layer at the ceiling, in.
A plume takes time to rise to the ceiling, and a ceil-
ing jet takes time to form a smoke layer under the ceil-
ing (Figure 13.13). The idealized zone fire model
considers that the smoke from the plume reaches the
upper layer at the instant of and (2) a
layer is (a) Growing plume
P,
(13.32)
where
= acceleration of gravity,
depth of smoke layer below the vent,
= 370 (
The flow are considered to be equal ( C
C,, The out the vent equals that
(b) Fully developed
through the inlet opening = The smoke density and growing ceiling jet
can be as
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..................................................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P ,
Combining Equations 3.30) through (13.33) yields
I
= (13.34)
+
(c) Fully developed plume
and ceiling jet extending
= mass vent,
under entire ceiling
C = discharge (dimcnsionless);
Figure 13.13 of ceiling
Chapter 13-Fundamental Concepts Atria
Ceiling Height (m)
Ceiling Height (ft)
Figure 13.14
form smoke layer forms at the first instant that any
smoke reaches the The zone fire were
developed for fire rooms such as bedrooms,
dining and recreation rooms. In such the
errors resulting from these were insignif-
icant. Atria are and the following sections
provide a means of evaluating the errors from
neglecting
Neglecting these results in
ing atrium tilling time and detector activation For
atrium filling applications. this is i n
occupants will have more time before a
level. For detector calculations.
neglecting these results in
activation time, which is not i n
will have less time to act than indicated by
tion.
Plume Lag
and Mowrer
relationships for the time of plumes and
unsteady fires. Steady and tires are
i n Chapter 2. Because is nature of tires to
lag time for steady is probably less signifi-
cant.
For a steady fire,
= transport time lag of plume,
= growth time,
H = height ofceiling above top of (m);
Q = heat release rate, (kW);
In general, t-squared fires have greater plume time
lags than steady fires as can be seen from Figure 13.14.
This is to be expected in that the t-squared fires start at
an HRR of zero and increase the square of time,
while the steady start at their full fire size much
like a gas burner.
For a slow t-squared fire a ceiling height of
l 00 ft (30 m) above the base of the fuel, the plume is
only about 18 Such a small lag illustrates
rational for neglecting the plume lag.
Ceiling Jet Lag
and also developed the
relationships for the time of ceiling jets resulting
from steady and unsteady fires.
a steady fire,
For a t-squared fire.
= transport time of ceiling jet,
= radius or from centerline
plume, (m);
l (0.833)
0.278
As the plume the t-squared fires the
greatest ceiling jet as shown in Figure 13.15. The
ceiling of a fast t-squared fire with H = 20 (6 m)
takes about 25 to spread out to a circle with a 25
m) radius.
For a t-squared tire.
Total Transport LagTime
The total lag is of the plume
and jet time,
I, is
I PLUGHOLING
i When the smoke layer depth below an exhaust inlet
is relatively shallow, a high exhaust rate can lead to
entrainment of cold air the clear layer (Figure
13.16). This phenomenon is called
I
Number of Exhaust Inlets
To prevent plugholing, more than one exhaust point
may be needed. The maximum mass flow rate that can
be extracted using a single exhaust inlet is
given as [CIBSE
where
Radial Distance (m)
0 5 10 15 20
i I I I
0 25 50 75
Radial Distance (ft)
Figure 13.15 Ceiling jet lug.
Figure 13.16 of air-
a
maximummass rate of exhaust without
ing,
absolute temperature of the smoke layer, "R, (K)
absolute ambient temperature, "R, (K)
depth layer below bottom of exhaust
inlet,
exhaust location factor (dimensionless);
0.354
In the context of plugholing, the smoke layer depth
is always a distance from the smoke interface to the bot-
tomof the exhaust inlet. For an exhaust inlet located in a
wall, the depth of the smoke layer below the bottom of.
exhaust inlet is illustrated in Figure 13.17.
Based on limited information, suggested values of
are 2.0 for a ceiling exhaust inlet near a wall, 2.0 for a
wall exhaust inlet near the ceiling, and 2.8 for a ceiling
exhaust inlet far fromany walls (Figure It is sug-
gested that d/D be greater than 2, where D is the diame-
ter of the inlet. For exhaust inlets, use D + b),
Figure 13.17 d, layer-
inlet.
Ceiling
(a) Ceiling lnlet Away From Walls
Ceiling Ceiling
p =2.0 p =2.0
lnlet
(b) Wall lnlet Near
The Ceiling
(c) Ceiling lnlet Near
The Wall
Figure 13.18 of
13-Fundamental Concepts for Atria
(a) Exhausting air when there is no smoke layer.
(b) Exhausting air smoke when the depth of
the smoke layer, d, is less than the minimum depth.
needed to prevent plugholing.
(c) Exhausting only smoke when the depth of
the smoke layer, d, is greater than the minimumdepth.
needed to prevent plugholing.
Figure 13.19 conditions.
where and are arid width of the inlet. The
results of experiments conducted at the National
Research Council of are consistent with this
approach for dealing with plugholing and
2000; Lougheed et al. 1999;
et al. 1999).
Equation ( l 3.40) can be expressed i n terms of volu-
metric flow rate as
volumetric rate at
=
Considering at each eshaust inlet, the
is
where the ROUND indicates that the value in the
parentheses is to be rounded up to the nearest whole num-
ber.
Separation Between Inlets
When the exhaust at an inlet is near this maximum
flow rate, adequate separation between exhaust inlets
needs to be maintained to minimize interaction between
the flows near the inlets. One criterion for the separation
between inlets is that it be at least the distance from a
single inlet that would result in arbitrarily small velocity
based on sink flow. Using 40 fpm as the arbitrary veloc-
ity, the minimum separation distance for inlets located
in a wall near the ceiling (or in the ceiling near the wall)
is
where
separation between inlets, (m);
= volumetric flow rate,
= exhaust location factor (diniensionless)
Minimum Depth to Prevent
The approach of the previous section to plugholing
considered the number of exhaust inlets needed to pre-
vent plugholing, but the issue can also be viewed as the
smoke layer depth needed to prevent plugholing for a
specific eshaust flow rats.
The smoke layer to prevent plugh-
oling can be expressed as
where
= minimum layer depth to prevent plughol-
ft (m);
0.78
Satisfying Equation (13.44) is equivalent to meet-
ing the criterion for the number of exhaust inlets of the
previous section. This that meeting either of
these criteria is to ensure that the other crite-
rion will be met.
Plugholing Flow
Conditions of air eshaust and smoke exhaust are
in Figure 13.19. The mass flow ofcxhaust air
Principles of Smoke Management'
is the sumof the exhausted smoke and the exhausted air. 13.20. Larger exponents result in predictions of
For an exhaust inlet, the exhaust can be written as
smoke layers.
+
(13.45)
where
= total exhaust from an inlet,
= lower layer air exhausted an inlet,
= smoke exhausted froman inlet, (kgls).
When the smoke layer depth is at or below the min-
imum smoke layer depth to prevent plugholing (d d,,),
the mass flows are = and = where
is the total volumetric exhaust in and is
smoke density, When the smoke layer
depth is zero (d = the mass flows are =
and = where is the or lower layer air
density,
In the absence of a formally developed and experi-
mentally verified theory of flow, the follow-
ing relations are suggested:
d
p
for d (13.46)
p
for
and
= for
where a is the plugholing exponent. The effect of this
exponent on smoke layer height is illustrated in Figure
Atrium height: 40 m)
Atrium (929
Exhaust: 120.000 (57
Exhaust Location Factor: 2 -
No, of Exhaust Inlets: 1
Heat Release Rate:
(5300 kw)
a Y
9
30 60 90 120 150 180
Figure 13.20 of'
smoke OS
AZONE
MINIMUMSMOKELAYER DEPTH
The previous section addressed the smoke
depth needed prevent plugholing. This section
addresses the design smoke layer depth
needed to accommodate the physical flow of smoke
under the ceiling. Readers are cautioned about differ-
ences in the definitions of smoke layer depth. For
oling applications, the smoke layer depth is the distance
from the smoke layer interface to the bottom
exhaust inlet. In this section, the smoke layer depth is
the distance from the smoke layer interface to the ceil-
ing.
When a smoke reaches a flat ceiling, the
smoke is deflected into a ceiling jet flowing radially
from where the plume impacts the ceiling. As already
stated, the depth of the ceiling jet ranges from about
10% to 20% of the distance from the base of the fuel to
the ceiling. This is an in that the ceil-
ing jet is about but at the walls, the jet turns back
and flows under itself. For an enclosed room or atria
where there are no openings near the ceiling, the smoke
layer forms as illustrated in Figure 13.21. For an
enclosed or atrium, i t is that the
design smoke layer depth be at least 20% of the distance
from the base of the fire to the ceiling.
For rooms and atria with an opening at the ceiling,
the smoke of the ceiling jet flows out through the open-
ing (Figure Provided that the opening is wide
enough, the smoke layer depth is about 10%
of the distance the base of the to ceiling.
For further information about ceiling jets, sec Beyler
986).
HORIZONTALSMOKE FLOW
Horizontal flow out of a layer and the corre-
sponding pressures are shown in Figure 13.23. These
pressures are hydrostatic, that is, the dynamic pressure
components are negligibly small. The opening consid-
ered large that the pressure below the
layer can be considered the same as that outside the
opening. Further, the top of opening is sufficiently
below the ceiling that of the ceiling jet
has impact on smoke through the opening.
The through opening depends on
buoyancy of smoke and thickness of
smoke layer under first level.
Chapter 13-FundamentalConcepts for Atria
(a) Development of ceiling jet
,Ceiling Jet
(b) Ceiling jet reachinga wall and turning back
,Ceiling Jet ,
minimum smoke
layer depth is about
20%of the distance
..... fromthe base of the
fuel to the ceiling.
Fire
(c) Formation of minimum smoke layer depth for enclosed room
Figure 13.21 layer-
in enclosed atria.
Figure 13.22 Smoke layer a or atria
at the
where
= mass flowfrom smoke layer through opening,
W = width of opening, (m);
h = depth of smoke layer, ft (m);
g
= acceleration of gravity 32 (9.8
p, = ambient air density,
p, = smoke density,
C coefficient -
0.7);
I .oo (l).
Equation (13.48) can also be as
where
(2.07)
(a) Sketch of horizontal flow
Figure 13.23
Pressure
(b) Pressure profiles
Airflow for Fire in Communicating Space
Atrium
Space
Smoke,
Figure 13.24 used or
smoke in a
space from
Substituting the ideal gas equation into Equation
(13.49) and rearranging yields
where
smoke temperature, (K);
= temperature, (K);
As stated above, this analysis applies when (I) the
opening is considered large that the pressure
below smoke layer can be considered the as
that outside the opening, and (2) the of the
ceiling jet has no on the smoke flow through
opening. The comments concerning momentum of
the ceiling jet in above section about the balcony
spill plume also apply here. these conditions are
not met, the horizontal can be analyzed by
physical or computational dynamics.
The above analysis is a subset of the approach used
by the zone fire models. The
models allow for the possibility of flowing into a
that has a smoke layer that has descended below
the top of the opening. The pressure differences and
flows at openings between compartments of a zone
model can complex, as is explained by Jones and
Bodart
COMMUNICATING SPACES
spaces are spaces within a building
that have an open pathway to an atrium such that
from a in the communicating space can move
peded into the atrium. Smoke from a tire in an atrium
can also move into the communicating
space. Communicating spaces can open directly to the
atrium or can be connected open spaces.
Airflow can be used to prevent or mitigate smoke
originating in a communicating space from
the atrium(Figure 13.24). This can be accomplished
exhausting the communicating space and supplying air
to the atrium such that the velocity at the opening of the
communicating space is sufficient to prevent smoke
from flowing to the atrium. As discussed in Chapter 6,
to prevent such smoke migration, the average velocity in
the opening must equal or exceed the limiting velocity
(Heskestad 1989).
where
v =
=
H =
=
=
limiting average air velocity,
accelerationof gravity,
height of the opening, (m);
absolute temperature of the fire space, (K);
absolute ambient temperature, (K);
Airflow for Fire in Atrium
also can be used to prevent smoke originat-
ing in the atrium flowing into a
space. The limiting air velocity can be calculated from
limiting average air velocity,
heat rate, (kW);
distance above the base of the fire to the bottomof
the opening, (m);
Equation (13.52) is not applicable when z is less
than ft (3 m). Further, v, should not exceed 200
fpm (I If the opening to the space
is above the smoke interface, the limiting air velocity
be calculated Equation
CHAPTER14
AtriumSystems
I
t is well known that the ability of sprinklers to sup-
press fires in spaces with ceilings higher than 35 to
50 ft ( l l to 15 m) is limited. Because the tempera-
ture of smoke decreases as it rises (due to entrainment of
ambient air), smoke may not be hot enough to activate
sprinklers mounted under the ceiling of an atrium. Even
if such sprinklers activate, the delay can allow fire
growth to an extent beyond the suppression ability of
ordinary sprinklers. Considering the limitations of
partmentation and sprinklers for atriums, the importance
of atrium smoke management is not surprising.
SYSTEMS
Approaches that can be used to manage smoke in
atria are smoke filling, (2) mechanical exhaust, (3)
natural venting, and (4) tenability systems. Most of
these approaches have the goal of not exposing occu-
pants to smoke during evacuation except for the tenabil-
ity systems. The goal of the tenability systems is not to
subject occupants to untenable conditions.
For all of these approaches, the design fire can be
steady or unsteady. For information about design fires,
see Chapter 2. Fire location is an important factor; for
example, a fire in the atrium space may produce an
symmetric plume while a fire i n a space open to an
atrium may produce a balcony spill plume (Figure
In North America, systems are usually designed for fires
in the In Australia, the United and
other parts of Europe, design fires are often in spaces
open to the atrium, such as shops and offices.
Analysis of these approaches can be done by use of
equations or computer zone fire models. For general
about these computer models, see Chapter
8. Computer zone models CFAST, ASET-C, and
AZONE are on the CD that accompanies this book.
AZONE is a model specifically written for analysis of
smoke movement in atria, and a detailed description of
AZONE is provided at the end of this chapter.
(a) Fire in atrium space producing an axisymmetric plume
Fire in spaceopen to atrium producing a balcony spill plume
Figure 14.1 of
Chapter14-AtriumSystems
above the
Figure 14.2
Figure 14.3 Illustration layer-s for empirical
SMOKE FILLING
This consists of having occupants evacu-
ate the atrium or through the atrium as smoke fills the
atrium space (Figure 14.2). Smoke filling applies only
to very large volume spaces where the filling time is suf-
ficient for evacuation, including time it takes to
become of the fire and to prepare for movement
to an exit. Chapter 4 addresses people movement and
fire evacuation. Smoke filling calculations can be done
by computer zone fire models or by application of
the empirical filling equations presented below.
Empirical Filling Equations
empirical filling equations are based on
filling tests (Heskestad and Delichatsios 1977;
1987; et al. I Cooper et al.
et al. 1985).
Because of the difficulty in determining the
of the smoke layer from experimental data, the correla-
tions below use unique concept of the first indication
of smoke (Figure 14.3). In the idealized zone the
smoke is considered to be a height there
is smoke above and none below. actual fires, there is
a gradual transition zone between the lower cool layer
and upper hot layer. The first indication of smoke can be
thought of as of the transition zone. As might
be expected, predictions using the equations of this sec-
tion differ predictions using a zone fire model.
Filling by a Steady Fire
For a steady fire. the smoke filling can be
mated as
where
=
H =
=
A =
=
filling equations and zone
height of the first indicationof smoke above the
fire surface, (m);
ceiling height above the fire, (m);
heat release rate fromsteady fire, (kW);
cross-sectional area of atrium,
0.67
Equation is based on a plume that has no
contact with the walls. Because contact reduces
entrainment of air, this condition is conservative.
Equation (14.1) is a constant cross-sectional
area with respect to height. For other atrium shapes, the
zone fire model AZONE, physical modeling, or CFD
can be equation is appropriate for from
0.9 to 14 and for values greater than or equal to 20%
of ff. A value of greater than one that the
smoke layer under the ceiling has not yet begun to
descend. These conditions can be expressed as
= Constant with resepct to (14.2)
and
When Equation (14.1) is solved for the user
find that is often outside the acceptable range.
equation can bc solved for time.
Figures 14.4 and show the time predicted from
Equation (14.5) for the top 80% of the atrium to fill with
smoke = 0.2). Considering that evacuation times
are often in the range of to 30 minutes, it can be seen
from these figures that smoke filling is only appropriate
for very large atria. The dashed lines on these figures
show the range applicability 14) of
the steady filling equation.
Example 14.1 Smoke Filling by a Steady Fire
How long does it take for a 5000 (5280 kW) fire to fill
the top 70 f t (21.3 m) of an atriumwith smoke? The height
and area are ft (30.5 m) and 100,000 ft
2
(9.290 m
2
).
The height of the firs: indication of smoke the fire
surface, is -70 =30 ft (9.1 m), and = =
0.3.
From Equation the filling time is
Filling by an Unsteady Fire
As discussed in Chapter the t-squared fire can be
used as an approximation of the growth stage of fire
development. For the filling dis-
cussed below, the fire continues to grow throughout the
filling process. As already stated, evacuation times are
often in the range of to 30 minutes. The fire at the
end of the evacuation can be extremely large, limiting
the applicability of this equation (Table 14.1). However,
the unsteady filling equation is included here for com-
pleteness.
Figure 14.4 for 0 5000 (5280
0.2) tire
where
z = height of the first indication of smoke above the
fire surface, (m);
H = ceiling height above the fire, ft (ft);
time,
= growth
A = cross-sectional area of the atrium, (m
2
);
0.23
As with Equation Equation is conservative in
that it estimates the height of the first indication of smoke
and is for a plume that has no wall contact.
Equation (14.6) is also for a constant
area with respect to height, and the comments
about atria of other shapes in the section above also
apply to this section. The equation is appropriate for
from 1.0 to 23 and for values of z greater than or
equal to 20% of H. A value of greater than one also
means that the smoke layer under the ceiling has not yet
begun to descend. These conditions can be expressed as
A = with respect to H, (14.7)
and
The growth time, has already been discussed,
and values of it and characteristic fire growths are
Ceiling Height Above Top of Fuel (m)
Chapter14- Systems
Table 14-1:
Heat ReleaseRate the End of the EvacuationTime for Unsteady Filling Equation
Evacuation Slow Fire Medium Fire Fast Fire Ultra Fast Fire
Time =600 =300 = S
Minutes kW kW kW kW
15 2,250 2,370 9,000 9,500 36,000 38,000 144,000 152,000
30 9,000 9,500 36,000 38,000 144,000 152,000 576,000 608,000
I . the growth for a t-squared fire to reach kW); see Chapter 2.
Because at the end evacuation time, the filling equation has limited applicability.
- 30
H f t (30.5m)
A 50.000 (4650 m') - 2 5,
Q 5000 (5280
E
Zone Fire Models:
CFAST I g
0 300 600 900 1200 1800
Time
Figure 14.6 of clear heights
by
cussed in Chapter 2. As with the steady filling equation,
the unsteady filling equation can be solved for time:
where is 0.363 (0.937).
Computer
The height of the smoke layer the fuel is
sometimes referred to as the clear- height, and Figure
14.6 shows a comparison of clear heights predicted by
different zone fire and the steady filling equa-
tion. These predictions are for a large atrium of H
ft (30.5 m) and A = 50,000 ft
2
m
2
) with a steady
fire of 5000 Btuls (5270 kW). It can be observed that
predictions of ASET-C and AZONE are close to each
other. CFAST and the steady filling equation predict
lower clear heights.
The differences in predicted clear height can be
attributed to inherent differences in the tools.
These differences include ( l ) the plume models. (2) the
definition of clear height, and (3) the approach to heat
transfer. For each of the zone models, the mass flow of
the plume is calculated from different plume models.
As previously stated, the empirical equation is
scrvativc in that i t predicts height as the first
60
,
H 100 m) /--
A 50.000 (4650m')
Zone Models
ASET-C
70 -
CFAST - 20
3 0
Figure 14.7 Coinpar-isoil of
indication of smoke above the fire, as illustrated in Fig-
ure The zone predict the clear height as the
smoke interface. For these reasons, it is expected that
the empirical steady filling equation would predict
lower clear heights than the zone models.
Heat transfer was calculated differently for each of
the zone models. The CFAST simulation calculated heat
transfer to gypsum board walls ceiling based on the
temperature difference between smoke layer and the
gypsum board. Both ASET-C and AZONE use factors to
estimate heat transfer.
ASET-C estimates heat transfer by the loss
is the fraction of the heat release rate
of the fire that is lost to the bounding surfaces of the
room and its contents (Appendix F). The heat loss frac-
tion is generally in the range of to AZONE eval-
uates heat transfer by the convective fraction, and
the wall heat transfer fraction, The convective
tion is the convective portion of the heat release rate; for
more information about this fraction, see Chapters 2 and
The wall heat transfer fraction is the fraction of the
plume flowing into the smoke layer that is lost
to the walls and ceiling.
The temperatures associated with the clear
heights of Figure 14.6 are shown in Figure For
ASET-C, a value of 0. 6 was chosen. For AZONE,
0.7 0.4 used. The factors are rclatcd
of Smoke Management
as = I - ( I - and, thus, AZONE was effectively
simulated with = I - -0.4) =0.58. It is not sur-
prising that the smoke temperatures are almost the same
for the ASET-C and AZONE simulations (Figure 14.7).
The smoke temperature of the CFAST simulation
was higher, but the convection upon which
the wall heat transfer was based are calculated from
general correlations. No convection coefficients have
been developed specifically for fire compartments.
MECHANICAL EXHAUST
Mechanical smoke exhaust is probably the most
common form of atrium smoke management in North
America. As with natural venting, mechanical smoke
exhaust can be based on either a steady or an unsteady
design fire. The equations of the next section deal with a
steady fire, and zone fire models can be used to analyze
smoke flow due to an unsteady fire.
14.8 smoke
Steady Conditions
The method of analysis presented in this section
based on the assumptions below.
The only mass flow into the smoke layer is the fire
plume.
The only mass flow from the smoke layer is the
smoke exhaust.
The exhaust is removing only smoke and not any
air from below the smoke layer.
The smoke layer height is constant (Figure
The flows into and out of the smoke layer are at
equilibrium.
Heat transfer between the smoke layer and the sur-
roundings have reached equilibrium.
Before using this method, designers need to verify
that these assumptions are appropriate for their applica-
tion.
Figure 14.10
clear
VelocityUnaffectedBy Building
C
Note: Because wind
can producepositive,
at the top
of an atrium, natural
smoke venting is
recommendedfor an
atrium to or
near a tall buildingin
.. . . ..
. .
. . . .
.
Figure 11.9 a positive the top to the
Chapter 14-Atrium Systems
To calculate the exhaust flow rate, the plume equa-
tions from Chapter 13 are adapted with variables rede-
fined for the following application:
= specific heat of plumegases, "C);
wall heat transfer
z (14.11)
As already stated, the wall heat transfer factor is the
and
where
=
=
=
=
mass exhaust of exhaust air,
convective heat release rate of fire, (kW);
height of the smoke layer interface above the
fuel, (m);
mean flame height, ft (m);
0.022 (0.071);
0.0042 l S);
(0.032).
The mean flame height is
where
0.533 166).
speaking, Equations I I ) and (14.12) are
plume into the
upper layer. the plume equations
at-e not appropriate, other equations may be used.
balcony spill equations the window
equations, Chapter
convective the heat I-elease rate, is
Q,. = (14.14)
relcasc (see
and
= total rate,
For the will
be used to mean smoke layer
The is layer above
of the smoke layer he
as
-
= +---
c,,
I;. = "F ("C):
= ("C):
fraction of the convective heat release rate that is
to the waiis and ceiling of the atrium. This factor
depends on a number of conditions, including the geom-
etry of the space, the construction materials of the walls
and ceiling, and the smoke layer temperature.
An atrium with no heat transfer is referred to as an
adiabatic atrium The adiabatic assumption is
conservative in that i t results i n high predictions of volu-
metric smoke exhaust, but it is not conservative with
respect to plugholing. In the absence of research about
the wall heat transfer fraction, values of are expected
to be in the range of 0.3 to for walls and ceilings of
normal construction materials (brick, concrete, glass,
gypsum board, etc.).
The density of the exhaust gases can be calculated
from perfect gas law,
where
p, = density of exhaust gases,
= atmosphericpressure, (Pa);
R gas constant, K);
= absolute temperatureof exhaust gases, (K).
Alter-natively, the density of the exhaust gases can
be calculated from
where
absolute reference temperature, (K);
= densityat reference temperature,
There are an infinite number of pairs of and p,.
that can be used i n Equation and one such pair
is (294 K) and 0.075 (1.20 kg!m
3
).
How of exhaust gases in plume is
= volumetric gases,
a = mass air,
p,, = gases,
60 ( ).
Example14.2 SteadySmoke Exhaust
What is the smoke exhaust needed to maintain a smoke layer height of 1.0 m) with the design parameters listed below?
Ambient temperature
Ceiling height 45 ft (13.7 m)
0.7 Convective fraction
Height of top of fuel
Heat release rate 2000 (21 kW)
Wall heat transfer fraction 0.4
Note that the smoke layer depth is 45-36 9 (2.7 m), which is 20%of the height of the atriumceiling above the fuel. This
depth accommodates the formation of the ceiling jet as in the section"Minimum Depth of Smoke Layer"in Chapter 13.
From Equation the convective the heat release rate is
Q, = = = 1400
From Equation the mean flame height is
= = = 9.7 ft (3.0 m).
The smoke layer height, z, is 36 ft (l m).
Because is less than z, the mass is calculated from Equation (14.1
.
= , + + = 102 (46.4
From Equation the smoke temperature is
Equation the smoke density is
From Equation the volumetric gases is
Conditions
Unsteady analysis of an atrium exhaust system may
be done to
simulate a combination of smoke filling and
exhaust,
simulate the effects of an unsteady fire, and
determine the impact of activation time on smoke
layer depth.
A combination of filling and smoke exhaust
can be used for an atrium that is not large enough to
qualify for smoke protection by filling.
For this combination approach, the exhaust fans need to
be sized so that the filling time is greater than the
evacuation time, including the takes to
aware of the fire to prepare for movement to an exit.
is the nature of fire that it is an unsteady process
Probably the reason that steady fires are used exten-
sively is that they lead to the simple steady analyses like
the one above. While large steady design fires can be
selected to yield conservative designs, these design fires
are not realistic. See Chapter 2 for information about
design fires. Zone fire models such as CFAST and
AZONE can be used for analysis of atrium smoke
exhaust systems unsteady fires.
Before smoke exhaust fans can be on, the
presence of the fire needs to be detected. There is
,
delay detection and activation, and it takes
some for the fans to come up to full speed. Detec-
tion time can be estimated from the about
the lag times of and ceiling jets in
Chapter When appropriate, detection should
into account the potential that there could be a stratified
layer of hot air under the ceiling, as discussed later.
Chapter 14 Systems
9
5 -
2
1 1
0 0 0 0
0 60 120 180 240 0 60 120 180
l i me l i me
(a) Variation of smoke layer with area. A (b) Variationof layer exhaust time.
Notes:
9 1. The Are is a1-squaredfire up to (2110
that the HRR remains
2. The exhaust flowrate was so lhe of
7 smoke layer wouldbe 6 m) at a HRR of
3. As other zone fire models, the details of lhe ceiling jet are not
5
simulatedby Thus. theportions of these graphs
.... .
where smoke layer is 24R(7.3 m) are realistic.
. 4. Other factors are:
Ambient Temperature. 72.0'F (22.2
S 2
CeilingHeight. H=30.0 fl(9.1 m)
A =
Height of top of fuel. H, = A m)
ExhaustRowrate. V 49500. h(23.4
0 0
60 120 240 3M) Exhaust locationfactor. = 2
l i me
Exhaust location ceiling, m)
Number of exhaust inlets. 6
(C) Variationof smoke layer fire growth.
Wall Heat transfer fraction. 0.4
Figure 14.11 layer- the AZONE.
It is possible tliat the snioke layer could descend
below the design smoke layer height based on a
steady analysis. To check the effect of activation,
AZONE allows tlie user to specify the of
the exhaust fan.
Figure 14.1 a shows the effect of the atrium area on
the smoke layer height as calculated by AZONE for an
atrium 30 ft (9.14 in height with an exhaust activa-
tion tinie of seconds. It can be seen tliat for an
area, A, of 5000 ft
2
(465 ni
2
) or more, the delay in acti-
vation does not have an adverse effect on smoke layer
height for the conditions of the simulations. For A =
2000 ft
2
ni
2
) or less, smoke layer drops well
below the design lieight for conditions of simula-
t i on~.
Figure 14.1 b shows the effect of exhaust activation
time, on smoke layer height for a 30 ft (9.14 tall
atrium with A = ft
2
(92.9 As expected,
smaller the activation time, tlie less the effect on smoke
layer At = 30 the smoke layer stays above
design simulation.
Figure 14.1 shows the effect of tlie fire growth
time, on layer height for a 30 ft m) tall
atriuni A = ft
2
(92.9 ni
2
). As would be
expected, the growth (faster tire), the
greater the on tlie smoke layer height.
While a study not been on the of
the activation time on smoke layer height.
can be made. For atria relatively large
areas 5 where H is the atrium height), effect
of fan activation at 90 would not be expected to have
an adverse effect on the smoke layer heiglit. For atria
with relatively small areas the smoke layer
could drop below the design lieight, resulting in smoke
contact with people. AZONE can be used to analyze the
effects of activation on the layer lieight.
Air
For steady the mass flow of air or smoke
exhausted the top of an atrium equals the mass
flow of air entering below the smoke layer. This airflow
entering the atrium is referred to as niakeup and
air can be either supplied naturally or by fan
power.
Fan-powered niakeup air is often sized at 90% and
97% of the exhaust airflow rate, and balance of the
air needed to the exhaust naturally flows
through openings or leakage paths. Natural air
flows openings, such as open doorways and
and sometimes airflow paths are complex
of rooms and corridors. Computer net-
work airflow programs, as CONTAM (Chapter
can be used for analysis of these complex flow systems.
The velocity of air should not destroy the
plume structure or significantly deflect the plume at an
angle. It is tliat keeping the velocity at or below
200 (l prevent disruption.
of Smoke Management
NATURAL VENTING
Natural smoke venting is common in many parts of
the world, such as Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
As stated in Chapter 1, natural venting was developed in
response to several fire tragedies in the 19th and early
20th centuries.
Natural venting relies on the buoyancy of hot
smoke to force smoke out of open vents at or near the
top of the atria (Figure Natural venting can be
based either on a steady or an unsteady design fire. The
equations in the next section are for a steady fire, and
zone fire models can be used to analyze smoke flow due
to an unsteady fire.
Steady Conditions
The equation developed in Chapter 13 for the mass
flow rate through the vent is
m,
C =
A,, =
-
=
=
=
=
mass flow rate through the vent,
discharge coefficient (dimensionless);
vent area, f?
inlet opening area, ft
2
(m
Z
);
outside air density,
depth of smoke layer belowthe smoke vent, (m);
absolute temperatureof outside air, "R (K);
absolute temperatureof smoke, "R (K);
Because buoyancy of hot smoke is the driving force
of natural venting, the rate, , through the
vent increases with increasing smoke temperature,
As the size of a fire increases, the mass flow rate of the
plume into the upper layer increases and the temperature
of the smoke layer increases. For a fire larger than the
fire, the smoke temperature goes above the
design value, and the mass flow rate through the vent
increases above the design value. This benefit is unique
to natural venting, it helps offset the greater
of smoke produced by fires that might exceed design
fire.
For air-conditioned atria, it is possible that the
smoke temperature less than the outdoor sum-
mer design temperature. This can result i n
outside airflow through the atrium smoke vents. To
avoid such downward flow through vents,
ral smoke venting should nor be used
temperature may be less than the outdoor summer
design temperature.
The smoke temperature and mass flow of the plume
can be calculated from the same equations that are used
for mechanical exhaust as discussed later.
Wind
For an atrium attached to a tall building or very near
a tall building located in open terrain, wind can produce
positive pressures at the top of atrium, as shown in
Figure 14.9. Because such positive pressures can inter-
fere with natural venting, natural venting is not recom-
mended for atria wind conditions.
Air
For natural smoke venting described by Equation
air flows naturally through the inlet
opening of area, air is generally supplied
through open vents or doorways. A sprawling atrium
can be divided into a number of large spaces with
vents so that the smoke vents in the spaces away from
the fire can be opened for air.
TENABILITY SYSTEMS
As already stated, the approaches discussed above
have the goal of not exposing occupants to smoke dur-
ing evacuation. Tenability systems are designed to
maintain tenable conditions with occupant exposure to
Hazard analysis consists of evaluation of smoke
transport, people movement (evacuation and tena-
bility. While smoke transport can be simulated by zone
fire models, CFD has the significant advan-
tage of being to simulate variations of temperature
and concentrations of combustion products in the smoke
layer.
Evacuation time can be evaluated by the methods of
Chapter 4. Tenability analysis should address visibility,
gas exposure, and heat exposure, and extensive
tion about tenability can be found in Chapter Ths cal-
culation method for tenability described in Chapter 9
can be used for atria.
STRATIFICATION AND DETECTION
Often, a hot layer of air under the ceiling of
an atrium as a result of solar radiation on the
roof. While studies have not been made of this stratified
layer, building designers indicate that the temperatures
of such layers are often in excess of 120F
Temperatures below this layer are controlled
building's heating and cooling and the tempera-
ture profile can be considered to increase significantly
over a small increase in elevation as shown i n
14.12.
Chapter 14-Atrium
l I
Temperature
Fi gure 14.12 Temperature profile of hot layer- of air
atriumceiling.
Figure 14.13 Smoke a layer of
When the average temperature of the plume is less
than hot air layer, tlie smoke will form a strat-
ified layer under it, as shown Figure 14.13. Average
temperatures are in Figure 14.14, and it
can be observed the average plume temperature is
often less expected temperatures of tlie hot air
layer. Thus, is a air layer
atrium ceiling, smoke cannot be expected to reach the
ceiling of the atrium; and smoke detectors mounted on
that ceiling cannot be expected to go into alami.
smoke detectors can be used to overcome
detection are beam detection
approaches that can provide prompt regardless
of the temperature of air under tlie ceiling at the time
of fire initiation.
a. An Upward-Angled Beam to Detect the Smoke
Layer
The purpose of this approach is to quickly
the development of a smoke layer at
condition exists. One or beams arc
aimed at an upward angle to smoke
layer I-cgardless of of
Elevation (m)
0 30 60 90
120
Heat Release Rate:
(5.280
(2.110
-80 p
-60
-40
P
-
20
50 I
50 200 250 300
Elevation Above Fuel (R)
Figure 14.14 Average of
For redundancy when using this approach, more
than one beam smoke detector is recommended.
b. Horizontal Beams to the Smoke Layer at
Various Levels
The purpose of this approach is to quickly detect
the development of a smoke layer at whatever tem-
perature condition exists. One or more beam detec-
tors are located at the roof Additional
detectors are located at levels in tlie
volume. The exact positioning of the beams is a
function of the specific design but
beams the bottom of identified unconditioned
spaces and at or the design smoke level
several intermediate beam positions at otlier levels.
c. I-lorizontal to Detect tlie Smoke Plume
The purpose of this is to detect rising
plume layer. For
approach, an arrangement are installed at
a level below lowest expected stratification
need to be close enough to
other to ensure of the plume, the spac-
ing being of beam at the
least a point of fire potential.
approaches described above are illustrated in
Figure 14.15, and approach (a) advantage that
does not require location of a number of horizontal
beams. smoke detectors are subject to false
by sunlight, and alternative (a) the
possibility false activation bp orienting the
at
All of of a detector
to located so they are accessible for
For i n Figure l ? . a
(not shown) could provide for
Plan View Section
(a) Upward Angled Beams t o Detect the Smoke Layer
Plan View
Suggested Spacing
of Beams:
Section
(b) Horizontal Beams t o Detect the Smoke Layer at Various Levels
Suggested Spacing
of Beams:
B
4
Plan View Section
(c) Horizontal Beams to Detect the Smoke Plume
Figure 14.1
of detectors.
Chapter 14-AtriumSystems
Step I: Assign Valuesto
t
Step 2: Read
t
Step Assign Values
t
Step 4: Calculate for each step
Q ;
M ; A E ;
Step 5: Check for
Write
False
6:
If is an
even Output
Figure 14.17 char-I for- AZONE
the reason, all equations used to describe AZONE
are also in units.
For simplicity, the mass flows, and , are
evaluated at the end of the interval, and a small
was used to minimize errors. However, these
could be at a time within interval the
goal of using a larger interval.
The mass of i n the layer at the end of the
interval can be expressed as
= mass of layer at the beginning inter-
val (kg),
= of smoke layer at the end of the interval (kg).
The change in energy of the smoke layer can be
expressed as
where
change in energy of the smoke layer
= specific heat of smoke K)
= wall heat transfer fraction (dimensionless);
= absolute of plume gases entering
smoke layer (K);
= absolute of smoke layer gases at the
beginningof the time interval (K);
= absolute ambient (K);
As with the mass flows, evaluated at the end
of the interval. The ambient temperature is considered
constant throughout the calculations. The smoke tem-
perature, at the beginning of the interval was used
because the value at the end is unknown. Selection of a
interval makes the resulting error negligible.
The energy in the layer is
where
energy of the smoke layer at the beginning of the
energy of the smoke layer at the end of the interval
The smoke temperature, at end of the time
is
The density of the smoke layer is
where
smoke density at the end of the
(Pa);
R gas constant K).
The volume. of the smoke is
For an of constant cross section, height
of smoke above top of the is
.
where
=
, .
H =
=
A =
height of the smoke layer above the top
fuel (m);
height of atrium(m);
height of (m);
2
cross-sectional area of atrium(m ).
It should be noted that Hhas a different definition
in AZONE than it has for the empirical fillingequations.
The various height above are illustrated in Figure
Determination of for an atrium of variable area
is discussed later. The values at the end of the current
time step become those at the of the next time
step.
Plugholing
For each time interval, exhaust the
layer, is calculated, taking into account any
that might be happening. minimum smoke
layer depth to prevent is
where
d,,,
= smoke layer depth to prevent
ing
V,, = volumetric flow rate per exhaust inlet
= exhaust location factor (dimensionless);
0.15.
The volumetric flow per inlet is =
where is the number of exhaust inlets. The
exhaust from the smoke layer is
p for I
where
d = depth layer inlet,
a = exponent
Variable AtriumArea
Height and area pairs in descending order are pre-
scribed as and for i to n. For each height, h , the
atriumvolume, above that height is
The units of and are m, m
2
, and m
3
. The
terms and are terms of arrays (sequences of
numbers), and the subscripts i and j are what is referred
to as dummy variables. For example, where i = 3 is
the third value of the height array. Before calculations
are done for the time intervals, the values of are cal-
culated for i to
The atrium area at any height is
where
= atrium area above height (m
2
);
= height above atriumfloor (m).
j
= dummy variable such that , .
The volume above any heights is
where is the atriumvolume in m
3
above height
The height of smoke layer above the floor is the
value which satisfies the following equation:
The value of x satisfies Equation (14.33) can be
determined by any of a number of root finding methods.
In AZONE the method of bracketing and bisection was
used (Press et al.
The height of the smoke layer above the top of the
fuel is
Time Interval
The time At, needs to be selected so as to
minimize error. Theoretically, errors associated with the
interval size are due to inaccuracies of numbers used
from previous In AZONE, and are
calculated in the previous interval, and the values of the
heat release rate and exhaust airflow are each evaluated
9. The interval should not be confused with
output Calculations are made at each time
interval. but data writtenat theoutput intervals.
Chapt er Syst ems
Table 14-2:
The Effect of Time Interval on the Accuracyof AZONE
Time Steady
Fast t-squared
Atrium Cross-sectional Interval,
Height, H Area, A Simulation Time Simulation Time
ft m S S S
Small Atrium
30 1,000 93 0.005 30 0.0 90 0.0
0.0 30 0.0 90 0.0
0.05 30 0.2 90 0. I
0.20 30 1.2 90 0.2
30 90 0.50 3.7 0.6
30 7.7 90 1.2
5.00 30 65.0 90 G. I
Small Spread-Out At ri um
30 9.14 12,000 1,110 0.01 240 0.0 300 0.0
0.05 240 0.0 300 0.0
0.20 240 0. I 300 0.1
0.50 240 0. I 0.1
.OO 240 0.3 300 0.3
5.00 240 I 300 I
20.00 210 6.3 300 6.1
At ri um
I SO 45.7 25,000 2,320 0.0 0.0 300 0.0
0.05 480 0.0 300 0.0
0.20 480 0.0 300 0. I
0.50 480 0. I 300 0. I
0.3 0.3
5.00 I I .A
70.00 480
Large Spread-Out At ri um
20.00 200 0.7 600 0.7
I . ( l (31 no (4) top lloor
(5) wall transfer fraction
2. The steady 5.000
3. For the 1-squared growth
4. The error, error height, using i s smallest
at a point in interval. For calculations made
successively smaller interval sizes. values
o f such theoretical errors also become smaller.
In t o errors. errors
also can be associated with interval size. The o f
numerical is predictions
for very small can errors. So
time interval needs to s o i t is nei-
ther too large or too
Table lists
for several values categories ( I )
small, (2) small spread out. (3) large, and (4) large
spread out. to of the
smoke layer, and errors (not of smoke layer
less. intervals used, round-off
errors due to small did not occur.
largest 14.2 65% for a
steady in that
errors can become so large that results of a simulation For the small atrium, this interval resulted in errors
can be meaningless. What is desired is an interval size 0.1%and 0.2% for the t-squared fire and the steady fire.
that has acceptable errors for all atria that might be Accordingly, 0.05 was chosen as the time interval
An interval of 0.05 results in errors less than AZONE.
0.05% for all the atrium size categories except small.
CHAPTER15
Physical
0
ne option when conventional methods of analy-
sis are inappropriate is fire testing in a reduced
scale model, and there is considerable experi-
ence with application of physical models to fire
technology. Such scale has been used to
rsconstruct fires for fire investigations. Two examples
of such fire reconstructions are the King's Cross subway
station fire in London, United Kingdom et al.
and the Hart department store fire
and 1997).
Froude is probably the most common
kind of physical used for smoke transport, and
NFPA 92B recognizes Froude as a method of
analysis of smoke management systems for atria.
This chapter addresses the fundamentals of physical
of smoke movement with special emphasis on
Froude modeling. For further information about fire
applications of physical modeling, readers are referred
to and
Heskestad (l and
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS
AND SIMILITUDE
The idea of dimensional analysis is to express a
complicated process in terms of a relatively few
sionless variables. This can simplify the analysis and
make physical possible. Many dimensionless
parameters can be viewed as being ratios of fluid forces.
Three dimensionless parameters that- are of particular
interest in this chapter are the Reynolds number, Froude
number, and Prandtl number.
The Reynolds number can be thought of as the ratio
of the inertial forces to the viscous forces. and this num-
ber distinguishes between flow regimes such as
and turbulent. The Reynolds is
R, = Reynolds number,
I = length,
C' velocity,
p = density, and
p = dynamic viscosity.
The above equation is a little from that
given in Chapter G for the Reynolds number. In Chapter
the Reynolds number was expressed in terms of kine-
matic viscosity, v, where v = Also, the units of the
variables are given in Chapter G . Most of the equations
in this chapter are intended to describe physical
ing and not be used for calculations. Accordingly, units
are not given for variables in most equations of this
chapter. However, all of these equations are valid for
units or any other homogeneous unit system (Appendix
A).
The Froude number can be thought of as the ratio of
inertial forces to gravity forces. Because the buoyancy
of hot smoke is a gravity force, the Froude is
very important i n physical of smoke
ment. The Froude is
10. An alternate fonn of the Froude number is
This is 'simply the square root of the Froudc
number. which i s used in this book, and basic
concerning the Froude number and scaling
for Froudc are
form of the Froudc is
Chapter 15-Physical
where
= Froude number,
g = acceleration of gravity, and .
U = velocity.
The Prandtl number is a dimensionless number,
which is the following combination of fluid properties:
Table15-1:
Quantitiesand Associated Dimensional Formulas
where
P, =
=
k =
=
Prandtl number,
constant pressure specific heat,
dynamic viscosity, and
thermal conductivity.
Dimensional Formulas
The system of primary dimensions (or base dimen-
sions) can be chosen as length L, time t , temperature
and mass M. The dimensional of a physical
quantity follows definitions or physical laws. For
example, the dimensional formula doorway width is
[L] by definition. The brackets [ indicate that the quan-
tity has the dimensional formula within the brackets.
The formula of velocity is [L /t] and that of
acceleration is [L
For a homogeneous unit Newton's second
law is
where
F = force,
= mass, and
a = acceleration.
The dimensional for force is the dimen-
sional of mass times that of acceleration. This is
[ML Work is force acting through a distance, so the
units of work are The dimensional formulas
of a number of physical quantities are listed in Table
15.1.
A dinlensionless quantity has no dimensions; for
example, the dimensions of the Froude number can be
evaluated as
I I . For a discussion of uni t systems,
A.
Dimensional
Quantity
Formula
Length L
Time
Mass
Temperature
Force
Heat
Velocity
Acceleration
Work
Pressure
Density
Internal
Enthalpy
Specific heat of a solid
Constant pressure specific heat
Constant volume specific heat
Dynamic viscosity
Kinematic viscosity
conductivity
Other dimensionless quantities can be evaluated in
the same
The Theorem
The (pi) theorem (Buckingham states that,
for any application or process that includes
quantities in which there are m dimensions, the quanti-
ties can be arranged into independent
less parameters. further, some functional relation of
these - independent dimensionless parameters
exists that describes the physical application or process.
Consider an application for which A,, . . A,,
are the essential quantities involved. such as length,
velocity, pressure, etc. A functional relation of
these quantities can describe the application, and this
can be expressed as
A, , ) O. 5.6)
The quantities A,, can be arranged
into dimensionless groupings or parameters
The functional relation of these groups
will also describe the application
The advantage of using the groups is that the
number of independent variables is reduced from m to m
- n. For a specific application, some of the groups
may be constants.
algebraic technique for determination of the
groups based on the theorem is presented in a number
of texts, such as Kreith (1965) and and Wylie
(1979). A disadvantage with this technique is that there
is no one unique solution for the groups, and a num-
ber of possible combinations of groups may need to
be evaluated.
Similitude
Physical has been in many areas of
engineering, such as wind tunnel studies of aircraft,
flow in rivers, and smoke transport buildings. The basic
concept is that a scale of a full-scale facility is
built, and conditions of the tests are maintained such
that the groups are preserved. This means that at a
particular location in the each group has the
same value as it has at the corresponding location in the
full-scale facility.
For perfect similitude, all the groups would be
preserved. Fortunately, perfect not always
necessary. Useful results can be obtained from preserva-
tion of only some of the groups, provided that the
impact of other groups is not significant. This is
explained later.
Development of Groups
An alternative to the theoremapproach for devel-
oping groups is the differential equation approach,
which is more elegant and provides a high level of
understanding. Further, the differentia; equation
approach can be used to develop groups for physical
of smoke movement in general, and those
groups can then be evaluated for specific
approaches.
For the development of the dimensionless groups of
interest, the governing equations of fluid dynamics that
are listed below are i n a one-dimensional form.
Conservation of Mass:
(15.8)
Conservation of in the Vertical Direction:
and
p, is the ambient pressure distribution.
Conservation of Energy:
Equation of State:
The equation of state for an ideal gas is
Variables in the above governing equations are
= specific heat,
g = acceleration of gravity,
k = conductivity,
=
= pressure,
p, = ambicnt pressure,
= of velocity,
= position,
Q"' = rate of chemical energy per unit volume,
= ambicnt density,
I = radiant intensity,
K = absorption coefficient,
= Stefan-Boltzman constant,
= dynamic viscosity.
For an gas, the gas constant, R, is
where C,, is the constant volume specific heat.
Dimensionless variables are defined below.
where
= (15.10)
Chapter 15-Physical
where
= geometric length scale,
U = characteristic velocity,
= characteristic time,
= ambient temperature,
= ambient pressure,
= ambient density,
where the characteristic time, is chosen to be This
means that = Because this group is a constant, it is
always preservedand can be ignored.
The next group is
3
p+ = characteristic pressure defect
By the dimensionless variables of
Equations 5.15) to 5.23) into the governing equa-
tions, the following form of the govern-
ing equations can be developed:
Mass:
Momentum:
Energy:
where is the characteristic pressure defect =
Substituting this definition of into Equation (15.29)
results i n I , so this groupalso can be ignored.
The third group is
is the Froude number, As previously stated, the Froude
can be of as the ratio of inertial forces to
buoyancy gravity forces.
The four-th group is
is the number.
The nest is
is For gases including air, the
Prandtl is nearly constant with respect to tempera-
ture. is air with a amount of
combustion products. and the properties of are gen-
erally taken to be as those of air. Thus, can be
for in air.
groups pertain to heat transfer:
and
(l 5.26)
+ + +
= 5.35)
he last group is
State:
= ( l
n
is commonly ratio of specific heats,
The is
= -
I
and this ratio is a constant ideal gases. For air, the
of hears has a constant value of 1.4.
Thus, that is done i n
air.
.
0 600 1200 1800
Time
Figure 15.1 Froude of corri-
dor gas temperature (adapted
Quintiere, and Kashiwagi
9
TYPES OF
Froude modeling, saltwater modeling, and pressure
have all been used to simulate smoke move-
ment in fire applications. Each of these
approaches has less than perfect similitude in that no
practical approach can preserve all the groups. How-
ever, these approaches have produced good
quantitative results and provided insight into smoke
movement phenomena.
Froude
As previously stated, Froude is probably
the most common approach to the physical of
movement. A scale model of the room, atrium, or
other facility is built. Tests are conducted in the model
in air at normal atmospheric conditions. The scaling
relations are used to size the design fire and any forced
air flows, and these relations are used to translate mea-
surements from the model to the full-scale facility.
These scaling relations are discussed later in detail.
Because buoyancy is a gravity force and dominates
the flow resulting fires, the Froude number
must be preserved. For reasons already discussed,
and are also preserved.
If the size of the is appropriately chosen, the
flow becomes fully turbulent and the viscous effects at
solid surfaces are negligible. For this reason, the
nolds number can be ignored. Information is pro-
vided later about sizing the model to minimize
effects of not preserving the number.
For Froude modeling, the temperatures from 'the
model are the same as for corresponding places in the
full-scale facility. Because the temperatures are the
same for both, the heat transfer is somewhat similar for
both. However, the heat transfer groups are
not preserved. For smoke away from the flame, the tem-
perature is low enough so that the heat transfer groups
do not need to be preserved. However, for higher tem-
perature gases, such as those of flames, neglecting these
groups is inappropriate.
There has been considerable experience with
Froude modeling, and the comparison between
scale and scale model temperatures (Figure 15. l ) by
Quintiere, and Kashiwagi (1978) illustrates
the degree of agreement that can be expected. Chow and
Lo (1995) used Froude to simulate smoke
movement and smoke filling in an atrium.
Saltwater
The use of one fluid to model the flowof another is
called analog modeling, and saltwater has been used
extensively to model smoke movement. The idea of salt-
water is to submerge the scale model in a tank
of fresh water and inject saltwater to simulate a heat
source. Because the saltwater has a higher density than
fresh water, the saltwater tends to flow down, whereas
smoke tends to flow upward. This is accommodated by
turning the model upside down in the tank.
Frequently, the models are constructed of a trans-
parent polymer, and the saltwater is dyed blue. This
helps people to see, photograph, and video the
flow. The major advantage of saltwater is
probably that it helps people to visualize smoke P-ow.
Saltwater is similar to Froude
in that the Froude number is preserved. The
of salt is adjusted such that the density forces of the
saltwater in the model correspond to that of smoke in
the full-scale facility. Saltwater has no heat
transfer, but the saltwater mixes with the fresh water as
it flows in the model. Because of the lack of heat trans-
fer, saltwater is not appropriate for
tions of flow of flames or flow near flames.
Chow and Siu conducted smoke filling visu-
alization experiments on several atria using saltwater
modeling. Yii (1998) conducted a series of saltwater
experiments of balcony spill plumes. For gen-
eral information about saltwater modeling, see Steckler,
and Quintiere (1986).
Chapter -
Pressure
Pressure is included for completeness.
This preserves both the Froude number and
the Reynolds number. The Reynolds number is pre-
served by changing the ambient pressure. The pressures
can be described as
where
p,, = pressure of the model, psi (Pa);
of the facility, psi (Pa);
I,,, = length in the model, m(ft);
= length in the full-scale facility, m(ft);
The units listed for Equation (15.37) are ones that
might be expected for this application, but this equation
is applicable to a wide range of units provided that both
pressures are in the same units and both lengths are in
the same units. For example, the pressures could be in
atmospheres. and the lengths could be in inches.
A one-eighth-scale would need to be tested
in a pressure vessel at a pressure of about 23 atmo-
spheres. Probably due to the expense of testing in a pres-
sure vessel and the extent to which Reynolds number
effects can be minimized in Froude modeling, pressure
is hardly used. Like Froude
pressure does not preserve the transfer
groups.
SCALI NG RELATIONS FOR
FROUDE
The basic concept of a model is
where
= position in the ft
position in facility,
l,,, length in the model, (m);
= i n the facility,
f
The ratio (I,,, is scale of For
example, for a one-tenth-scale l,,,
As already stated for Froude modeling, the temper-
atures the model are the same as for corresponding
places in facility. Thus, the scaling relation
for temperature is
= temperature of gas in model, "F ("C);
= temperature of gas in full-scale facility, "F ("C).
Because the model and the facility
the same temperature and pressure, the scaling relation
for density is
where
= density of gas in model, and
density of gas in full-scale facility,
Preservation of the Froude number can be
expressed as
U,,, velocity in the model, Ws
velocity in the full-scale facility, and
g
= acceleration of gravity, (m/s
2
).
It follows from Equation that the scaling
relationship for velocity is
where
U,, velocity in the
= velocity in the full-scale facility,
I,,, length in the model, (m); and
= length in the full-scale facility, (m).
The units listed above for the variables of Equation
(15.42) were selected as they are ones that might be
used for an application, but many other units can be
used in this equation. The requirements for units are that
U,, and must be in same units, and and
be in the same units. For example, both could
be in feet per minute (fpm), and both lengths could be in
inches. All scaling discussed in this section
are of a similar form, and this basic idea about suit-
ability of a wide range of units is also for all these
other scaling relationships.
Volumetric flow is velocity multiplied by area, and
the relation
where
V,,, volumetric flow in model, (m
3
/s);
volumetric flow in full-scale facility, (m
3
/s).
Mass flow rate is volumetric flow multiplied by
density, s o combining Equations (15.40) and
results in
h,,, =
where
= mass flow in model, (kg
= mass flow in full-scale facility,
Velocity is length per unit time, and substituting U,,,
= and Equation (15.43) results in
where
= time in model,
= time in facility,
Consider the convective heat portion of the heat
release rate as enthalpy flows. Q,,, = and
= = AT,,, = then Equation
becomes
where
Q,, = heat release rate in model, (kW);
heat release rate in full-scale facility, (kW).
If the convective fraction of the fire in the
is the same as in the full-scale facility, the
scaling relation for the convective heat release rate is
where
Q,, = convective heat release rate in model, (kW);
= convective heat release rate in full scale facility,
(kW).
The ressure difference due to velocity is
= and
and substituting this
into Equation 5.42) yields (remember, p p,,,
where
= pressure difference in model, in. (Pa);
= pressure difference in full-scale facility, in.
The use of some of the scaling relations is illus-
trated in 15.1 and 15.2.
chi, and Uehara (1990) conducted experiments that
verified the above scaling equations for smoke move-
ment in atria. Quintiere, and Kashiwagi
(1978) conducted smoke movement experiments that
verified these scaling relations for smoke flow in a
.
and corridor.
Example 15.1 The Scaled Fire
For a 5000 (5280 kW) fire in a full-scale facility, what
is the correspondingfire in a one-sevtnth scale model?
Using Equation
5/ 2
= kW).
I
1.75 ft above the floor at 42 after ignition.
does this convert to the full-scale facility?
Rearrange Equation as
Rearrange Equation as
= = = 14 ft (4.27 m).
This means that at the smoke layer would descend to
14 ft m) above the floor in the full-scale facility.
Approximate Heat Transfer Scaling
Even though the heat transfer groups and the
nolds number were not preserved, heat transfer
effects can be partially preserved by considering surface
heat transfer and solid heat transfer. For a semi-infinite
surface, the wall and ceiling can be scaled by
where
= thennal inertia of the wall or ceiling material
of the model, in m-'
Chapter 15-Physical
= thermal inertia of the wall or ceiling material
of the facility, in
The thermal inertia for several materials is
listed in Appendix A (Tables A10 and A1I). Example
15.3 illustrates calculation of the scale thermal proper-
ties. In this example, Equation (15.49) was used to scale
the inertia of the model to 3.8
(0.44 inertia only needs to be
scaled very roughly, and materials ranging from con-
crete to plasterboard would be acceptable (Tables
and I).
Example 15.3 ScaleThermal Properties
The walls and ceiling of a full-scale facility are made of
How do the properties scale to a
scale model?
FromTable A10 (Table All units), concrete is
25 (2.9 Using Equation
0.9
I I
properties only need be scaled very roughly, and
a wide of materials would be acceptable.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
FROUDE
Sometimes it is stated that the scale model needs to
be built such that dimension is an exact fraction of
the full-scale facility, but not every small detail of the
full-scale facility needs to be replicated. Little objects
such as light fixtures, light switches, doorknobs,
smoke detectors, and sprinklers would not be
expected to impact the gross flow of smoke, and these
objects can be neglected. In the absence of
oped criteria about the size of such little objects, it is
suggested that objects less than about 9 in. (0.23 m) can
probably be neglected.
As already stated, the size of the model needs to be
chosen appropriately that the viscous effects are neg-
ligible and the Reynolds number can be ignored.
The model needs to be large enough so that the flow is
fully turbulent at locations of interest. The general rule
is that the smallest length that can support such turbu-
lent flow is about (0.3 m).
The following example illustrates the selection of
the scale for a model. Consider that it is desired to real-
istically determine flows in openings from the atrium to
the communicating spaces. These openings are 8 (2.4
m) high and 12 m) wide. Consider that this height
is the smallest location where fully developed flow is
needed. Then this opening in the scale model should not
be less than about I (0.3 m) in the Thus, the
model should be one-eighth scale for each
should be determined by consider-
ation of what flows are important to simulate.
While heat transfer effects can be
preserved by scaling the thermal inertia using Equation
only very rough scaling is as discussed
above. Glass is often used for some of the walls to make
of smoke flow possible.
As previously stated, Froude is appropri-
ate for smoke temperature away from the flame. Froude
is appropriate for simulation of smoke
port of an atrium fire where the flames do not reach the
ceiling. The not be expected to be mod-
eled realistically, but the flows away from the
flames would be expected to be realistically
Froude would also be appropriate for
simulation of smoke flows i n a building from a fully
developed fire. Because of high temperatures,
is not appropriate for the fire room or any
flames that might be flowing from that room, but realis-
tic of smoke flow away from the fire room
. ,
would be espected.
CHAPTER16
Computational Fluid Dynamics
C
omputational fluid dynamics (CFD) consists of
dividing a space into a large number of control
and using a computer to calculate
approximate solutions to governing equations for
each control volume. These control volumes are often
called cells. CFD is sometimes called field modeling,
and a thorough knowledge of this topic requires an
understanding of graduate level fluid dynamics. The
intent of this chapter is to provide some understanding
of capabilities and limitations of CFD with respect
to fire applications and smoke flow in atria for readers
who do not have such an understanding of fluid dynam-
ics.
Many computer CFD programs have been devel-
oped that are capable of simulation of fire-induced
flows. (1992) discusses ten such codes. Sev-
eral of these are general purpose codes that are commer-
cially available. For information about CFD,
readers are referred to Anderson, Tannehill, and Pletcher
(1984); Abbott and Basco Hoffmann (1989);
Hirsch (1988; 1990); (1983); and Markatos
(1986).
This chapter addresses the basic concepts of CFD
modeling, including the approximations
for the effects of turbulence. A approach is also dis-
cussed that has the potential to accurately simulate tur-
bulence. This chapter is intended to provide background
information people interested in the possibility of
using CFD for management applica-
tions. Before using a CFD model, people should, at a
minimum, learn about the theory, capabilities, and limi-
tations of their specific model. This chapter is not a
treatment of the subject, and persons
desiring to write a CFD model need to go to other
Equations are used in this chapter for the purpose of
explaining concepts. Accordingly, units are not given
for variables in this section. However, all of these equa-
tions are valid for units or any other homogeneous
unit (see Appendix A). For details and equations
of particular CFD models, readers should see the docu-
mentation for the model.
EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS
The atrium in the Lloyds Building is ft by
ft (34.2 m by 1.6 m) and about 240 ft (72 m) high (Fig-
ure 16.1). For this shaft-like atrium, the plume would
contact the sides of the making the conventional
analytical methods for atria (Chapter 14) inappropriate.
Waters (1989) used CFD to smoke
movement in the atrium and design a smoke manage-
ment system.
The Hotel and Casino is a 30-story pyrami-
dal structure, 200 ft (61 m) high with a 500 ft by 500 ft
(150 m by m) base, as in Figure 16.2.
Because of the shape of the structure, conventional
analytical methods are not applicable. CFD
was used to design a unique smoke management system
for this structure (Evans 2001). The system consisted of
supply fans at the base of the structure and an exhaust at
the top. The supply fans produced an upward spiral flow
that kept the smoke away from the balconies. Other
atrium smoke management applications of CFD
ing are presented by (2001) and Mills (2001).
A fire application of CFD is the analysis of
flame blow-down 'at a Navy tire tighter training facility
(Forney and Davis 1992). The facility was used to recre-
ate the effects pool fires on the deck of a ship. A
section of surface was built of steel grating
Chapter 16-Computational Fluid Dynamics
below which there were computer-controlled
burners that simulated the fires. When there was little or
no wind, the flames would be 2.5 to 3 m (8 to 10
high. However, under moderate winds, the smoke and
flames would be blown down into the space below the
grating. A commercial CFD model was used to evaluate
possible alternative solutions to this problem and arrive
at a solution. One alternative was a wall intended to
shield the facility, and the performance of this is shown
in Figure 16.3. The wall did not prevent flame
down. The solution consisted of a combination of a
fence in place of the wall, plus pressurization of space
under the grating. When installed, this solution qualita-
tively as predicted.
(a) Typical Elevation
,Toilet Capsule
Elevator Exterior Elevators
CFD was used by Klote to study
the interaction between HVACairflowand smoke detec-
tor activation. A FORTRAN subroutine was written to
modify a commercially available CFD model to calcu-
late detector activation time. Figure 16.4 shows the cal-
culated activation time 2 in. (50 mm) below the
of an open plan office. As expected, the activation time
is delayed in front of the slot diffusers. The surprise
that activation time also delayed near the ceiling
return.
Comparisons fire data with CFD
tions have been conducted by Davis, Forney, and
(1991) and Morita and A CFD analysis
was as part of the fire reconstruction for the fire
the King's Cross train station in London, U.K.
Wilkes, and Jones 1989). CFD has been
to study smoke detector activation times under
ceilings Davis, and Klote 1992;
and Davis 1993). and Figure is a com-
parison of and measured temperatures under a
beamed ceiling.
Not e: The smoke mana
syst em consists
of suppl y fans (see
dashed l i nes) an
an exhaust at
CFD to
smoke the
Hotel
Open Boundary ,
Blow-down
Figure 16.3 CFD
Figure 16.4 Lines of smoke detector activation time
(seconds) 2 in. (50 below the ceil-
ing of an open plan
Klote 19996).
Experimental Data: 0
Simulated Data: 0 0
300
Figure 16.5 of temper-
atures and data for
a ceiling.
FUNDAMENTAL EQUATIONS
This section lists a very general form of the funda-
mental of fluid dynamics with the intent of
giving readers an appreciation of the level of complexity
of this topic. The equations of this section are for
unsteady, compressible, viscous with variable vis-
cosity.
Quantities that have only magnitude are scalars.
Examples of scalars are mass, density, area, and temper-
ature. A quantity that has niagniiude direction is a
provided that i t obeys the law of addition of vec-
tors illustrated in Figure 16.6.
In Cartesian coordinates, the vector a can be repre-
sented as a = + + a a,, and a, are
the of vector a in the directions,
respectively, and i , j, and are unit vectors in the
and directions, In a similar manner, the
vector b can be represented as b = + + . The
vector addition shown graphically in Figure 16.6 can
written as
a + b = .
The dot product of vectors a and b is
It can be observed that the addition of vectors
results in a vector, and the dot product of two vectors is
a scalar. Further about vector analysis is
provided in many texts, such as Hay (1953) and
Borisenko and Tarapov 968).
In Cartesian coordinates, the velocity vector, is
expressed as
where v, and are velocity components in the and
directions, respectively, and i, and k are unit vectors in
the y, and directions, respectively.
The conservation equations are written below.
Mass:
In Equations and the terms
that include the dynamic viscosity, p, called the vis-
cous terms. Because the dynamic viscosity is on the
order of kg the
terms are relatively small. While these viscous terms
can be neglected for many applications, they provide the
mechanism for converting kinetic energy to thermal
energy.
Chapter16-Computational Fluid Dynamics
Energy:
The dissipation represents the
at which energy is dissipated per unit volume through
the action of viscosity. The dissipation function tends to
cause flows to go to rest, and this function is expressed
as
Variables in the conservation equations above are
p = density,
p = pressure,
= viscosity,
k = conductivity,
T = absolute temperature,
= constant pressure specific heat,
g"' = heat release rate per unit volume,
I
= body force in the j direction, and
V = vector differential operator called del.
Del is defined as
V
If a scalar function, is operated on by del, it is
written as
The derivative acting on is defined as
Equationof State
In addition to the conservation equations, an equa-
tion relating pressure, temperature, and density is
needed. Such equations are called equations of state.
The perfect gas law is frequently used in CFD applica-
tions:
where R is the gas constant
Strictly speaking, the conservation of momentum
equations are the Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations, but the
term"N-S equations"is often used in a broader sense to
mean all of the conservation equations plus the equation
of state, and, in this chapter, the broader meaning is
used. It is not possible here to discuss all of the assump-
tions involved in the derivation of N-S equations. How-
ever, two of the more important ones are the continuum
assumption and the stress-strain relationship for a
tonian fluid. For an exhaustive derivation of the N-S
equations, readers are referred to 962).
At the level of generality presented above, i t is
beyond the state of technology to solve the N-S equa-
tions exactly. Even with the simplifying of
incompressibility or of Boussinesq is still not
possible to solve the three-dimensional N-S equations
exactly. Exact solutions have been obtained for a
nar flow in geometries, and the most notable
application of inexact solutions is to boundary layer
flows. Exact and inexact solutions are discussed in sev-
eral texts (White 1974; Sherman 1990; Schlichting
1960; Schetz By experimental verification of
these solutions, the N-S equations have themselves been
12. Boussinesq flow is an approximation to com-
pressible extends the incompressible flow
equations by considering density as afunction of
1990, p.
Note: The vectors can be added by
moving b so that "tail" is at the
arrow of a, then Ihe vector from the
of a to the arrow of b is the
(a) Two vectorsa and b of vectorsa andb
Figure 16.6 of of
verified for flow. There is no such verification
for turbulent flow. However, CFD simulations of turbu-
lent flow based on the N-S equations as discussed below
often correspond well with experimental data.
Boundary Conditions
In CFD modeling, the conditions at the boundaries
of the flow field need to be stipulated. Figure 16.4 is an
example of such boundaries. In this figure, the boundary
conditions consist of (I) solid wall (and ceiling), (2)
plane of symmetry, (3) velocity boundary, and (4) open
boundary. The most common condition for the solid
walls is zero velocity at the wall surface. At the solid
surfaces (walls, floors, and ceilings), the tangential com-
ponent of velocity is generally considered to be zero.
This boundary condition is referred to as the no-slip
condition.
The symmetry boundary can be compared to a mir-
ror in that it is as if the flow were reflected by this
boundary. As with a solid surface, there is no flow
through a symmetry boundary, but there can be flowat a
symmetry boundary provided that the direction of such
flow is in the plane of the boundary.
Both velocity and open boundaries can be used
where mass is to enter or leave the domain. The domain
is the region of space for which the simulation is made.
Velocity boundaries are used to define the velocity
entering or leaving the domain. For Figure 16.4, the slot
diffusers are velocity boundaries with velocities stipu-
lated at an angle such that the flow become
attached to the ceiling.
Open boundaries are also called pressure bound-
aries because the pressures outside the domain are stipu-
lated. The CFD model calculates the flows at these
boundaries from the pressures. To improve accuracy, the
domain is made larger than the volume of interest so that
the pressure boundaries are away from the volume of
interest. was done in the simulation shown in Fig-
ure The area in this figure is a slice through
the volume of interest, but the domain is larger so that
the flow is simulated for some distance beyond the open
boundaries and the ceiling return.
TURBULENCE
Because air cannot be seen, people are not aware of
the turbulent nature of the flow that surrounds them. A
cup of coffee can be used as a simple way to illustrate
turbulence. after coffee has been poured, the
surface of the coffee in the cup appears still and the cof-
fee seems to be completely at rest. However, when
cream is poured into the cup, the eddies and vortices i n
the flow becomes obvious.
Most of the flow of smoke management applica-
tions is turbulent. In Chapter 6, the of stationary
Principles of Smoke
vortices on the flow open stairwell doors is dis-
cussed. The turbulent nature of fire plumes is apparent
to anyone who has seen one.
In CFD modeling, the turbulent effects that are
smaller than the cell size cannot be simulated by solving
the N-S equations. Turbulence has been devel-
oped to account for these small-scale effects, and turbu-
lence is based on Reynolds averaging as
discussed below.
Reynolds Averaging
Conventional CFD is based on the
assumption that the fluctuations associated with turbu-
lence are random. There is evidence that this may not be
true, but the CFD technology that has been developed
using this assumption has considerable utility. The
averaged quantity is as
The "randomly" changing variables are considered
to be made up of a time average plus a fluctuation.
These are written as
Figure illustrates average and fluctuating
velocity in the X-direction. The time average of a fluctu-
ating quantity is zero.
I t follows that
and
While = the product of two quan-
tities is not equal to zero
).
CFD with turbulence was initially devel-
oped for incompressible and so Reynolds
ing is illustrated here for that flow. Equation
becomes
This is the conservation of mass equation, and it is
also called the continuity equation.
Chapter16-Computational FluidDynamics
Time
(a) Steady Flow
Time
Unsteady Flow
Figure Velocity components in the X-direction
Applying the averaging to Equation yields a
time-averaged conservation equation:
This is called the Reynolds averaged .continuity
equation. of Equation (16.20) shows that it
is similar to Equation (16.31) except that the variables
are replaced by average terms plus some fluctuating
components.
For incompressible flow with constant viscosity,
Equation (l 6.5) can be written as
a 2
+ --
a~ E)] ( I ~ . ~ ~ )
This is the conservation of momentum equation in
the X-direction, and it can be time averaged as was
with the continuity equation.
a [ [C" --
+ - p -+- -
a l
Equation (16.23) is the Reynolds averaged
equation for incompressible flow. In the
manner, the rest of the governing equations can be aver-
aged to a set of Reynolds averaged N-S equations.
Turbulence
With the N-S equations, there is one unknown vari-
able for each equation, and this one-to-one correspon-
dence of unknowns and equations is an essential
condition for solution of the system of equations.
Because of Equation there are two unknown
variables for each equation with the Reynolds averaged
N-S equations. In order to solve the Reynolds averaged
N-S equations, additional equations are necessary. This
addition of equations to the Reynolds averaged N-S
equations is called turbulence modeling.
additional equations are empirical, and they
can be algebraic equations, ordinary differential equa-
tions (ODE), or partial differential equations (PDE).
Classification of turbulence models is generally based
on the number of PDEs in the model. For example, the
Prandtl algebraic model has no and it is referred
to as a zero equation model. The k-E model is a
equation model, and Reynolds stress arc
to five-equation models. Each turbulence model has its
own and proponents who expound on those
advantages. Adiscussion of the various turbulence mod-
els is the scope of this chapter.
Because the k-E model is extensively implemented
in CFD codes, a few details of it are given. This model
was developed by analogy to incompressible boundary
layer (Harlow and Nakayama 1968; Launder and
The term k is the kinetic energy of tur-
bulence. and it is
I
+ v' v' + .
2
(16.24)
The is the turbulence dissipation rate,
where
I, dissipation length;
= constant.
Principles of Smoke
In addition to the constant, there are several
others, and the values in the 1974 paper by Launder and
Spalding are almost the same ones used for most appli-
cations today. Nam and (1993) developed modified
k-E that improve predictions slightly. It is
well known that CFD models with k-Eturbulence
predict the diameters of fire plumes. For a discussion
about extension of the k-E model to compressible flow
and a general presentation about the mathematics of
CFD to fire applications, the reader is referred to Kumar
(1983).
For decades, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, has
been conducting basic research in CFD of fire
and smoke transport. This research provides evidence
that turbulence is not made up of random fluctuations,
but that it has a structure of eddies and vortices that can
be simulated by computational methods. The CFD
model, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), is a product of
the NIST CFD research effort. FDS is in the public
domain, and it can be obtained from NISTat no cost.
Rehm and Baum (1978) of NIST developed a
unique of the N-S equations that incorporates
pressibility effects sufficient for thermally driven flows
of smoke and hot gases generated in a fire. Also at
NIST, the FDS model was developed (McGrattan et al.
2000; McGrattan and which solves the N-
S equations developed by and Baum. FDS uses a
numeric based on fast Fourier transforms (FFT)
that reduces calculation to a fraction of that with
conventional models. Because FDS does not rely on
Reynolds average equations and turbulence modsling, it
has the potential to simulate turbulence realisti-
cally.
The key to the level of flow detail that can be pro-
duced by FDS is the large number of cells that can be
used. in all CFD models, the flow field is divided into a
number of cells. The higher the of cells, the
greater the flow detail and the greater the running time.
A 100,000 cell with a conventional CFD
model take about the same as a cell
FDS all other things being equal. It is
no wonder that FDS is capable of very realistic flow
simulations.
A limitation of FDS is that cells rectan-
gular aspect ratios arc not large. This
is due to the FFT solver. This means that the grid
cells cannot conform to curved shapes or that are
not at angles ro the orhcr
small cells can be steps
GoverningEquations
FDS solves the governing equations listed
plus conservation of species equations. Species equa-
tions are used in many CFD programs to simulate the
flow of various gases (such as CO, etc.).
In FDS, p in Equation 16.13 is replaced by a con-
stant "background" pressure, p,. The use of this "back-
ground" pressure in the equation of state is referred to as
the low Mach number assumption. The Mach number is
the ratio of velocity to the speed of sound, and the low
Mach number assumption filters out the sound waves
that travel at speeds much faster than those of typical
fire applications. This filtering out of sound waves has
the advantage that the time step in the numerical solu-
tion is bound only by flow speeds and not the speed of
sound.
As already stated, FDS does not rely on Reynolds
average equations and turbulence modeling. For FDS
where the grid resolution is not fine enough
to capture the mixing process at all relevant scales, a
large eddy simulation (LES) can be used. In the LES,
the viscosity is as
where
= viscosity used in LES,
= empirical constant,
= length on the order of a grid cell, and
= of the stress tensor.
The square of magnitude of the stress is
In Equation the maximumof p or
where p is dynamic viscosity of gas
or average of the dynamic viscosities of
the constituent gases when individual species are simu-
lated. Use of the viscosity of Equation (16.26) accounts
for viscous effects on a scale smaller than the cell size.
and Verification of FDS
While i t is impossible to completely verify any
CFD model, FDS was used extensively for fire applica-
tions for several years before i t was released to the pub-
lic. A sample of these applications of FDS arc
McGrattan, Baum, and (1996, 1999);
and McGrattan (1996); and Baum.
Chapter16-Computational Fluid Dynamics
and Rehm (1996, These simuiations included
room fires, warehouse fires, townhouse fires,
hangar fires, sprinklered fires, unsprinklered fires, and
fires with draft curtains.
An FDS simulation of a fire has realistic pul-
sating eddies, as shown in Figure 16.8, and average
velocities and temperatures of this simulation agree well
with experimental data, as can be seen in Figure 16.9.
SOFTWARE
Typically, software for CFD applications falls into
one of the following groups: (I) pre-processing, (2) pro-
cessing, and (3) post-processing. Not all CFD packages
have all of these groups, but they are available
Figure 16.8 FDS
1997).
in all of the large commercial packages. Pre-processing
software helps the user generate the grid, the
boundary conditions, and define other input parameters.
For geometries that are somewhat complicated, grid
generation capabilities can save significant amounts of
user time.
FDS is an exception in that there is no pre-process-
ing software, and the data are read directly by the pro-
cessing software before simulation. Because FDS
allows only rectangular cells, the lack of pre-processing
software is not a disadvantage.
CFD codes allow the user to write FOR-
TRAN routines that become part of the processing soft-
ware. Such routines can define an unusual boundary
condition or the performance of a detector. For some
commercial packages, user written FORTRAN
routines are essential in order to simulate smoke trans-
port in buildings. While FDS allows the user to modify
the FORTRAN code, this is not needed, as
FDS was specifically written for fire applications.
For a three-dimensional simulation, it is not
unusual to divide the space of interest into about 50,000
cells, and some applications have many times more. For
each cell, pressure, density, temperature, three velocity
components, and a number turbulence vari-
ables are calculated several for each second of
simulated time. To reduce the size of files, data are not
stored for every time step calculated-in some cases, it
is stored every seconds of simulated time. If a fire
simulation has 50,000 cells and saves 10 variables per
cell for each seconds simulated, 20 of simu-
lated fire results i n the generation of a file of over 60
million numbers. It is not feasible to examine so many
numbers in tabular to understand the results of a
CFD simulation, and graphical techniques are needed.
2.5 o Correlation of 0.6
Calculated By Model
0.5
C
1.5
.
1.0
0
0.2
0.5
0.1
F
0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 3
Cross Plume Distance, Cross Plume Distance,
Figure 16.9
a pool
software is used for graphic display the public domain so that it can be obtained at
of data from the files. This display can vary simple Because it has been specifically developed
two-dimensional black-and-white contour plots to applications, it does not require that the user write
dimensional movies where the view can move code in order to make routine smoke transport
around the flow field. Smokeview (Forney and simulations.
tan 2000) is the post-processing package that was
The general purpose commercial CFD models have
cifically for FDS.
typically taken tens or hundreds of person years to
CONSIDERATIONS ABOUTCFD
For a CFD simulation, the choice of CFD software,
form of N-S equations, grid, turbulence model, fire
model, boundary conditions, and other factors need to
be chosen so that they are appropriate for the applica-
tion. For a specific application, there are many CFD
approaches that can provide useful information.
CFD requires experience and an
understanding of the technology. However, a few com-
ments can be made.
A CFD model developed specifically for fire appli-
cations or a general purpose commercial CFD model
can be used for smoke management applications. The
FDS model is a product of the government and is in
develop. These models are rich in features that allow
them to be used for a wide range of applications, such as
aircraft design and air movement in rooms.
To simulate the buoyant flow associated with fire
applications, it is generally accepted that the N-S equa-
tions need to be capable of simulating compressible
flow. This can either be by using the fully compressible
version of the N-S equations, or a compressible
formas is done in FDS. Because the Boussinesq approx-
imation does not accurately simulate compressibility
effects at high temperatures, it generally is not consid-
ered appropriate for fire applications. However, for
temperature smoke at a distance away from a fire, the
Boussinesq approximation can yield useful results.
CHAPTER17
Commissioning and Routine Testing
C
ommissioning and routine testing are needed to
ensure that smoke management will
function as intended during fire. situations.
Many of the encountered during acceptance
testing stem from about the system's
ability to control smoke and misunderstandings about
the intended function of a particular system. This chap-
ter deals with determination of type of measure-
ments should be made and how to them. Further,
most smoke management should require adjust-
ments of supply airflow rates or pressure relief vent
openings to accommodate the particular leakage charac-
teristics of the buildings in which they are located.
These adjustments can be made in conjunction with the
acceptance test. Commissioning procedures for new
include
inspection of the system components,
testing of the system operation. and
balancing of the system to ensure
Testing and balancing of the system can be con-
ducted together. Frequently, local authorities want to be
present at a test of a smoke manage-
ment system. Such a formal acceptance test should be
preceded by inspection, testing, and balancing. Before
acceptance testing, the owner, designer, builder, and
code officials should agree upon what constitutes
acceptable Acceptable performance
should be based on measurements of appropriate design
parameters. such as pressure differences, air velocities,
and flow rates. If appropriate, the capabilities of sys-
tem to prevent smoke feedback into protected spaces
should be tested.
Acceptable performance for a new system does not
ensure that. years later, the system will accept-
ably during a fire. Components deteriorate with age and
can be inadvertently damaged during building modifica-
tions. For these reasons, annual testing of smoke man-
agement systems is recommended to provide a level of
assurance that the system will function as desired in the
event of a fire. The methods testing should be
the as those of testing. Deficiencies
encountered during routine testing should be corrected
as soon as possible. These corrections include bal-
ancing to correct for changes in building leakage and
patching of gaps, holes, and cracks in barriers of smoke
management systems.
Inspection, testing, and balancing smoke man-
agement systems can be conducted by the building
owner, the construction contractor, a testing and balanc-
ing contractor, a code official, or other person.
Regardless of who the work, all measurements
made should be recorded for inspection. Typically, code
check for compliance with local codes, whereas
building and engineering and architectural firms
also conduct inspections, for compliance with
the contract documents. and routine
testing are simplified when is checked or
against some standard. Contract documents
can be prepared to reflect agreement between the owner,
designer, builder, and code official as to what constitutes
acceptable performance. In the following discussion in
this chapter and referenced appendices, the phrase
"as specified" is used to mean as specified in accor-
dance with a standard or standards that have been
agreed upon by the parties involved.
Chapter Routine Testing
General information about testing and balancing of
HVAC systems is provided by (1993) and
ASHRAE (1999). Additional information about com-
missioning smoke management systems is available
from ASHRAEGuideline (ASHRAE 1994).
INSPECTION
Inspection consists of checking smoke management
system components, which include barriers, air-moving
equipment, controls, and electric power supply. For
pressurized stairwells, the barriers consist of the stair-
well walls, ceiling, and doors. For zoned smoke control,
the barriers are the walls, floor, and ceiling separating
the zones. For elevator smoke control, the barriers
would be of the elevator shaft and its lobbies. Walls,
partitions, floors, and ceilings should be checked for
obvious and unusual openings that could adversely
affect smoke control performance. Gaps around doors
should be as specified. Automatic door closers that are
part of the control system should be of the type
specified.
The air-moving equipment to be checked includes
ducts, access openings in ducts, fans, fire dampers, and
dampers. The materials and construction of ducts
should be checked. Dampers should be the type speci-
fied and installed where and in the manner specified.
Components of the control system should be checked to
determine that they art: as specified. Any special electri-
cal power requirements, such as power or dual
feeds, should be checked. General inspection procedures
are presented in appendix and these are only intended
as a guide for the development of specific procedures
for individual smoke management systems.
TESTING AND BALANCING
SMOKE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
If power or other emergency has
been provided for the operation of the smoke manage-
ment system, acceptance testing shall be conducted with
emergency power and normal power. During one test
started under power conditions, the normal
power shall be shut off to determine the ability of the
system and all associated systems to properly operate
under power or other emergency power.
Zoned Smoke Control
For zoned smoke control systems, one should
be put into the smoke control and the pressure
differences at the boundaries of that zone should be
measured. After snloke control operation i n that zone
has deactivated, another zone should be in
the same This should be repeated unt i l all
smoke zones have tested. Systems with automatic
activation should be activated by putting an appropriate
initiating device into alarm.
Pressurized Stairwells
With all stairwell doors closed, pressure differences
across each stairwell door should be measured. Then
one door should be opened, and pressure difference
measurements made at each closed stairwell door. This ,
should be repeated until the number of doors opened
equals the number of doors required by the code author-
ity to be opened.
Elevator Smoke Control
The smoke control test depends on the type of ele-
vator smoke control system. In general, the design pres-
sure differences should be measured at the appropriate
locations for the particular design. If the intent the
system is to pressurize lobbies, pres-
sure differences across closed lobby the build-
ing should be measured. If the intent of the system is to
pressurize the elevator shaft to prevent smoke flow
through it, the pressure differences across the elevator
doors should be measured.
AtriumSmoke Management
Generally, designs for smoke management i n large
spaces will be based on providing specific exhaust
capacity from the upper region of the space and not
exceeding an airflow at openings into the space. These
flows and velocities should be measured. Upper layer
temperature of the space should be measured to ensure
that considerations about smoke stratification i n the
atrium are appropriate.
Caution about Smoke Bombs
A caution needs to be given concerning the use of
smoke bombs. For zoned snloke control systems, a
major problem with most bomb tests of smoke
control systems is that they are intended to test some
improvement of smoke conditions in the zone where the
fire is located. This is based on the mistaken belief that
smoke control is capable of producing a significant
improvement i n tenable conditions within the zone
where the fire is located.
Smoke bomb tests for zoned smoke control are
described here i n general so that the reader car.
recognize this type of test and understand the problems
with them. The control is put i n opera-
tion. In the zone that is being exhausted, a number of
smoke bombs are ignited. The smoke bombs produce all
of their smoke i n a few minutes, and the zone rapidly
fills with smoke. Because the smoke control system is
exhausting air and chemical from this zone, the
concentration of chemical smoke decreases with time. If
Principles of Smoke
at some specific time after ignition, a specific object
(such as an exit sign) is visible by a human observer at a
specific distance (such as 20 the smoke control sys-
tem is declared a success.
The problems with this type of smoke bomb test are
numerous, and the unrealistic nature of these tests was
illustrated by the smoke control experiments at the Plaza
Hotel. The criterion for operation is not
objective. Furthermore, the potential danger of exposing
the observer or other people to toxic chemical smoke
must be dealt with. The obscuration of smoke from a
building fire is very different from that of chemical
smoke. Most flaming fires produce a hot, dense, black
smoke, most smoke bombs produce a cool, white
smoke. At present, no information is available relating
the smoke obscuration of chemical smoke to that of
smoke from building fires. These problems can be over-
come by modifications to the test method. However, this
would not yield a test relevant for a smoke control sys-
tem. Because a smoke control system is intended to
maintain pressure differences at the boundaries of the
smoke zone, the system should be tested by measuring
pressure differences. A very serious with this
type of smoke bonib test is that it can give building
occupants and fire service officials a false sense of secu-
rity. The test can lead people to wrongly think that
zoned smoke control is capable of a signifi-
cant improvement in tenable conditions tlie fire
space.
Testing the performance of zoned snioke control
systems with chemical smoke fromsmoke bonibs is not
realistic for flaming fires in unsprinklered buildings.
Possibly the flow of unheated snioke is similar
to that of from a sprinklered fire or a smoldering
fire. However, the gases produced by a large flaming
fire in a building are in the range of 1200F to 1
to For chemical smoke to produce tlie
same buoyant pressure differences as gases, the
smoke would have to be heated to tlie
temperatures. is impractical because of the associ-
ated danger to life and property.
Smoke bonib tests of smoke management
are similar to those for zoned smoke control, except that
the bombs are set off i n tlie atrium the
atriuni system While atriuni smoke manage-
ment systems are intended to snioke conditions
in tlie atrium, cliemical snioke smoke bombs is so
different from snioke from a flaming tire tliat these
tests are not realistic. As zoned control,
concern witli this of snioke bomb is that it can
give building occupants and firs a false
sense of security.
Chemical or a gas (sucli as
liexatlouridc) can bc used to for
into supply air. proccdurc for testing witli
Figure 17.1 Setup for pressure difference
across a door.
chemical smoke is described here. A number of smoke
bombs are placed in a metal container, and all bombs are
simultaneously ignited. The container is located near an
exhaust inlet in the smoke zone being tested so that all
of the chemical smoke produced by the bombs is drawn
directly into the exhaust airstream. If chemical smoke is
detected in the supply air, its path should be determined,
the path should be blocked, and then tlie smoke feed-
back test should be conducted again.
Smoke bombs or other tracers can be useful in
locating the leakage paths tliat sometimes defeat a
smoke control system. For if the construction
of a is unusually leaky, pressurization of that
stairwell may not be possible fans sized for con-
struction of average tightness. Chemical smoke gener-
ated within the stairwell will flow through tlie leakage
paths and indicate their location so that they can be
caulked or sealed. General testing procedures are pre-
sented i n appendices H and I. As with Appendix G,
these are intended as a guide for tlie development of
specific procedures for individual smoke control sys-
tems.
DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE
INSTRUMENTATION
The setup for measuring pressure difference across
a door is illustrated in Figure 17.1. The convention of
this is that tlie instrument is on low-pressure
side of tlie door. Experience has that adherence to
a particular convention reduces and, thus,
potential for human error. A connected to the high-
pressure of tlie instrument goes through a gap
underneath and is terminated a tee on tlie
pressure side of the door. The is used to
any pressure errors to air velocity. Alternatively, tlie
tube can end a tee, provided it is located so that
the dynamic pressure component is
Chapter 17-Commissioning andRoutine Testing
or flexible plastic tube of 0.25 in. mm) outside
diameter works well for most cases. A narrow gap may
result in a pinched tube, invalidating any measurement.
Small diameter metal tubing can sometimes be used in
such cases, particularly through the gaps of some
keted doors.
The differential pressure instrument should have a
sensitivity of at least 0.01 in. (2.5 Pa), and gener-
ally a range from to 0.25 in. to 62 Pa) is suffi-
cient. Occasionally an instrument with a range of to
in. to 124 Pa) is needed.
Inclined Liquid Manometer
An inclined manometer with a liquid reservoir is
illustrated in Figure 17.2. This device indicates pressure
by the height of a column of liquid. Before any measure-
ments, the instrument must be so that it is level.
Generally, the scales of inclined manometers are com-
pensated for the liquid rise in the reservoir so that the
pressure difference can be read directly. The zero level
of these instruments can be adjusted by adding or
removing liquid from the reservoir or by changing the
position of the scale. Because the measurement princi-
ple of these devices is so fundamental, i t is believed that
available inclined manometers are of suf-
ficient accuracy smoke control testing inde-
pendent calibration.
Differential Pressure Gages
A without liquid has the advantage of conve-
nience over inclined manometer. Bourdon-tube
gages are the most common type of pressure gages, but
the friction of the linkages of these instru-
ments limits sensitivity. No Bourdon-tube gage is
known sensitivity for control
application. However, a magnetically coupled gage, as
illustrated i n Figure is sensitive, and
these gages have been used extensively for field tests of
High Low
Pressure
,Liquid
Reservoir
Adjustment
smoke control systems. The gage should have a stand so
that it can be set on the floor or other flat surface. The
instrument has a zero adjustment that can correct for
minor deviations in surface level. Thus, an instrument
level adjustment is unnecessary. A differential gage
should be calibrated.
Electronic Pressure Transducers
Most electronic differential pressure transducers are
of the diaphragmtype. Changes in pressure across a dia-
phragm cause diaphragm displacement, which can be
measured by strain gages, piezoelectric elements, induc-
tance capacitance etc. These transduc-
ers require electrical power and should be calibrated
periodically. Many instruments are commercially avail-
able with the necessary sensitivity and in appropriate
ranges. For many applications, a major advantage of
these instruments is that they have analog voltage output
suitable for monitoring by computer data acquisition
systems. For field tests conducted with hand-held instru-
ments, analog output seems to have little advantage. For
this reason and because of the expense of these instru-
ments, they are not generally the instrument of choice
for smoke control testing.
FLOW INDICATION AND MEASUREMENT
During acceptance and routine testing, there are
situations for which the knowledge of flow direc-
tion is desirable. Such cases abound during the initial
of a smoke control system. A piece of paper
placed i n front of an air grille provides an immediate
and indication of flow and flow direction. Air-
flow cause a hanging strip of tissue paper to notice-
ably detlect diagonally at flow velocities as low as 15
fpm (0.08 Smoke from a punk stick or a ciga-
rette can also be used to detect such low airflows.
This section flow measurement appropri-
ate for smoke management applications, but more
Note: The absence of liquid type of gage more
convenient an inclined manometer.
Gage
/Stand
Adjustment
Figure 7.3
gage.
Figure 17.4 Flow hood being to measure
of supply.
detailed information this topic is available from
ASHRAE For field measurement of fan. flows,
see AMCA
Volumetric Flow Rate
Airflow velocity through an open or
across a section of a corridor is generally far uni-
form. Such flow is frequently characterized by the pres-
ence of large stationary vortices, especially flow
through open stairwell doorways. This accurate
determination of airflow unless
extreme care is taken. Fortunately, airflow through large
openings is not the major principle of smoke control for
most building systems. follows that for the majority of
smoke control for buildings, flow measure-
ments in doorways and corridors are not necessary.
However, flow measurements of the supply and exhaust
of a smoke control system are often desired, and some-
times information about the flows through doorways is
also needed.
Flow can be directly by using a flow
hood or indirectly from a set of velocity
measurements. Flow are available
instruments, which have a grid of static and dynamic
pressure taps which the through
the hood is obtained and displayed directly on a
Figure 17.4 illustrates a flow hood being used to mea-
sure flow a ceiling supply. The device can also be
used to measure exhaust flows, and it can be oriented for
use with wall-mounted inlets and outlets. Provided that
the pressure loss through the hood is small to
H
Figure 17.5
Equal
Rectangular
Areas
Centersof Areas
Where Velocity is
Measured
Open Doorway
or Section of
Corridor
measurement
dots open
the duct losses, the accuracy of flow hoods is believed to
be in the range of 10% to 15%.
When flow is obtained velocity
measurements, a traverse should be Traversing
open or sections of corridor can be done in a
manner similar to that for rectangular ducts, as illus-
trated in Figure 17.5. Velocity readings should be taken
in the of equal areas over the cross section. For
flow in ducts, the cross section should be divided into
to 64 equals spaces. Because of the likely variations of
velocity in and corridors, these openings
should be divided into 30 to 64 equals spaces.
Flows through doorways in particular should be
checked for stationary vortices by use of smoke a
punk stick or cigarette. If stationary vortices exist, care
should be taken that flows the main flow direc-
tion should be assigned values when calculat-
ing the average velocity. The volumetric rate for a
rectangular duct or other opening is calculated from the
formula
where
volumetric flow rate,
H height of opening, ft
= of opening, It (m);
U = average velocity,
Chapter and Routine Testing
Example17.1 Volumetric Flow From Velocity Traverse
Calculationof the volumetricflow rate through a doorway 3 ft by 7 (0.91 mby 2.13 m) is desired, and the presence of a station-
ary vortex was observed with smoke. A traverseof 35 readings is like that shown in Figure 17.5, and the velocitiesare listed
below.
average velocity is 300 (1.5 Using Equation (17. the flow is 6300
I
Velocity Measurement
tubes, deflecting-vane anemometers, and ther-
mal anemometers are commonly used to measure air-
flow in building. These instruments are discussed in the
following sections.
Deflecting Vane Anemometer
The deflecting vane anemometer consists of a vane
hung from a pin such that air velocity cause a diag-
onal deflection of the vane, as illustrated in Figure 17.6.
Manufacturers rate the accuracy of these instruments at
5% for flows less than fpm (0.5 and 10% for
greater flows. The ASHRAE Handbook identifies the
limitations of not being well suited for many airflow
readings and of needing periodic calibration. Because of
their low cost and compact size, these instruments are
popular for making spot checks and obtaining rough
estimates of However, it is not believed that
they are appropriate for acceptance or routine testing.
Tube
The stagnation pressure, is the pressure that
results when moving gas is brought to rest. An expres-
sion for this pressure can be obtained from
equation,
where
-
=
=
P =
U =
=
stagnation pressureof the gas, in. (mm
static pressure of the moving gas. in.
correction factor
of gas,
gas
1097 (4.427).
Note:
the Vane The causes
vane to deflect
diagonally, and the
these instruments
are low in mst and
compact. they are
useful for soot checks
and rough
(a)Principleof operation of deflectingvane anemometer.
(b) Deflecting vane anemometer in use.
Figure 17.6 Deflecting
For an idealized frictionless fluid, the coefficient
C has a value of one, and the value differs for real
tubes measure the stagnation pressure a
moving gas, and tubes incorporate static
pressure taps, as illustrated in Figure 17.7. Manufactur-
ers of pitot-static tubes frequently supply information
about the correction factor as a function of flow velocity
or of Reynolds number. The velocity from Equation
7.2) can be expressed as
Principlesof Smoke
. .
!
where
i
U velocity, fpm
pressure difference from manometer, in. (mm
p = density of air, (kg/m
3
);
= correction factor (dimensionless);
A pitot-static tube can be used to measure velocities
in the range of to 2000 (2 to when con-
nected to an inclined manometer. With an electronic dif-
ferential pressure transducer, a tube can be used in
I
the range of 200 to 3000 fpm (l to 15
I
17.2 from Reading
The a
in. mm the air density is 0.075
kg/m
3
), and the tube correction factor is
The velocity calculated from (17.3) is l l
(5.62
Thermal Anemometer
Thennal (also called hot-wire
and hot-film anemometers) are available in
two types: constant-current and constant-temperature.
Both types have a velocity probe with a filum (fine
Evenly
Spaced Around
Circunference
Hoses to Differential
Pressure Instrument
Figure 17.7 Pitot-static tube.
wire). For the constant-current type, a filum is subjected
to a constant electrical current and the temperature of
the filum depends upon the convective cooling of air
flowing past it. Thus, temperature is a measure of veloc-
ity. The constant-temperature type uses the same princi-
ple in a way. The electrical current through a
filum is adjusted so that its temperature remains con-
stant. For this instrument, current is a measurement of
velocity. Hand-held, battery-powered,
compensated thermal are commercially
available air temperatures normally encountered in
building heating and cooling systems. Such instruments
have ranges of approximately to 5000 (0.05 to
25 with accuracies of about 5%.
Nomenclature
area of opening, leakage path, shaft, test
sample, atrium, or fire, (m
2
)
wind exponent
thickness"; dilution rate*
effective flow area, ft
2
(m
2
)
distributed effective area per unit height,
ft
vent area, ft
2
(m
2
)
temperature factor, in. distance
the opening to the balcony edge, ft
or constant on N-gas model 127,000 for
5% and -38,600 for 5%
flowor discharge
gas or contaminant concentration; or specific
heat,
flow for elevator car
(dimensionless)
flow coefficient for exponential
equation, ft
3
(in.
constant pressure specific heat,
kgC)
tube correction factor,
conductivity factor,
flow coefficient of the vent (dimensionless)
wind pressure coefficient
depth layer below
inlet, ft, (m); or distance from the doorknob to
the knob side of the door. ft (m)
density or
l
on
E =
F =
f =
=
FED =
F, =
depth layer below the smoke vent,
equivalent diameter of flow
diameter of fire, ft (m)
hydraulic diameter, in. (m)
minimum smoke layer depth to prevent
ft (m)
specific flow,
diameter of visible plume, ft
effect of exposure
total door opening force,
friction factor of shaft or duct
flow rate
fractional effective dose (dimensionless)
force to overcome the door closer and other
friction, or Froude number
(dimensionless)
specific flow,
the flow factor,
acceleration of gravity
height ofatrium, opening, ceiling above
the fire, upwind wall, balcony ceiling above
top of (m)
neutral plane, ft (m); depth of
smoke layer, ft (m)
heat transfer
"F "C)
height fuel ( m)
height limit, (m)
height of wind measurement, (m)
velocity factor (dimensionless)
thermal inertiaofa material(product ofk, p,and
C), in.
friction factor of stairwell (dimensionless)
of length of shaft or duct, (m);
height of sectionof stairwell, (m)
lethal concentration, min (g min)
of the sprinkler, (kg)
mass flow rate,
concentrationof fuel burned,
mass of fuel burned or consumed, (g)
mass rate of exhaust without
plugholing,
concentration of particulate
of produced, (g)
moment of the door closer and other friction,
ft (N
mass of smoke, (kg)
fire location factor
N-Gas indicator (dimensionless)
number of exhaust inlets (dimensionless)
pressure (dimensionless)
rate (dimensionless)
perimeter of duct or ft or population
pressure'
absolute
ambient
Prandtl number
stagnation pressure of the gas, in.
static pressure of the moving gas, in. (mm
pressure, in. (Pa)
heat release
heat release of tire, (kW)
HRR at sprinkler actuation, kW
convective heat release rate, (kW)
tlic control volume,
(kW)
radiant heat release of the fire. (kW)
gas constant K)
radius or horizontal distance centerline of
(m)
the centcr of the fire to
a target. (m)
RTI = responsetime index, (m
1
'
RTI, = virtual RTI,
= visibility,
= minimumseparation between inlets, (m)
T = transmittance (dimensionless);
time (minutes)
= time*
= timeof sprinkleractuation,
time for populationto pass through constraint
transport time lag of ceilingjet,
= absolute centerline plume
temperature, (K)
= absolute temperature of thefire space, (K), or
temperatureof gas in full scale facility, "F ("C)
= time in full scale facility
= temperatureof the gases in the exhaust fan*
growth time,
= time to incapacitation to thermal exposure,
min
evacuation time for an egress route* or
time in scale model,
= temperature in scale model, "F("C)
temperatureof ambient or outside
plume
= transport time of plume,
= absolute reference temperature, "R ("K)
U = velocity, fprn
= critical air velocity to prevent smoke backflow,
U,,,,, = wind velocity. fpni
= volumetric flow rate, cfm
volunietric flow in scale model,
volume of smoke in a space or test chamber,
factor for CO
2
-induced hyperventilation
limiting average air velocity, fpni
V,
= volume of smoke, (m')
W width corridor,opening,or plume. (m)
= effective width of stair, in. width of the
opening the fire (m); or spray
density,
S = depth of gap in flowdirection, in. (m), or
distance of light travel or path length. ft (m).
= particulate yield (dimensionless)
z = elevation. ft (m)
= mean height, (m)
Units on equation.
height above balcony, (m)
maximum height at which plume is considered
buoyant, (m)
virtual origin correction of the
plume, (m)
extinction coefficient fire growth
coefficient, or plugholing
exponent (dimensionless)
specific extinction coefficient,
= exhaust location factor (dimensionless)
wind boundary layer height in the vicinity
building, (m), or optical density per unit
distance, (m-')
specific optical density (dimensionless)
= change in energy of the smoke layer,
= chemical heat of combustion,
= mass loss of test sample, (g)
= mass optical density,
= boundary layer height in the vicinityof thewind
anemometer, (m)
= time
= minimumtemperature rise of plume above
ambient, ("C)
E = turbulence dissipation rate; or roughness of the
inside surface of the duct, (m)
= wall heat fraction (dimensionless)
= percentage obscuration (dimensionless) or
failure rate
= absolute viscosity
v = kinematic viscosity, fi
2
/s (m
2
/s)
= dimensionless group of variables
p = density,
= density of gases in exhaust fan,
= outside or density, (kg/m
3
)
= time constant,
= fraction reduction in mass rate
through fan
= convective fraction
pressure in. (Pa) = fraction
A = overall pressure difference fromone side of a
building to another due to wind effect Units depend on the specific equation.
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Appendix A
Units of Measurement and Physical Data
hysical quantities such as length, weight, and
are expressed in of standard units of
measurement. In this book, both English units
and international system units are used.
Newton's second of motion states that the force,
on a body of fixed mass, is proportional to the
product of the mass and the acceleration, a:
There are three English systems with
regard to mass and force: pound mass and pound
force system, the slug and pound system, and the pound
mass and poundal system. Introduction of the propor-
tionality constant into the relation yields
Table A-I lists the units for these and
system along with the values of g, for each. Gener-
ally, a pound is thought of as a unit of force. However, in
some engineering applications, the pound also has been
used as a unit of mass. One pound (Ibm) is the
of a body that weighs one pound (Ib) at level.
One slug equals 32.174 and one poundal is a force
of 0.03108 pounds. For the systems listed i n Table A-l
for which the value of is one, second
can be written as
F = .
This formulation of law simplifies
derived equations and calculations. I t is accomplished
by defining one of the four units mass, time, and
force) in terms other three. Thus, three of
become base units and the other is a derived unit. Theo-
retically, any three can be selected as base units. How-
ever, the only two combinations to be used extensively
are:
Base Units Derived Unit
mass, and time force
force, length, and time
Because force is a derived unit in the system,
that convention is used in the following discussion for
the pound (I-P) system. For convenience, the unit
of mass in the I-P system be taken to be the slug. A
slug can be thought of as a mass that has a weight of
32.174 pounds at sea level. In the I-P system, the unit of
force is the pound, which is the force required to
accelerate a of one slug at a rate of one foot per
second squared. In the the unit of force is the
newton, N, which is the force required to accelerate a
mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second
squared.
base units and derived unit discussed above
relate force and mass, but many more units are needed
for engineering calculations. The base units and derived
units needed for smoke control applications are listed in
Tables A-2 and A-3. In the S1 system, prefixes are used
to form decimal multiples and submultiples of the
units. The prefixes are listed in Table A-4.
Unit systems with g, of can be referred to as
systems (Table A-l), and in this text
homogeneous are referred to as being
either the system or the slug and pound system with
the base units and derived units as listed in Tables
and A-3.
Appendi x A-Uni t sof Measurement and Physical Data
Table A-l:
Units Relating Force and Mass in Various Systems
Pound Mass and Slug and Pound Mass and
Pound Force Pound Poundal International
Quantity System System System (SI)
length foot (ft) foot (ft) foot (ft) meter (m)
time second second second
pound mass (Ibm) slug . pound mass (Ibm) kilogram (kg)
force pound force pound (Ib) poundal Newton
32.174 ft slug ft I kgm
I lbf s
2
lbf poundal
2
N s
2
Table A-2:
Base Units
System English System
Quantity Unit Symbol Unit Symbol
m foot ft
kilogram slug
time second S second S
(absolute) kelvin K
temperature
Table A-3:
Derived Units
English System
Quantity Unit Symbol Formula Unit Formula
force N slug
pressure
energy, work or
pascal lblft
2
joule J Nm ft
power, release rate watt W
mass flow rate
Table A-4:
Prefixes
Multiplication Factor
G = I
kilo
I = 0.000 000 00
I . is hc
Most of the conversion factors listed in Tables A-5
and A-6 have been rounded off to four significant fig-
ures. This level of accuracy may be excessive for most
smoke control calculations, but users can easily round
down as desired. Table A-7 lists constants for accelera-
tion of gravity, gas constant of air, and standard atmo-
spheric pressure.
Absolute temperature is using the Kelvin
scale in the system and the Rankine scale in the I-P
system. In addition, temperature is frequently measured
in the Celsius or the Fahrenheit scale. Because Celsius
and Fahrenheit scales are so commonly used by design
engineers, these scales are used exclusively in the dis-
cussions in the text and figures. However, caution
should be exercised to ensure that absolute temperatures
are used in calculations where necessary. The following
equations can be used to convert between temperature
scales:
where
temperature,
= temperature,
temperature,
temperature, K.
Tables A-8 and A-9 list density, specific heat, vis-
cosity, and thermal conductivity of air. For further infor-
mation concerning the system, the reader is referred
to Guideline for- the Use of the International System of
Units, 1995 Edition, Special Publication 8 11,
ersburg, Md.
-Appendi x A-Uni t s of Measurement a n d Physical Data
TableA-5:
Factors for Conversion to Units
Multiply To Obtain
atmosphere, standard (atm) 101325 pascal (Pa)
atmosphere, standard (atm) 101.325
British thermal unit (Btu) 1055
British thermal unit (Btu) 1
British thermal unit per hour 0.293
British thermal unit per pound 2330
British thennal unit per pound degree Fahrenheit 4187
British thermal unit per second (Btuls)
British thermal unit per second
British thermal unit foot per hour square foot degree
Fahrenheit [Btu
British thermal unit inch per hour square foot degree
Fahrenheit [Btu
calorie (cal)
centimeter of mercury Hg)
of mercury Hg)
water (cm
centistokes
cubic foot (ti
3
)
cubic foot (ft
3
)
cubic foot per or
cubic
cubic per second
cubic inch
cubic inch per
cubic yard
cubic yard minute
dyne
dyne
dyne per square
erg (erg)
erg per second
of
foot of mercury. conventional
root
foot hour
or
kilopascal
joule (J)
kilojoule
watt (W)
joule per kilogram
joule per kilogram kelvin
watt (W)
kilowatt (kW)
watt per meter kelvin
watt per meter kelvin
joule (J)
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
pascal (Pa)
pascal second
meter squared per second
cubic meter (m
3
)
(L)
cubic meter per sccond (rn
3
/s)
per second (Lls)
cubic meter per second
cubic meter
cubic meter per second (m
3
/s)
cubic meter (m
3
)
newton (N)
pascal (Pa)
joule
watt (W)
(m)
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
per second (mls)
Principles of Management
Table (Continued)
Factors for Conversion to Units
foot pound-force 1.356 joule (J)
foot pound-force per hour
foot pound-force per minute
foot pound-force per second
gallon (Imperial) (gal)
gallon (gal)
gallon (gal)
gallon per minute (gall
gallon per minute
horsepower (550
horsepower (boiler)
horsepower (electric)
hour (hr or h)
inch (in.)
inch (in.)
inch of mercury (in. Hg)
inch of water (in.
inch per second
meter
per square
per square centimeter
per square meter
kilometer per hour
kilowatt hour
kilowatt hour
kilowatt-hour
knot (nautical mile per hour)
(L)
(0.00 in.)
(0.001 in.)
mile
mile
per hour or
mile per hour or
per minute
per second
mile, nautical
of
of water
minute
watt (W)
watt (W)
watt (W)
cubic meter (m
3
)
(L)
cubic meter (m
3
)
(L)
per second
watt (W)
watt (W)
watt (W)
second
(m)
centimeter (cm)
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
pascal (Pa)
meter per second
newton (N)
newton meter
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
pascal (Pa)
meter per second
joule (J)
(MJ)
joule (J)
meter per second
cubic meter
(m)
kilometer
per second
per
per second
second
(m)
pascal (Pa)
second
ounce (avoirdupois) (oz) 0.02835 kilogram (kg)
263
Appendix A-Units of Measurement and Physical Data
TableAS: (Continued)
Factorsfor Conversionto Units
Multiply To Obtain
ounce (avoirdupois)
28.35
ounce or apothecary)
ounce or apothecary)
poise (P) .
pound (avoirdupois) (Ib)
pound (troy or apothecary) (Ib)
pound force
pound per cubic foot
pound per hour
pound per minute
pound per second
poundal
pound-force
foot
pound-force inch
pound-force per square foot
pound-force per square inch (psi)
revolution per minute (rpm)
slug (slug)
slug per cubic foot (slug/ft
3
)
per foot second
square foot
square foot per second
square inch (in
2
)
square inch (in
2
)
square yard
standard cubic feet per minute (scfm)'
stokes (St)
ton of refrigeration
ton, (2240 Ib)
ton, metric (t)
ton, short (2000
ton-force (2000
ton-force (2000
watt hour
kilogram(kg)
gram
pascal second
kilogram(kg)
kilogram(kg)
newton
kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m
3
)
kilogram per second
kilogram per second
kilogram per second
newton
newton
newton meter
newton meter
pascal (Pa)
kilopascal
radian per second
kilogram(kg)
kilogram per cubic meter
pascal second
square meter (m
2
)
square meter (m
2
)
square centimeter (cm')
square meter (m
2
)
standard cubic meter per second
standard per second
kilogramper second
watt (W)
kilogram(kg)
kilogram(kg)
kilogram(kg)
(N)
kilonewton
joule (J)
0.9 144 meter (m)
I. i s a o f mass rate for air movement. and for this text. i s at and
.
TableA-6: .
Factors for Conversionto the English Units
Multiply To Obtain
atmosphere, standard (atm) 2116.2 pound-force per square foot
atmosphere, standard (atm)
atmosphere, standard (atm)
British unit (Btu)
British thermal unit per hour
British thermal unit per minute
centimeter of (cm Hg)
centimeter of Hg)
centimeter of mercun (cm Hg)
centimeter of water, (cm
cubic foot (ft
3
)
cubic foot (ft
3
)
cubic foot per minute
cubic foot per second
cubic inch
cubic inch per minute
cubic inch per minute
cubic yard
cubic yard
cubic yard
cubic yard per
cubic yard per minute
foot of mercury, (ft Hg)
foot of mercury, conventional Hg)
foot of mercury, conventional
foot of water (ft
foot of water
foot of (ft
foot per hour
foot per hour
foot per minute
foot per second
foot
pound-force per square inch
inch of water (in.
foot pound-force
foot pound-force per slug
inch of water (in.
inch of water (in
cubic inch
gallon (gal)
cubic foot per second (ft
3
/s)
cubic foot per minute (cfm) (ft
3
/min)
cubic foot (ft
3
)
cubic foot per minute (cfrn) (ft
3
/min)
cubic foot (ft
3
)
cubic inch
gallon (U.S.) (gal)
cubic foot per (cfm) (ft
3
/min)
cubic foot per second (ft
3
/s)
inch of water (in.
inch of water (in.
foot per second
foot per
foot per second
foot per minute (Wmin)
British thermal unit (Btu)
Appendix A Units of Measurement and Physical Data
Table A-6: (Continued)
Factors for Conversion to theEnglish Units
Multiply To Obtain
gallon, (Imperial) (gal) 0.1605 cubic foot
gallon (U.S.) (gal)
gallon (gal)
gallon (gal)
gallon (U.S.) per minute (gpm) (gal/ min)
gallon (U.S.) per minute (gpm) (gal/
horsepower
hour (h)
inch (in.)
inch (in)
inch of mercury (in.
inch of water (in.
of water (in.
inch per second
inch per second
(kg)
per Iiour
kilowatt ( kW)
kilowatt (kW)
kilowatt hours (kW
knor (nautical milc hour)
knot (nautical mile per hour)
per
per second
(m)
mile
mile (mi)
mile (nii)
milc per
milc hour
milc per hour
mile, nautical
of mercury
of
of
water
cubic inch
gallon (gal)
cubic foot
cubic inch
cubic foot per minute
second
foot (ft)
pound-force per-square foot
inch of water (in
foot per second
foot per minute
pound (Ib)
foot per
rt
foot per second
milc per
cubic second
cubic foot minute
foot
inch (in.)
foot
mile. nautical
foot per second
foot minute
(nautical milc per hour)
pound-forcc square root
pound-forcc squarc (psi)
pound-forcc squarc
squarc inch (psi)
inch (in
Table AB: (Continued)
Factorsfor Conversionto the English Units
Multiply To Obtain
minute (min) 60 second
ounce (avoirdupois)
ounce (avoirdupois)
ounce (troy or apothecary)
pascal (Pa)
pound (Ib)
pound (Ib)
0.9115 ounce or apothecary) (oz)
0.0625 pound (Ib)
1 ounce (avoirdupois) (oz)
0.0209
16 ounce (avoirdupois)
0.03 108 slug (slug)
pound per cubic inch
1728
pound per cubic yard
poundal
0.037037
0.03109 pound-force
0.006944
0.1922 inch of water (in.
pound-force per square inch (psi) pound-force per square foot
27.68 inch of water (in
slug (slug) 32.174 pound (Ib)
square foot (ft
2
) 0.1111 square yard
square foot
square inch (in
2
)
0.006944 square inch
7.7168-04 square yard
square inch (in
2
) 144 square foot (ft
2
)
square yard 1296 square inch
square yard 9 square foot (ft
2
)
standard cubic feet per minute
slug per second
0.00 25 pound per second
ton (refrigeration) 12,000.00 British thermal unit per hour
ton (refrigeration) 2594 foot-pound per second (ft
ton, long (2240 2240 pound (Ib)
ton, metric (t) 2205 pound (Ib)
ton, short 2000 pound (Ib)
watt (W) 0.7376 foot pound-force per second
watt (W) 9.4788-04 British thermal unit per second (Btuls)
watt (W) 0.7376 foot-pound per second (ft
3 foot (ft)
I . scfm a form o f mass for air movemenr and, for this text. i r ar 70F and one atmosphere
Appendix A-Units Measurement and Physical Data
Table A-7:
Accelerationof gravity at sea level, g
9.80665
Gas of air, R 287.0
53.34 ft
ft
0.06858
Standard atmospheric pressure, P,,, 101325 Pa
14.696 psi
Table A-8:
Propertiesof Air in English
T
"F) ft
0 0.086 0.239 0. l 0.0133
Table A-9:
Properties of Air in
(Jlkg'C) 'C)
200 1.7684 7.5 0.01809
I . Note: ar bottom A-S.
Table A-10:
Thermal Properties of Materials in IP Units
Conductivity
P C
Material F Btulh
(pure) 69 0.2 4300
Steel (0.5% Carbon) 0.1 3 1700
Concrete 0.92
Brick 0.19 0.46
Glass, Plate 169 0.19 0.44 14
Block 0.20 0.42
Gypsum Board 59.9 0.26 0.10 1.5
Plywood 33.7 0.60 0.07 1.4
Insulation Board 0.30 0.3 1.4
Chipboard 19.9 0.30 I
Aerated Concrete 31.2 0.23 0.15
Plasterboard 59.3 0.20 0.092 I
Calcium Silicate Board
13.7 0.27 0.064-0.08I
Silicate Block
Glass Insulation 0.19 0.02 0.0
Expanded .25 0.36 0.020 0.0088
I . Trade or
Appendix A-Unitsof Measurementand Physical Data
TableA-ll:
Thermal Properties of Materialsin Units
Thermal
Density Conductivity
P C
Material K)
(pure) 2710 0.895 206 500
Steel (0.5% Carbon)
Concrete
Brick
Glass, Plate
Block
Gypsum Board
Plywood
Insulation Board
Chipboard
Aerated Concrete
Plasterboard
Calcium Silicate Board (Marinite XL)'
Alumina Silicate Block
Glass Insulation 60 0.8 0.037 0.0018
Expanded Polystyrene 1.5 0.034 0.0010
I. Trade no endorsement by the authors or the publishers.
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N.S.W. Australia: Experimental Building Station.
Moulen, A.W., and S.G. 1975. Stainvell Pres-
surization in a 22-story building. North Ryde,
N.S.W. Australia: Experimental Building Station.
Quintiere, J.G. 1989. Fundamentals of enclosure fire
"zone" of
99-
J.R. 1996. An application of performance based
concepts at the stratosphere tower Las Vargas,
Nevada. Presented at NFPA Research Foundation
San Francisco, June 26, 1996.
Said, M.N.A. 1988. A review of smoke control models.
ASHRAE Journal 36-40.
Sander, D.M. 1974. FORTRAN IV program to calculate
air infiltration in buildings. National Research
Council Canada, DBR Computer Program No.
Sander, D.M., and G.T. Tamura. 1973. FORTRAN
program to stimulate air movement in multi-story
buildings. National Research Council DBR
Computer Program No. 35.
Schmidt, W.A., and J.H. Klote. In case of
Use the Elevators aren't safe.
Shannon, J.M.A. 1976. analysis of
ment and of in buildings
and natural CIB
sium on Control of Smoke Movement in Building
Fires, Vol. I, Fire Research Station, Garston
ford, U.K., pp. 99-
Steckler, K.D. 1989. Fire induced flows in corridors-A
review of efforts to model key features.
Technology, 89-4050.
Tamura, G.T. 1969. Computer analysis of smoke move-
ment in tall buildings. ASHRAE Transactions
81-93. Atlanta: American Society of Heating,
Tamura, G.T. 1972. Pressure difference for a nine-story
building as a result of chimney effect and ventila-
tion system operation. ASHRAE
180- Atlanta: American Society of Heat-
ing, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
Inc. .
Tamura, G.T. Experimental studies on pressurized
escape routes. ASHRAE
237. Atlanta: American Society of Heating, Refrig-
erating and Air-conditioning Engineers,
Tamura, G.T. 1978. Experimental studies on exterior
wall venting for smoke control in tall buildings.
ASHRAE 204-2 15. Atlanta:
Tamura, G.T. Exterior wall venting for smoke
control in tall office buildings. ASHRAE
43-48. American Society of Heat-
ing, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers.
Inc.
Tamura, G.T. 1980. The performance of a vestibule pres-
surization system for the protection of escape routes
of a 17-story hotel. ASHRAE
593-603. Atlanta: American Society of Heating.
Tamura, G.T. 1982. A smoke control system for high-
rise office buildings. ASHRAE
ating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Tamura, G.T., and A.G. 1967. Pressure differ-
ences caused by chimney effect in three high build-
ings. ASHRAE 111.
Atlanta: Society of Heating, Refrigerat-
ing and Air-conditioning Engineers,
Wakamatsu, 1968. Calculation of smoke movement
i n buildings-1st Report, Building Research Insti-
tute, Japan.
Wakamatsu, T. 197 Calculation of smoke
in buildings-2nd Report, Building Research
Japan.
Wakamatsu, T. 1976. calculation of
movement i n an actually tired building. CIB
on Control of Smoke Movement in
Appendix B Bibliography
Building Fires, 81-98. U.K.: Pa.: American Society for Testing and Materials,
Fire Research Station. pp. 168-193.
Calculation methods for predicting Yoshida, H., C.Y. Shaw, and GT. Tamura. 1979.
smoke movement in building fires and designing FORTRAN IV program to calculate smoke
smoke control systems, fire standards and safety, trations in a multi-story building. Ottawa, Canada:
ASTM STP-614, A. F. ed. Philadelphia, National Research Council.
Appendix C
Calculation of Elevator Evacuation Time
NOMENCLATURE
a = acceleration, Ws
2
J = number of elevators
m = number of round trips
N number of people entering or leaving the elevator
= number of people entering or leaving the elevator
during the dwell
S = distance, ft (m)
= total floor to floor travel distance for trip, (m)
t = time,
I ,
= elevator evacuation start-up time,
= time for elevator doors to open and close,
= dwell time for elevator doors,
= time,
time for of elevator car,
t , = time for people to enter elevator car,
= time for one person to enter elevator car,
I , = travel time from lobby to outside or to
other safe location,
= time for elevator car to make a round trip,
= standing time,
t,,
= time for to leave elevator car.
= time for one person to leave elevator car.
V
V,,, = normal operating velocity.
a = basic transfer inefficiency
= total transfer = a E
E = door transfer
= other transfer
= trip inefficiency
Subscripts
T = end of leveling car motion (also end of travel)
= end of constant acceleration motion
2 = end of transitional acceleration motion
3 = end of constant velocity motion
4 = end of transitional deceleration motion
5 = end of constant deceleration motion
During building fires, elevators are almost always
taken out of service, and vertical evacuation is by the
use of stairs. Elevators have been used for emergency
evacuation in a few unique situations (subway stations
several stories underground, luxury apartments, and
towers). The Life Safety Code (NFPA 1977) recognizes
elevators as a second means of egress for towers.
This appendix presents a detailed method of analy-
sis of people movement by elevators during emergency
building evacuation, based on principles of elevator
engineering (Strakosch 977) and
(1977) have developed methods of calculation of
evacuation time by elevator, but the method presented
here incorporates more detail about elevator motion and
elevator loading and unloading. The computer
program by Klote and Alvord (1992) is based on the
analysis of this appendix, and an example anal-
ysis is included in this appendix.
The sequence of elevator operation for emergency
evacuation is complicated and has many possible varia-
tions. The following general sequence is presented to
provide a framework for the method of analysis pre-
sented in this paper. Upon activation of emergency
evacuation, elevators in normal service will go to a dis-
charge floor where any passengers on the elevators will
exit. This discharge floor may either lead to the outside
Appendix C-Calculation of Elevator Evacuation Time
or lead to an area of relative safety where
stay during the fire. The elevators make a number
of round trips to transfer occupants from other floors to
the discharge floor. During evacuation, the elevators
may be under a special emergency evacuation mode of
automatic control or under manual control.
The evacuation time addressed in this paper is an
idealized time for people movement that does not
account,for the complex human behavior that often
occurs during emergencies. It is believed that the analy-
sis of this paper is about as accurate as that for evacua-
tion by stairs.
EVACUATION TIME
Analysis of people movement during elevator evac-
uation take into account the number and arrange-
ment of elevators in a building. elevators are
located in groups of up to eight elevators. Elevators in a
group arc located near each other and are controlled
together to move people.
elevator groups are discussed later. The of anal-
ysis and the computer of this paper are for the
calculation of the evacuation time for one group of ele-
vators. For buildings with multiple groups of elevators,
the approach presented in this paper can be applied sep-
arately to each group of elevators.
Ideally, time to evacuate a number of people
using one group consists of the of all
the round trip times divided by the number of elevators
plus the time needed to start up the elevator evacuation
and the travel time from the elevator lobby to the
(or to another safe location). Accounting for ineffi-
ciencies of elevator operation, this can
be expressed as
where is the timc for round trip j. is number of
round trips, J is number of elevators. is the trip
ciency, is elevator start-up time, is
travel from the elevator lobby to outside or to
another safe location. round trip depends on the
travel of the elevator and on the car-
ried by elevator, as discussed The from
the elevator lobby to a safe location can evaluated by
of people (Chapter
The trip accounts trips to empty floors and
trips to pick only a The elevator evacuation
start-up time is discussed in the next section.
The of elevators, .J, in Equation ( C )
bc than the number i n group to
account out-of-service probability of'
elevators being out-of-service depends on a of
factors, including the age of the elevators and the quality
of maintenance. Because the out of service condition
can significantly increase elevator evacuation time, any
analysis of elevator evacuation should take this condi-
tion into account.
START-UP TIME
The elevator evacuation start-up time is the time
from activation to the start of the round trips that evacu-
ate people. For automatic elevator operation during
evacuation, a simple approach is to start elevator evacu-
ation after of the elevators have been moved to the
discharge floor. For this approach, the start up time, I,,
consists of the time for elevators to to the discharge
floor plus the time for the passengers to leave the eleva-
tors. This can be expressed as
is the travel time for the elevator car to go from
the farthest floor to the discharge floor. is time for
passengers to leave the elevator, is the time for the doors
to open and close once, and is the total transfer ineffi-
ciency. These terms are discussed in detail later.
An alternative to the simple approach discussed
above consists of starting the evacuation operation indi-
vidually for each elevator when it reaches the discharge
floor. This alternative could result in slightly reduced
evacuation time. However, this alternative is not dis-
cussed further here because of its limited benefit and
added complexity.
For manual elevator operation, the for
operators to be alerted and then get to the elevators must
be included in the estimate of start-up This addi-
tional time may be considerably greater than that calcu-
lated from Equation
ELEVATOR ROUNDTRIP TIME
The round trip starts at the discharge floor and con-
sists of the followingsequence: elevator doors close. car
travels to another floor, elevator doors open, passengers
enter the car, doors close, car travels to discharge floor,
doors open, and passengers leave the car. The round trip
time, t,, can be written as
where is the standingtinieand the travel time for one
way of the round trip. This equation is based on the eleva-
tor stopping at one floor pick passengers. It is
most elevators will fill up on one and
to the floor. Whnt a full ele-
vator is later. If an stops to pick up
Principles ofSmoke Management
at more than one floor during a round trip,
Equation (C3) can be modified accordingly. However, the
trip accounts for such multiple stops.
STANDINGTIME
The standing time is the sum of the time to open
and close the elevator doors twice, the time for people to
enter the elevator, and the time for people to leave the
elevator. Considering transfer inefficiencies, the stand-
ing time for a round trip can be expressed as
where = a + E t
The basic transfer inefficiency, allows for round-
ing off of probable stops, door operating time, door
starting and stopping time, and the unpredictability of
people. Typically, a value of is used for
transfer inefficiency for commonly accepted arrange-
ments of elevator groups, as illustrated in Figure CI . For
each of these arrangements, the configuration of the ele-
vator lobby is such that passengers can recognize which
elevator has arrived and get on the elevator without
excessive delay. Further, these lobbies have sufficient
space so that people exiting one elevator will have a
minimal impact on the flow of people leaving another
elevator.
Arrangements of elevator groups other than those
commonly accepted can be less efficient and require an
increased value of the basic transfer inefficiency. These
unusual arrangements include cars separated, too many
cars in a line, angular arrangement, and cornered
arrangement (Figure C2). Separation of elevators results
in increased boarding time for people waiting by one
elevator who have to walk to another when it arrives. If
the separation is too large, some passengers choose to
let elevators go by without boarding. Use of too many
elevators in a line has similar inefficiencies. With the
angular arrangement [Figure cars at the narrow
end tend to be too close together while cars at the wide
end tend to be too far apart. In the cornered arrangement
(Figure passengers entering or leaving corner cars
tend to with each
The door inefficiency, E. is used to adjust for any
increase in transfer time over that of a 1200 mm (48 in.)
wide opening door. Values of E are listed in Table
C-1. The inefficiency, is used to account for any other
inefficiencies in people transfer into or out of elevators,
such as increased movement times within an elevator
car due to an unusual elevator car shape or limited phys-
ical capability of passengers. For example, often is
chosen to be 0.05 for hospital elevators. Generally, for
buildings, yis taken as zero.
The time, for the doors to open and close depends
on the width and of the doors, as listed in Table
C-l. The kinetic energy of closing doors is limited by
elevator safety codes and is usually not more than 0.29
(7 This is why doors from different man-
ufacturers take about the same time to open and close.
Types of elevator doors are shown in Figure C3. Door
operating time is important because of the many times
that doors open and close during an evacuation. Further,
an elevator leave a floor the doors are
closed and locked, and passengers cannot leave an ele-
vator until the doors are fully opened or nearly fully
opened. Generally, elevator doors do not open until the
car has stopped and is level with the floor. However,
some opening doors start opening while the car
is leveling, and the times listed in Table C- l should be
reduced by one second for these preopening doors.
The time, for to enter an elevator depends
on the number, of people entering and on the door
operation. As previously stated, it is expected that most
elevators will fill up on one floor and proceed to the dis-
charge floor. However, elevators will be less than full
when there are not enough people waiting i n the lobby
to fill an elevator or elevators. Thus, the analysis must
include partially filled elevators. Strakosch (1983) has
observed elevator loadings in which passengers do not
board an elevator and choose to wait for the next one.
These observed values are based on 0.22 m
2
ft') of
floor space in the elevator car per person. It should be
noted that the A17.1 (1987) elevator standard
allows a maximum loading at 0.14 m
2
(I ft
2
) per per-
son, but this high density is not achieved in normal prac-
tice. The observed values of Strakosch are suggested as
the number of persons in a full elevator car, and these
loadings are listed in Tables C-2 and C-3.
When elevator doors open, the doors remain open
for a least fixed time, referred to as the dwell-time,
The time that the door is open can be extended beyond
the dwell-time by blocking of the light beam across the
door opening or by pushing the door safety edge. The
time, for N people to enter an elevator car can be
expressed as
poundal is the unit of in the pound
mass-poundal system of units, and one poundal equals
pounds force.
C- ofElevator
(a) Two Car Group
(d) Three Car Group
B= 1 but not less 1.8 m
B 2A
(c) Three Car Group
(b) TWO Car Group
B
Open or
Closed
B
Four Car Group
, Open or
B
Closed
L
B
(h) Six Car Group
B= but not less than 2.4 m
(e) Four Car Group
Both Ends of
Lobby Open
B = 2A
(g) Six Car Group
Both Ends of
Lobby Open
B = 2A
Car Group
Figure accepted
= {
+ for N 2
for N I 2
for 2.
where is the number of people entering the elevator
For the computer program of this paper, the
during the dwell time, and is the average time for one
person to enter the elevator. The number of people entering
time is taken to be 4 seconds, the average time for one
the elevator during the dwell time is taken to be 1 second,
rounded down to the nearest integer. The time for Npeople
leave an ele-
to leave an elevator can be expressed in a similar manner. vator is taken to be 0.6 seconds.
Table C-l:
Door Operating Time andTransfer Inefficiency
to Open Door Transfer
Width and Close Inefficiency
Door Type mm(in.) E
Single-Slide 900 (36) . 6.6 0.10
Two-Speed
center-opening
2
Single-Slide
Two-Speed
center-opening
2
Two-Speed
center-opening
2
Two-Speed
center-opening
2
Two-Speed
center-opening
2
Two-Speed:
opening
2
I . Time open and close doors includes 0.5 second for car
When preopening can be used, the time to open and close these doors can be reduced by I second.
(a) Cars Separated
(b) Too Many Cars in a Line
(c) Angular Arrangement (d) Cornered Arrangement
C2 elevator in people
Appendix C-calculation of Elevator EvacuationTime
(d) Opening
(a) Single-Sliding
(b) Two-SpeedSliding
Two-Speed. Center-Opening
Doom
Figure C3 Types of elevator doors.
Table C-2:
Car Size and Observed Loading in Units
Car Inside (mm) Observed
Capacity kg (Ib) Wide Deep Area (m
2
) Loading' (people)
1200 (2640) 2100 1300 2.73
1400 (3080) 2100 l450 3.05 12
1600 (3520) 2100 1650 3.47 16
1600 (alt.) 2350 1450 3.4 1 16
(3960) 2100 1800 3.78 18
1800 (alt.) 2350 1650 3.88 18
2000 (4400) 2350 1800 4.23 20
2250 (4950) 2350 1950 4.58 22
2700 (5940) 2350 5.05 25
I . Sec footnote on Table C-3.
Table C-3:
Car Size and ObservedLoadingin English Units
Car Inside (in.) Observed
Capacity (Ib) Wide Deep Area (ft
2
) (people)
2000 68 l 24.1 8
2500
3000
3500
3500 (alt.)
4000
4000 (alt.)
4500
5000
I . This loading is as for which will not board an and
to wait for rhc
TRAVELTIME
Elevator motion is depicted in Figure C4 for most
trips. Motion starts with constant acceleration, followed
by transitional acceleration and constant velocity
motion. Constant acceleration ends when the elevator
reaches a predetermined velocity, which is typically
about 60% of the normal operating velocity = 0.6
V,,,). For office buildings, the normal operating velocity
is generally from 1 to 9 (200 to 1800 fpm), and
acceleration is from 0.6 to 2.4 (2 to 8 Decel-
eration has the same magnitude as the acceleration, and
the total acceleration time equals the total deceleration
. .
time = - The method of analysis that follows
takes of this symmetry.
Analysis of motion that reaches the normal
operating velocity is presented For short trips, ele-
vators do not always reach the nonnal operating veloc-
ity, and methods of analysis for these short trips are
presented later.
Motion Reaching Normal Operating Velocity
The time to complete constant acceleration motion
(going to point I on Figure is
The distance traveled during constant acceleration
is
Transitional accsleration is approximated by con-
sidering rhe product of velocity and acceleration to be a
constanr. The time to reach the end of transitional accel-
eration (point 2 of Figure C4) is
The distance traveled by the end of transitional
acceleration is
The one-way travel time is
The leveling time must be added to the above time
to get the total travel time for a one-way trip.
Usually elevators do not stop exactly at the desired
floor at the end deceleration, so the elevator must be
moved slowly up or down to get it nearly level with the
floor. Unless there are better data, a leveling time, of
0.5 seconds is suggested.
Motion Reaching Transitional Acceleration
If the trip is too short for the elevator to reach the
normal operating velocity, but it reaches transitional
acceleration, the velocity is represented by Figure
The time, and distance, traveled during constant
acceleration are given by Equations (C7) and The
velocity at the end of transitional acceleration is
The time at the end of transitional acceleration is
The one-way travel is
Transitional
\
\
Constant I
2
Time
Figure C4 normal operating V,,.
Appendix C-Calculation of Elevator EvacuationTime
Transitional
Acceleration
Acceleration
Constant
Deceleration
0 0
Time Time
( a) Car Reachi ng Transitional Acceleration
(b) Car Not Reachi ng
Transitional Acceleration
Figure C5 of elevators not reaching normal operating
Motion Not Reaching
Transitional Acceleration
When the trip does not go beyond constant acceler-
ation, the motion is illustrated in Figure The one-
way travel time is
COMPUTER EVACUATIONANALYSIS
The computer program written in Quick
BASIC, calculates evacuation time for one group of ele-
vators. For buildings multiple groups of elevators,
the program can be used a of to calculate
the evacuation for each group.
Discussion of Table C-5 provides insight into the
computer program. The round-trip time for floor 21 is
(the as calculated in Example In order
to move 90 people from floor 21, the elevator trips are
considered to consist of five trips with a full car peo-
ple) plus one trip of a partially filled people) car.
The time for the partially filled round trip is 78.6 (not
shown in Table C-5). Thus, the total trip time to move
90 people from floor 21 is l ) + =524.1 This
time is listed under the heading "Time per Floor" for
floor 2 in the table.
floor 10 of this example, 3% of 90 people are
evacuated-this is rounded up to three people. Because
this is done by one trip, the round trip time of 45.8
listed in Table C-5 is for moving three people rather than
the full car load of sixteen. The total round trip time of
5395.6 is the sum of all the round trips to move people
from all the floors. The evacuation time of
using five elevators was calculated from Equation
Table C-4:
Parametersfor ExampleC3
Number of stories 2
Number elevator cars 5
Number of people per floor 90
Percent of people evacuating by elevators from floors 2 to 3
Percent of people evacuating by elevators from floors to 2 1
Height between floors 3.2 m (10.5
Operating velocity of'elevator car, V, 3.0 (590
Car acceleration, a
1.20 m/s
2
(3.94 ft/s
2
)
Other transfer inefficiency, 0
Trip inefficiency, g 0.10
Car full load people
Table C-5:
Elevator Trip and Evacuation Time Calculated by Computer Program
One-way
Number of
Elevation Trip Round Trip People on
Percent
Round Time per
Floor (m) Time Time Floor Elevator Evacuation Trips
2 64.0 210.0 24.4 89.1 90 6 524.1
Total round trip time = 5395.6
Start-up time 41.3
Time to get outside after leaving the elevator 30.0
Evacuation time using five elevators = 1258.3
Appendix C-Calculation of Elevator Evacuation Time
Example Round Trip in IP Units
A3500 elevator in an office building makes a round trip the floor to pick up a ioadof passengers the
II
2 1st floor and return themto the ground floor. The operating velocity is 600 with an acceleration 4 and the elevator
door is 48 in. wide, The distance between floors is and the travel distance, is 210 ft.
Table C-3, the number of people in the full elevator is approximated at 16. FromTableC-l, is 5.3 and gis The ele-
vator shape is not unusual and the passenger capability is normal, so yis The total transfer inefficiency is
= a + E + = 0.10 + 0 0 = 0.10.
I I
From Equation the time for 16 people to enter the elevator is = N 16
From Equation the time for 16 people to leave the elevator is I, = 4 6) = 4 + - 6)
From Equation the standing time is
I
The operating velocity is V,,, =
60
Consider is 60% of V,,,, then V, = = = 6
From Equation the time at the end of constant acceleration is = = 6/4 = 1.5
Equation the distance traveled during constant acceleration is - = 4.5 f t .
From Equation the time at the end of transitional acceleration is = + 1 +
From Equation the distance traveled by the end of transitional acceleration is
The one-way travel time is calculated from Equation(C1I):
I
The total travel time is calculated from Equation = + = 23.6 + 0.5 = 24.1
The round trip time is from Equation I, = + = ) + = 88.5
C2 Round Trin Time in Units ,
A 1600 elevator a mund trip the ground floor pick up
I
21st floor and return them to the ground floor. The operating velocity is 3 with an acceleration of 1.2 and the elevator
door is 1200 wide, center-opening. The distance between floors is m, and the total travel distance, is 64 m.
I
From Table C-2, the number of people in the elevator is approximated at 16. FromTable C-I, and is ele-
vator shape is not unusual and the passenger capability is normal, so is 0. The total transfer is
=
From Equation the time for people to enter elevator is = N = .
I I
From Equation the time for 16 people to leave the elevator is
= 10s .
From Equation the standing time is
= + = (16 + + + =
Consider is 60% of V,,,,then = = =
From Equation the at the end of constant acceleration is = = = 1.5
From Equation the distance traveled during constant acceleration is
I
From Equation the time at the end of transitional acceleration is
I I
From Equation the distance traveled by the end of transitional acceleration is
The one-way travel time is calculated from Equation
The total travel time is calculated from Equation = + = 23.9 + 0.5 = 24.4
The round trip time is calculated from Equation = + = + 40.3 = 89.1
Elevator Evacuation Time
--
Estimate the time needed for elevator evacuation of all the people from the upper I I floors of a 21-story building to the outside
Table C-5 lists trip and the evacuation time calculated by The evacuation time using five elevators is calculated
at 1258 or about 2 minutes.
of the building. Additionally, of the people on the are included in the elevator evacuation. The of the people
on the lower floors will use the stairs. Each floor is occupied by 90 people. A group of six 1600 kg (3500 Ib) elevators are used
for the evacuation, and the doors are 1200 mm(48 in) wide, opening. One of the six cars is considered
service; thus, only five of the cars are used in the analysis. Other parameters of this example are listed in Table C-4.
.
Appendix D
Application of CONTAMW
INTRODUCTIOP
CONTAMW is a computer program developed by
George Walton at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. The program is a multizone indoor air qual-
ity and ventilation analysis program that is useful in a
variety of applications. For smoke management pur-
poses, the program can be used to help calculate
to-room airflows and pressure differences induced by
mechanical and natural forces.
What is the purpose of this appendix?
This appendix describes the use of CONTAMW by
way of an example application. The data for this exam-
ple application are selected as an example of illustrating
the input and output form of CONTAMW and are not
intended to represent recommended values for this pro-
gram.
How is this appendix organized?
This appendix is organized as follows:
Section I (Description of Example)-provides a brief
narrative of the example application.
Section 2 (Data a detailed
description of how to input data into the CONTAMW
program using the input data the example appli-
cation.
Section 3 (Data Output a descrip-
tion of how to run in CONTAMW and
how to read the output data.
Attachment I (Input input data used
in this example application.
Attachment2(Floor floor layouts
with zones and airflow paths identified in this example
application.
Attachment 3 (Simulation Results)-provides the
tabular and schematic results of the simulation for this
example application. An example of the shaft report
generated by the program is also included.
SECTION DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE
The CONTAMW computer program is described in
this appendix by way of the following example.
Building Description. The building has 12 stories
and a roof. The overall dimensions of the building are
246 (75 m) by 328 ft (100 m) by 157 ft (48 m) (in
height). The building has two stairwells that have the
dimensions 7.9 f t (2.4 m) by 33 ft m). Each stair
door is 2.9 ft (0.91 m) in width and 7 ft (2.13 m) in
height. The of the doorknob is 3 in. m)
from the edge of the door, and gaps around the closed
doors are 0.125 in. (0.00305 m) (vertical gaps) and 0.25
in. (0.00636 m) (horizontal gaps). The interior doors of
both stairs are open on the 1st floor. All other stair doors
are closed. Wall and floor construction in this building is
"loose."
Smoke Management Description. The building
has zoned smoke control and two pressurized stairwells.
The 6th floor is the smoke zone and is exhausted at a
rate of scfm (14,158 The 5th and 7th floors
are pressurized at this same flow rate. The stairwells are
each pressurized by a fan on the roof. The minimum and
maximum allowable pressure differences for the
wellare0.05 in. (90 Pa).
Environmental Description.
The building temperature is 72F The stairwell
Appendix D-Application of
Figure D1 Simple schematic
is 76F on the floor and
increases linearly to on the 12th floor. The
outside temperature is 85F representing a sum-
mer condition. The wind speed is mph (4.5 at 30
ft above ground level. There are two wind coef-
ficients-0.8 and -0.8-that are used to simulate the
pressures on windward and leeward walls, respectively.
The terrain around the building is considered "urban."
Other quantitative and qualitative input data are
provided in Attachment
SECTION2: DATA INPUT PROCESS
The data input process for the example application
is broken into the following seven steps:
Drawing Building Components
2. Identifying Zones
3. Describing Zones
4. Identifying Airflow Paths
5. Describing Airflow Paths
6. Describing Weather Data
Creating and Defining New Levels
Each of these steps is discussed in detail in this sec-
tion. The purpose of each step is presented, followed by
its use in the example application. Examples of the pro-
gram's screens are provided to assist the user i n
the narrative. Notes are identified in areas
where the user should be cautious during the data input
process.
Step 1: Drawing Building Components
Use the to the desired structural
components of the building, including exterior walls.
interior walls, stairs, ducts, shafts, etc. For further assis-
tance on drawing building components. the user should
refer to the CONTAMW Help Program or the
User's Manual.
Note: Since this is a schematic diagram, the draw-
ing does not need to be to scale. However, geometric
relationships of relevant building features will facilitate
review of model outputs. In addition, the user should
refrain from creating additional building levels before
identifying all zones and airflow paths on the floor level
drawn initially. This will allow all building elements to
line up from floor to floor. The creation of new floor
levels is discussed further in Step 7. When the
roof level of a building, all walls and zones should be
deleted from the drawing. In general, the only elements
that show on the roof level are airflow elements, such as
leaks, stair openings, fans, etc. Further discussion on
roof drawings is discussed further under Steps 4 and
Example Application: Four exterior walls, two
stairs, and one shaft (representing an elevator shaft) are
presented. Figure illustrates the program screen for
drawing the example schematic.
Step 2: Identifying Zones
Zones indicate a volume of air with uniform tem-
perature and contaminant concentrations. The user can
identify a zone as any area of interest (i.e., stair, room,
smoke management zone, etc.). Once walls have been
drawn, "normal" zone icons are placed within the wall
boundaries of the building. In addition to "normal"
zones within the building interior, the model represents,
by default, an "ambient"zone for the exterior environ-
ment surrounding the building.
Note: Every physical division in the building, as defined
by the schematic, must be identified with a single and
uniquely defined zone icon.
'Normal"
I
zone
Figure D2 Normal and ambient zones on
EXAMPLE APPLICATION: "Normal"zones are
identified as follows:
Stair l (Stl)
2. Stair 2
3. Building interior (ignore compartmentation
within the building interior)
4. Elevator shaft
In addition, the computer identified the "ambient zone"by
default. Figure D2 illustrates the screen used to
identify zones.
Step 3: Describing Zones
Each zone must be identified by numeric parame-
ters. The zone data include the name of the zone asso-
ciated with the zone icon, the zone temperature,
pressure (constant, variable, or none),
area, and initial contaminant concentration if applicable.
Note: The zone name must be unique for this level and is
limited to four characters. In addition, the user inputs either
the floor area or volume information. The program will
automatically calculate the field that is not entered by the
user.
Example Application: Variable pressure is used
where pressures are determined by the model for each
zone based on an analysis of conservation of mass. Fig-
ure D3 illustrates the program screen used to describe
I
volume: I
Figure D3 properties for stair I on first
zone properties. Contaminant data were not in this
application.
Step 4: Identifying Airflow Paths
An airflow path indicates some building feature by
which air can move one zone to another. The user
should identify any flow element on an wall,
interior wall, door, or floor (e.g., leakage paths. other
openings, fans or shafts).
Appendix D-Applicationof
I
, 1
Figure D4 Selecting an
Note: Floor leaks must be identified at meter elevation
for the floor level in question. The describes these
leaks as airflow between that level and the level below. In
addition, airflow paths must be identified on each exterior
wall user is taking into account wind effects. Path ele-
ments can be identified for each wall or one path element
can be identified and the areas involved described in paral-
lel. When adding a fan on the roof for stair pressurization,
the user should make sure that the airflow element is joined
up such that it is within the boundary of the stair enclosure.
"Large"openings and openings can be used inter-
changeably at the user's discretion to help facilitate review.
Exampl e Application: Horizontal and vertical air-
flow paths are identified. Horizontal paths
include "large" openings, such as stair doors, exterior
doors, and elevator doors. They also include "small"
openings, such as leaks in exterior walls, interior walls,
and closed doors. Vertical airflow paths include "large"
openings, such as stair and elevator enclosures. They
also include "small" openings such as leaks between
levels. Since the floor does not have a level below it,
there is no floor leak identified from that floor. Figure
D4 illustrates the program screen used to identify an air-
flow path.
Step 5: Describing Airflow Paths
Once placed on the user can define
airflow characteristics and move, copy, and delete them.
The user should refer to the CONTAMW Help Program
or User's Manual for additional guidance
on describing airflow paths. When describing
age characteristics. The height of the flow element
should be entered as the midheight elevation of the ele-
ment.
Note: Once a new element is defined, the identified ele-
ment is stored in the user-defined library. The user can edit
an existing element at any time and the changes will apply
to all airflow paths identified as that particular element.
Example Application: The filter and schedule tab
is not used in this example application. New user-
defined elements were added for the horizontal and ver-
tical airflow paths in this example. Figure D5 illustrates
the program screen used to describe a new airflow ele-
ment. Airflow path properties are broken into three
intermediate steps: defining airflow element characteris-
tics, identifying flow paths, and determining wind pres-
sures (where applicable).
Step I : Airflow
Characteris tics .
Airflow elements describe the mathematical rela-
tionship between the flow through an airflow path and
the pressure drop across the path. CONTAMW includes
choices of several types of flow elements and mathe-
matical models relating the pressure difference, area,
and mass flow. A mathematical model must be selected
for each new airflow path identified.
Note: Fields in the model input screens are either user-
defined or default values. Refer to Attachment for details
on the values used for this example application.
element characteristics, flow paths are specified as
Example Application: The following models are
either new elements or as an existing element in the
CONTAMW library. Input data for each path
used:
include information on the zones that the paths connect, using orifice area
their height, and quantitative information on data, for all closed and open stair doors.
Figure D5 New zuer-defined as EXTWALLI.
C
Models
One Opening
Figure D6 models in
2. One-way flow using leakage area
data, for all leaks in walls and floors.
3. One-way flow using stairwell, for
vertical stair openings behveen levels.
4. One-way flow using model, shaft, for verti-
cal elevator shaft openings behveen levels.
5. Fan and forced flow model, constant mass flow, for all
mechanical fans (exhaust and pressurization fans).
Figure D6 illustrates the different airflow
models that are available in CONTAMW program.
Figures D7 through D1 illustrate the data
required for the used in the example application.
Hydraulic 984378
Number:
Description:
a r e a is of the door
Lar ge 0
I
K
I
Intermediate Step 2: Flow
Once parameters for flow characteristics
have been added to the model fields, flow path proper-
ties (flow path tab shown in Figure must be defined.
When defining path properties, elevation of
Figure D7 model, orifice area
flow elements is most accurate at midheight of the open-
ing. The default value in the program is the mid-height
of the
Figure D8 model, area.
Perimeter.
Roughness:
floorleak loose 3m 3m
Large opening
.
Figure D10
..
Figure D11
Design
pressure
Figure D11 Fan and models.
Note: For stairs and the elevator shaft, the elevation of the
horizontal flow path is the midheight of the
doors and the elevation of the vertical flowpath is zero. In
addition, the user must identify the positive flow di i t i on
of an airflow path all fans (or other element type where
a flow rate is designated). For all other elements, the
the positive flowdirection.
Example Application: In this example, the posi-
tive flow direction from ambient to the building interior
is defined for the fans on the roof and the 5th and 7th
floors (in this manner, these fans supply rather than
exhaust air to the floor). The positive flow direction
from the building interior to ambient is defined for the
fan on the 6th floor. Elevation of flows was at midheight
of level for all walls, mid-height of doors for all doors,
or at floor level for all vertical flows. Figure D12 illus-
trates the program screen used to define flow path eleva-
tion and flow direction.
Intermediate St ep 3:
Determining Wi nd Pressure
Wind pressure characteristics are included only for
elements for which a flow exists between "normal"and
"ambient" zones. Three wind pressure options for open-
ings exist in the CONTAMW program: no wind pres-
sure, constant pressure, and variable pressure
(dependent on wind speed and direction).
Note: Data entry corresponding to the wind pressure
option selected is required.
Example Application: Variable wind pressure is
chosen for all exterior airflow paths. The no wind pres-
sure option is used for the on roof and all air-
flow paths inside the building interior. Figure D13
illustrates the screen used to describe wind pressure.,
For variable wind pressures, three inputs are
required: a wind pressure modifier, a wall azimuth
angle, and a wind pressure profile. The wind pressure
modifier is determined using the equation
where is the wind pressure modifier, A, and a depend
on the terrain around the building (ASHRAE 1989, p.
andHis the height of the roof or
The wall azimuth angle is defined as the direction
the wall faces with north being degrees, east 90
degrees, south degrees, and west 270 degrees. A
default azimuth angle is provided based on the orienta-
tion of the wall on the with the top of the
being north. The wind pressure profile is
based on wind coefficients and their respective wind
azimuth angles.
Example Application: The wind pressure modifier
was calculated using the building height (48 meters) and
urban terrain factors ( A, 0.35 and a = 0.40). Figure
D14 illustrates the weather and wind parameters screen
from which weather and wind characteristics are pre-
sented. In addition, the default azimuth angle of
degrees is used in this example application. The wind
coefficients used are 0.8 for the windward wall and -0.8
for all other walls. As mentioned, the windward wall
azimuth angle is degrees (north). Figure D15 illus-
trates the wind pressure display based on these wind
coefficients.
- .
FlowElement Path
. ,
Number
Figure D12 path elevation and direction for- a door:
Appendix D-Application
Describing wind pressure information
Local Terrain
I
Velocity
II
SpeedModifier. 4797
Figure D14 Wind for
Step 6: Describing Weather Data
Weather parameters (i.e., ambient temperature,
pressure, wind speed, and wind direction)
are also included in the The weather parameters
can be either steady-state or transient. The weather and
wind parameter fields define steady-state weather and
wind data. CONTAMW uses default values for tempera-
ture and pressure (with no wind): and atmo-
sphere (approximately respectively.The wind
speed field is used to address the reference velocity used
for the wind.
Note: If the building-site pressure is unknown, the
tab allows for input of the building site altitude, which
CONTAMW will use to determine a default barometric
pressure.
Example Application: Transient weather is not
addressed in this example. Steady-state weather data
have been used. Default values are used for all parame-
ters with the exception of ambient temperature, which is
20C. Figure D16 illustrates the location specific
weather parameters used.
Step 7: Creatingand Defining New Levels
The CONTAMW program is organized by levels,
and each level is represented by a plan view drawing. A
default level is created so that the user can begin work-
ing on a drawing right away without having to create a
new level. Each level should be given a name, an eleva-
tion of the level above ground, and the height of the
level from floor to ceiling. Whenever a new level is cre-
ated-whether it is a blank level or a copy of another
will give i t a default name that will
consist of a number enclosed within the and
characters. The user can modify the default names as
required for the particular building.
Note: The user must be careful when copying levels to
ensure that the connections between building levels are
presented in a manner that makes sense for the user's pur-
poses. As mentioned, it is recommended that
the first level be completed first with all "typical" zones
and airflow paths, so that the elements line up from floor to
floor. Other elements can be added or deleted as deemed
necessary. In addition, vertical leakage paths (i.e., stairs,
- Principles of Smoke Management
Figure D15 profile for defined wind
shafts, floor leaks) are included when new levels are cre-
ated since leaks via the floor are indicated the levels
above. The user must be careful to sure that all air-
flow paths specific to each level are accounted for.
All level names must be unique. In addition, the
value for the "distance to the level above" is used by
CONTAMW to calculate zone volumes based on the
floor area of each zone.
Example Application: Thirteen levels are included
in the example application (including floor levels and
a roof level). levels are copied from the floor
drawing, and the appropriate elements are added or
deleted for each subsequent floor. For example, fans
have been added on the and 7th floors, as well
as the roof, and floor leaks have been on the 2nd
through roof levels. The elements referring to the exte-
rior doors have been deleted from the 2nd through roof
levels. Attachment 2 provides the layout of each level
(including the zones and airflow paths present).
SECTION3: DATAOUTPUT PROCESS
CONTAMW provides the user with several types of
simulation results. The results available after a simula-
tion depend on the simulation method and output
parameter settings. The simulation is run based on set
simulation parameters. For this example application, the
simulation parameters used were default values pro-
vided by CONTAMW. Figure D17 illustrates the tab
that is used to run the simulation.
Wind Wind Pressure
These values usedtor pressure
WindSpeed
Wind degrees
Figure D16 site related weather- data.
Once the results are available, the user can view
results in two primary formats: schematic form and tab-
ular form.
Schematic Results. The CONTAMW program dis-
plays color-coded bars indicating the relative airflow
rates and pressure drops associated each airflow
path on the current level of the rates
are shown in blue and pressure in red.
Downward positioned bars indicate that
sures are going from that level to the level below.
Upward positioned bars indicate that
are going from that level to the level above. Schematic
results for the example application provided in
Attachment 3.
Note: When a airflow path icon is highlighted, the respec-
tive airflow and pressure results (in addition to level and
AppendixD-Application of
aifflow element name) will appear in the lower left-hand
direction of airflow on every level of the shaft where
corner of the screen.
there path icons in the same location on the
Tabular Results. CONTAMW can export results to
comma-separated format file that can later be imported
to a spreadsheet program for further analysis. The user
can plot aifflow, contaminant, exposure, and pressure
results. In addition to comma-delimited format,
TAMW generates a shaft report-a special reporting
As with the comma-delimited results, the
shaft report can be saved as a text file. Tabular results
(comma-delimited and shaft report for the
example application are provided in Attachment 3, Fig-
ure D18 illustrates the program screen used to export
comma-delimited results and generate a shaft report.
feature shafts. The shaft generated by the pro- NOTE: Asimulation must be run first in order to export
gram will display pressure drop, airflow rates, and
Figure D17
.
l 13
Figure D18
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ATTACHMENT
FLOORLAYOUTS
slairdwrl
, .
/
.
I
FIRST FLOOR
I
extwalll
.
Elev
Rml
L;
extwalll
SECOND THROUGH FOURTH FLOORS
a
FLOORS
Elev
I
FIFTH AND SEVENTH FLOORS
I ,
.
. .
fan5
FLOOR
AppendixD-Application of
ROOF
ATTACHMENT3
SIMULATIONRESULTS FOR EXAMPLE APPLICATION
FIRST FLOOR
SECONDFLOOR
THIRD FLOOR
FOURTH FLOOR
SIXTH FLOOR
FLOOR
SEVENTH FLOOR
EIGHTH FLOOR
NINTH FLOOR
TENTH FLOOR
. . . . . . . . -- - . . . - . . -.. ' -["' '.. "- '.. ' . '
TO. , L-1 13
AppendixD-Applicationof
ELEVENTH FLOOR
TWELFTH FLOOR
ROOF
TABULAR PRESSURE AND
AIRFLOWDATA OUTPUT
project: project
description:
simulation date :
simulation time :
ambient temperature : 20.0
barometric pressure : 1325.0 Pa
wind speed : 10.0 mph
wind direction : 0.0 deg
level: elevation: m
zone P
Stl 53.5 24.0
Elev
level: m
zone P
7.2 24.7
path
stairdoor
extstnvall l
openstdoor
elevdoor
floorleak
estdoor
openstdoor
openstdoor
l
estdoor
openstdoor
extstnvall I
stairdoor l
From
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Ambt
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Sun 03 2000
Flow2
7119.15
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-226.93
-6473.46
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7718.22
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-7119.15
-1
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Rml -19.6 20.0
level: elevation: 8.0 m
zone P T
Stl -38.9 25.5
Elev -73.1 20.0
intwallshft
elevdoor
floorleak
exhvall I
inhvallstr
intwallshft
elevdoor
floorleak
inhvallstr
exhvall1
inhvallstr
path
inhvallstr
inhvallshft
elevdoor
floorleak
exhvall1
inhvallstr
inhvallshft
elevdoor
floorleak
inhvallstr
l
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St1
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Rm1
1
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1
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from
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Ambt
1
Ambt
St
Ambt
Rm
FlowI Flow2
8335.10
-49.96
-77
-
-231.78
-
-39.0 25.5
level: elevation: 12.0
zone P
St l -84.8
Elev
l
level: elevation:
zone P T
St l 30.5 26.9
Elcv
intwallstr
l
path
extstnvall
stairdoor2
elevdoor
floorleak
elevdoor
floorlrak
I
l
path
l
St
St
l
Ambt
Rrn1
1
Ambt
St
St
Arnbt
Arnbt
Rm
Arnbt
Rm
Arnbt
Ambt
from
St
Ambt
St
Rrn
Ambt
Rrn
Rm
Flow Flow2
9177.54
-8945.69
-100.10
-238.22
-141.91
-1249.5
34.99
891.96
zone P T
Stl -176.1 27.6
Elev -214.7 20.0
-231.8 20.0
elevdoor
floorleak
intwallstr
fan3
elevdoor
floorleak
intwallstr
extwall I
intwallstr
extstnvall l
path
intwallstr
extstnvall I
intwallshft
elevdoor
tloorleak
extwall I
intwallstr
stairdoor2
fan4
elevdoor
tloorleak
stairdoor2
intwallstr
l
Ambt
St
st
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
Arnbt
Rm1
Arnbt
Ambt
from
St
St
Ambt
Rrn
Rni l
Ambt
St
St
Arnbt
Ambt
Ambt
RmI
Rni l
Rni I
Flowl Flow2
10253.70
-52.59
-9477.54
-220.1
-242.02
-261.43
zone P T
Stl -221.5 28.4
Elev
zone P T
St l -266.7 29.1
Elev
extstrwalll
intwallstr
elevdoor
l
intwallstr
fan3
elevdoor
floorleak
path
I
elevdoor
Ambt
Ambt
from
St
Ambt
St
Ambt
Rm1
1
Arnbt
Ambt
t
Rm
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
from
St
Ambt
Ambt
Rm
Rm
316
FlowI
11573.08
-54.85
-10851.84
-186.12
-256.91
-229.35
Rml -309.6 20.0
floorleak
exhvall1
inhvallstr
elevdoor
floorleak
inhvallstr
I
1
Ambt
St
Ambt
Ambt
inhvallstr
l Ambt
Ambt
zone P T
St l -31 29.8
path
I
from
St
Arnbt
Flow1
-11573.08
-214.84
-255.97
-256.19
Elev -356.3 20.0
Rrn l -365.4 20.0
elevdoor
floorleak
inhvallstr
elevdoor
floorleak
inhvallstr
l l
1
Rrn
level:
zone
Stl
Elev
l
St2
level:
zone
St l
Elev
I
elevation: 36.0 m
elevation: 40.0
path
intwallstr
I
elevdoor
floorleak
extwal l l
stairdoor2
elevdoor
floorleak
intwallstr
l
path
fl
intwallstr
l
elevdoor
l
intwallstr
Ambt
St
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
l
Rm
Ambt
I I
Ambt
Ambt
from
Ambt
Ambt
l
Ambt
l l
Flow2
13
-57.54
-
-232.47
-26 1.49
-272.18
FlowI Flow2
14035.98
-59.05
-13179.90
-245.65
-267.47
-283.9
elevdoor
floorleak
intwallstr
l
Ambt
Ambt
l l
1
Arnbt
intwallstr
extstrwalll Ambt
1
Ambt
P T
St l -445.1 32.0
path
flleakstrl
fanl
intwallstr
extstrwall
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
Flow
-76.0 -77.4
-76.0 15000.00
-70.4 -60.68
-1.2 -14035.98
-72.5 -257.60
-79.6 -273.92
-72.0 -294.4
flleakshft l
intwallshft
elevdoor
Ambt
l l
floorleak
1
intwallstr
elevdoor
floorleak
intwallstr
extwall l
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
l
1
Ambt
fan2
flleakstr l
intwallstr
extstrwall l
Ambt
Ambt
Arnbt
Ambt
zone P path
Note:
flows in scfm
pressures in Pa
in
* indicates limit exceeded
EXAMPLEOF SHAFT REPORTFOR STAIR1
project: CONTAM project
shaft report
[scfm]
+
I 72.5 257.60 Stl 72.5 257.60
l
67.2 245.65 Stl 67.2 245.65
I
I 61.7 232.47 Stl 61.7 232.47
I
Stl 24.3 127.32
------
I
Stl 56.3 220.11
16.7 100.10 Stl
I
Stl 28.0 140.33
------
I
St l 145.27
Stl 27.2 138.00
l
l 17.0 101.72
zone
Rml
Rml
Appendix E
Documentation
NOMENCLATURE
A = cross-sectional area of the atrium, m2
a = fire growth coefficient,
0.071
= absolute centerline plume temperature at eleva-
tion K
= growth time,
= average plume temperature at elevation z,
V = volumetric smoke flowat elevation m
3
/s
= height above top of fuel, m
= mean flame height,
= virtual origin of the plume, m
9.1
= convective fraction of heat release
p
= density of air or plume gases,
0.0018
= density of ambient air,
= 1.11
= density of plume gases at elevation
Note: The variables above are given in units
only, because internal calculations in are in SI.
= specific heat of plume gases,
PART1: DESCRIPTION
= diameter of fire, m
g
= acceleration of gravity,
H ceiling height above the fire, m
= mass flow in plume at height z,
P = absolute pressure,
Q = heat release rate of the fire, kW
convective heat release rate of fire, kW
R
= gas constant, 287 J
t = time,
T absolute temperature,
ambient temperature.
Below are the equations used in each section of
except for ASET-C, which is discussed in
Appendix F.
Steady Filling Equation (Solve for z)
Steady Filling Equation (Solve for t)
E- Documentation
Unsteady Filling Equation (Solvefor
Unsteady Filling Equation (Solve for t)
Simple Plume Equations
Mass flow of plume:
5/ 3
= z
Mean flame height:
9 c
Average plumetemperature:
The volumetric flowof a
The density of air and plume gases:
Plume with Virtual OriginCorrection
Mass flow of plume:
I
= - +
This equation can be rearranged to simplify calculation:
I 5/ 3
=
Virtual origin of the plume:
= - 1.02
Mean flame height:
= - 1.020,
Average
= +-
I'
The volumetric flowof a plume:
The density of air and plume gases:
Plume CenterlineTemperature
Plume temperature:
The virtual origin of the plume and the mean flame
height by the equations of the previous section, "Plume
with Virtual Origin Correction."
Convectiveportion of the heat release rate:
The convective fraction, E, , is generally taken as 0.7
for design. However, when burning a known fuel (as in
acceptance testing), it may be desired to use the specific
value for the
PART2: USERS GUIDE
is a collection of tools that can be used for
analysis of atria smoke management systems. This pro-
gram is for a personal computer with a DOS operating
system, and program was in C. When
is in the active directory, the program is acti-
vated by typing by pressing the
key. When the program starts, the main
appears on the screen as shown in Table E-l.
The equations used for each routine are listed in
Appendix C, except for ASET-C, which is described in
Appendix E. of Appendix C are also
addressed in the body of the text.
The first time the program is run, it starts in
units, and the user can change units by pressing E for
English units or I for units. The programstores a unit
indicator in file UNITS so that it M-ill start up with the
unit selection from the last time the program was run.
The other menu items are selected pressing the key
that is in bold type (or yellow on a monitor).
The first menu item is selected'by pressing S, and
the screen for this menu is shown i n Table E-2. There
are two ways to enter data from this menu. The first is
by pressing the key that is in bold for that menu item.
The second is by the indicator at the right of
menu item the up and down arrows. This indicator
is next to the first menu item height above fire)
in Table E-2. Once an has been selected, the num-
ber for that is entered followed by Table
E-3 shows the screen after data has been entered.
The data displayed on the screen can be sent to the
printer by pressing P. and pressing D returns the user to
the main menu. To send results to a file, press f and
enter the Use of the other i n the
menu is similar to discussed above.
-TableE-l:
Main Menu Screenof
Atria Smoke Management Engineering Tools
Menu
Steady Fiiiing Equation (Solve for
Steady Filling Equation (Solve fort)
Unsteady Filling Equation (Solve for z)
Unsteady Filling Equation (Solve for t)
Simple Plume Equation
Plume with Virtual Origin Correction
Plume Centerline Temperature
ASET-C (C language version of ASET-B)
Input units or English):
Exit
Table E-2:
Screenfor Steady Filling Equation (Solve for
Steady smoke filling
Height of smoke layer during atrium filling from a steady fire
height above fire
H (m):
cross-sectional area of atrium A (m
A
2):
heat release rate of tire
time t
Print results (to LPTI)
Print results to file disabled
Table E-3:
Screen for Steady Filling Equation After Data are Entered
Steady smoke filling
of smoke layer during atrium filling from a steady fire
ceiling height above fire H (m): 80.00
cross-sectional area of atrium A (m
A
2): 20000.00
rate of fire Q (kW): 10000.00
time t 1200.00 +
(to
Print results file disabled
Done to main
smoke layer lire, is 17.6 m or 57.8 A
Appendix E- Documentation
EXAMPLEOUTPUT UNITS)
Steady Filling Equation (Solve for
Height of smoke layer duringatrium filling a steady fire
ceiling height above fire H(m): 30.00
cross-sectionalarea of atrium A(m
2
): 5000.00
heat release rate of fire Q(kW): 5000.00
time t (S): 300.00
Height of smoke layer above fire, z is 17.4 m or 57.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steady Filling Equation (Solve fort)
Atrium filling time for steady fire
ceiling height above fire H(m): 40.00
cross-sectional area of atrium A 10000.00
heat release rate of fire Q(kW): 5000.00
height of layer fire z (m): 8.00
Filling is seconds or 1.5 min.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
unsteady Filling Equation (Solve for z)
Atrium tilling for unsteady fire
ceiling height above tire H(m): 30.00
fire growth constant (Menu) a 0.04659
time
t (S): 800.00
At 800 seconds, the tire is 300l0 kWor
Height above tire, is 10.7 mor 35.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsteady Equation (Solve fort)
Atrium tilling for unsteady tire
ceiling height above H(m): 50.00
cross-sectional A (m
Z
): 12000.00
height of smoke layer 10.00
Filling time is 1237 seconds or 20.4
At this time, the fire is or
.........................................................................
Simple plume equation
Mass flow and temperature rise of an plume
correction for virtual origin
(m): 50.00
Heat release Q 25000.00
(C):
At elevation the plume has:
Mass flow of 1282.4 2827.2
Volumetric flowof 1117.2 m
3
/s 2367016
Averagetemperatureof 35C 94F
Mean flame height of 8.3 m 27.1
.............................................................
Plume with V i a l Origin Correction
Mass flow rate and average plume temperature
Elevation (m): 50.00
Heat release rate of fire Q(kW): 25000.00
fire diameter Df (m): 4.00
Ambient temperature Ta ("C): 21.00
Mass flow of 1254.7 2766.1
Volumetric flowof 1094.2 2318 122 cfm
Average temperature of 35C 95F
Virtual origin at 0.7 m 2.3
Plume Centerline Temperature
Calculatecenterline plume temperature
. .
Elevation
z (m):
Heat release rate of fire Q(kW): 25000.00
fire diameter Df (m): 4.00
Convectivefraction of heat release (0.6 to 1): 0.70
Ambient temperature Ta ("C): 21.00
At elevation z, the plume has:
Centerlinetemperature 46C 115F
EXAMPLEOUTPUT (ENGLISH UNITS)
Height of smoke layer during atrium filling a steady fire
ceiling height above fire H (R): 98.40
heat release rate of fire Q 4740.00
time t 200.00
Height of smoke layer above fire, z, is 17.4 mor 57.2
.........................................................................
Steady Filling Equation (Solve for t)
Atriumfilling time for steady fire
ceiling height above fire H (R): 131.00
cross-sectional area of atrium A
heat release rate of fire Q 4740.00
height of layer above tire 26.20
Appendix E- Documentation
Unsteady Filling Equation(Solve for z)
fillingtime for unsteady fire
ceiling height above fire H(R): 98.40
cross-sectional area of amum A 86100.00
time
t 800.00
At 800 seconds, the fire is 30006 kWor 28442
Height of smoke layer above fue, z, is 10.7 m or 35.0 R
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsteady Filling Equation (Solve for
Atriumfilling time for unsteady fire
ceiling height above fire H(ft): 164.00
fire growth constant (Menu) a
height of layer above fire (ft) 32.80
Fillingtime is 1236 secondsor min.
At this time, the fire is 71650 kWor 67914
Simple plume equation
Mass and temperaturerise of a plume
without correction for virtual origin
Elevation z (ft): 164.00
Heat release rate of fire Q 23700.00
Ambient temperature (F): 70.00
At elevation z, the plume has:
Mass flow of 1.9 2826.2
Volumetric flow of I 17.2 m
3
/s 2367054 cfm
Average of 35C 94F
Mean flame height of m 27.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plume with Virtual Origin Correction
Mass rateand average plume temperature
Elevation (ft): 164.00
Heat release rate of fire Q
fire diameter Df (ft): 13.10
Ambient temperature Ta (F): 70.00
Mass flow of 1253.9 7764.4
flow of 1093.9 m
3
/s 2317599cfm
Average temperatureof 95F
Elevation
Heat release rateof fire
Firediameter
Convective fraction of heat release
Ambient temperature
Centerline temperature
Virtual origin at 0.7
Mean flame height of 9.4 m
Plume CenterlineTemperature
Calculate centerlineplume temperature
z (R): 164.00
Q 23700.00
Df (R): 13.10
. (0.6 to l): 0.70
Ta (F): 70.00
Appendix F
ASET-C: ARoomFire Program
for Personal Computers
INTRODUCTION
Cooper (1981) of the for Fire Research,
National Bureau of Standards, introduced a
mathematical model for estimating available safe egress
time in fires. Cooper and Stroup (1982) published a
computer program to the calculations in the
mathematical model; thus, the computer program also
became known as was not specifically
written for the personal computer environment because
at the time it was being developed, personal computers
were just emerging as a tool for use i n the engineering
Since the introduction of the use of personal
computers has widespread and there has been
significant interest i n running on personal com-
puters. I n response to this interest, Walton (1985) intro-
duced ASET-B, a for personal computers
based on the original model. The B
was used to indicate basic, brief, BASIC, and beta.
is a 1500-line FORTRAN program that has
many features. ASET-B is a 100-line program
that was developed to be as simple and fast as possible.
The most significant change i n ASET-B is the use of a
different mathematical procedure to solve the primary
equations. ASET-B employs an equation solver that is at
least five times faster than that used i n while
retaining mathematical agreement to within a fraction of
a percent. ASET-B is an interactive program requiring a
of These features make ASET-Beasy to
learn and apply. In ersations with
fire protection engineers, the author has found that
ASET-B has very popular.
This appendix describes ASET-C routine, which
is program. ASET-C is a C language
version of ASET-B with improved interactive input and
a few added features. The interactive input was made to
be consistent with the other routines. The
added features consist of allowing fire data input from a
file and the use of a t-squared fire. Most of the material
in this appendix is adapted from Walton's (1985) paper
on ASET-B and, in many places, the adaptation con-
sisted only of changing ASET-B to ASET-C.
DESCRIPTION OF THEMODEL
The mathematical model that is the basis for
ASET-B, and ASET-C has been presented in detail by
Cooper (1981, 1982) and will be only summarized here.
It is based on a single room or enclosure with all doors,
windows, or vents closed except for a small leak at floor
level. This leak prevents the pressure from increasing in
the room. A fire starts at some point below the ceiling
and releases and of combustion. The
rate at which energy and products of combustion are
released may change with time. The hot products of
combustion forma plume, which, due to buoyancy, rises
toward the ceiling. As the plume rises, it draws in cool
air from the room, which decreases the plume's tempera-
ture and increases its volume flow rate. When the plume
reaches the ceiling, it spreads out and forms a hot gas
layer, which descends with time as the plume's gases
continue to flow into it. There is a relatively sharp inter-
face between the hot upper layer and the air in the lower.
part of the room, which, in this model, is considered to
be at ambient, temperature. The only interchange
between the air i n the lower part of the room and the hot
upper layer is through the plume. could therefore
be described as a two-layer zone The basic
fire phenomena are shown in Figure F
Appendix ASET-C: A Fire Programfor
Air at Approximately
Ambient Temperature
Leak at FloorLevel
I
Figure F1 Schematic
The two unknowns in ASET-C are the height of the
hot layer interface above the fire, and the average
temperature of the upper layer, P. It should be noted that
the notation used here to describe the model is consis-
tent with the variable names in the computer pro-
gram. The unknowns, and P, are often referred to as
the (dimensionless) height and temperature of the
smoke layer since, consistent with the model formula-
tion, smoke can be found i n the plume and the hot
upper layer. The known quantities are and
height of the room, A and H, the height of the base of the
fire above the floor, F, and the acceleration due to grav-
ity, G. In addition, the ambient temperature, PA, density,
DA, and specific heat, CP, of air must be The
final known quantities are the rate at which heat is
released by the fire as a function of QT, the frac-
tion of the total heat release, which is given off as radia-
tion, LR, and the fraction of total heat release rate, which
is lost to the contents and surrounding surfaces of the
room, LC.
The unknown height and temperature are deter-
mined by using conservation of mass and energy in con-
junction with equations describing the plume. Since the
height and temperature of the smoke layer will vary
with time, their solutions are obtained by solving two
differential equations. In developing the original equa-
tions for (Cooper l , two dimensionless
groups of problem parameters, C1 and C2, were intro-
duced. Also introduced were forms of the
variables: time, height, and temperature of the smoke
layer, initial height of smoke layer, height of the base
of the fire, and the rate of heat release. These variables
are made dimensionless by dividing them bv a charac-
teristic quantity with the same dimensions or units.
Thus, the dimensionless temperature, P, is the actual
temperature of the smoke layer. PF (converted to R),
divided by the ambient temperature, PA (R). Similarly,
the rate of heat release, is the actual
rate of heat release, (kW), divided by the initial rate
of heat release, (kW). Finally, the dimensionless
variables, of the smoke layer, initial height of
the smoke layer, and height of the base of the fire, F,
are the values for these variables in feet
divided by a characteristic length CL, which is also in
feet. Here, as in the program, CL is simply taken
as one foot. Thus. the dimensionless lengths Z, ZO, and
F are the same as their physical lengths in feet. The
dimensionless time, T, is the actual time divided by a
characteristic time, of one second. The
less time, T, is therefore numerically equal to the actual
time in seconds. Since engineering units are used in
this convention has been continued here for con-
sistency. Conversion to units is provided in the
pro,
The equations for the dimensionless
height of the layer above the fire, and average tem-
perature of the layer, P, are given below.
-Cl for
for Z = -F
QT + for o
2 I
C2 (0.21 . - LR) . CL
In order to solve the equations for Zand P, the ini-
tial conditions must be known. One set of initial condi-
tions, which were derived in Cooper 1982) and
will be used here, assume that the fire starts with a small
heat release rate, at time T Under such condi-
tions, the initial conditions are
Although is in the above equa-
tion at = 0, its actual value has been found in Cooper
(1981, to be
+ (Cl + C2
C2 6
= time =0.
SOLUTION OFTHE EQUATIONS
In general, the differential equations and P
cannot be explicitly; that is, an algebraic expres-
sion cannot be written that describes Zand P at any time
As a result, the equations must be solved numerically.
the equations using a variation
of the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method with variable
step. this has a high degree of
racy, it has been determined that the improved Euler's
method has sufficient accuracy for this problem. The
improved Euler's method is a simple predictor-corrector
type and is described in most books on numerical meth-
ods (Carhanan, Luther, and 1969). The improved
Euler's method used in ASET-C requires substantially
fewer calculations than the method used in
resulting in ASET-C running much faster than
The improved Euler's method as applied in ASET-C
is basically a technique for stepping the solution for-
ward in time. Given the values of Zand Pat a particular
time, the method is used to determine the values of Z
and P at time T + where DT is a small time incre-
ment. This process is started at time and continued
until Z and P are known at all times of interest. In the
case of ASET-C, an increment of one second has been
found to yield results that agree well with for
problems of practical interest.
In ASET-C, ZI, and PI are used to indicate the val-
ues of Z and Pat time For the first step, these are the
initial values at time T = 0. 22 and P2 are used to indi-
cate the values of Z and P to be calculated at time T +
To determine and P2 it is observed that the dif-
ferential equations for Z and P represent time rate of
change of these quantities. The time rate of change mul-
tiplied by the time step yields the change that occurs
over the time step. This would be an exact result if the
equations were linear or the time steps were infinitely
small. Since the equations are nonlinear, and it is
impractical to make the time step infinitely small, an
approximation must be used. In the improved Euler's
method, and P2 are first predicted using the deriva-
tives evaluated at time Using and the deriva-
tives are then evaluated at time Corrected values
of Z2 and P2 are then calculated using the average of the
derivatives evaluated at times T and T + 22 and P2
are predicted by
2 2 + DT ,
P2 = PI + DRI DT .
where = and = are evaluated using
Z= and P= The derivatives at time T+
and = are then evaluated using Z= 22
and P=P2. Corrected values for and are calculated
using the average derivatives
= + + DT ,
P2C = + [( DPI + DT .
The predicted values of Z and P are then compared
to the corrected values. In ASET-C, if the absolute value
of the difference between the predicted and corrected
values is less than 0.001, solution is considered to
have converged and the proceeds to the next
time step. If the difference is greater than 0.001, the pre-
dicted values become the corrected values and the deriv-
atives at time T + DT are recalculated. New corrected
values are then calculated. In ASET-C, this procedure
repeated for a maximum thirty times. If the differ-
ences are still greater than 0.001, a warning is printed,
and the program proceeds to the next time step.
The evaluation of the derivatives of Z and P
requires the dimensionless heat release rate, QT, be
known for all times, For heat release rates that are not
constant with time, ASET-C requires the heat release be
specified for each one-second time interval. To simplify
this procedure, ASET-C uses point specified heat
release rates with linear interpolation. Heat release rates
can be specified at as many as different times. Lin-
ear interpolation is then performed to determine the heat
release rate at each time step.
RUNNI NG THE PROGRAM
General Instructions
ASET-C is written as an interactive program; that
is, the program prompts the user questions. As pre-
viously stated, ASET-C is part of the package
of routines for atrium analysis, and a description of this
package is provided in Appendix E. The mechanics of
input for ASET-C, are consistent with the other routine
in this package. To use ASET-C, data be entered
for the items discussed below.
Program Inputs
Heat Loss Fraction. The first input is tlie heat loss
fraction. This quantity is instantaneous faction of the
heat release rate of the fire that is lost to the bounding
surfaces of the and its contents. Cooper
1982) has provided guidelines for selecting this parame-
ter, which is called Lambda C or ALMAC in
He has that the approximate range is -
The lower value corresponds to high aspect ratio
spaces (ratio of ceiling span to room height) with
smooth ceilings and fires positioned far away from the
walls. The intermediate to high values corresponds to
low aspect ratio spaces, with irregular surfaces.
or rooms in which the fire is within one ceiling height of
the wall. The temperature of the upper layer is a func-
tion of the heat loss fraction and the heat release rate of
the fire. The greater the heat loss fraction, the lower the
temperature in the layer. The heat loss fraction for
a room insulated walls will be lower than the frac-
tion for the with uninsulated walls.
Both and ASET-C treat tlie heat loss parame-
ter as a constant. That is, the heat lost from the room is a
constant fraction of tlie heat release rate of the fire. As
the heat release rate of the tire changes. tlie quantity
-Appendix F-ASET-C: ARoom Fi e Program for PersonalComputers
heat lost will also change, but in direct proportion to the
fire. Therefore, the will not cool down even
though the heat release rate of the fire goes to zero.
Height of the Base of the Fire. The second input is
the height of the base of the fire above the floor in feet.
For fuel items of relatively uniform surface height, such
as this is simply the height of the surface. For
three dimensional items, such as sofas, an average
height weighted to reflect the distribution of surfaces
should be used. The rate of growth of the upper layer is
strongly dependent on the difference between the height
of the base of the fire and the height of the smoke layer
interface.
Room Ceiling Height and Floor Area. The third
and fourth inputs are the room ceiling height in feet and
the floor area in square feet. According to Cooper
(1981, the calculations may not be valid when
applied to room length-to-width aspect ratios greater
than 10: or with a ratio of height to minimum horizon-
tal dimension exceeding one. The equations are based
on the assumption that the upper layer is well mixed and
at a uniform temperature. Therefore, the results for a
square room and a rectangular room of equal height and
area will be the same.
Output Interval. The fifth input is the output inter-
val. This is the time step for results that are sent to the
screen or printed. The output interval of ASET-B
set at five seconds, and this is the default for
ASET-C.
Maximum Time. The input is the
time for the simulation in seconds. The results of the
calculations will be printed at five-second intervals unt i l
the maximum time or until the end of the heat release
data.
Fire Growth Constant. The seventh input is the
description of heat release rate of the fire. A fire
constant can be entered to define a t-squared fire, or the
Menu can be activated that allows selection of a fire
growth constant for typical fires (slow, medium, fast, or
ultra-fast). From the the user also can choose to
enter data as sets of points, as was done with ASET-B.
When the user selects data points, the computer waits
for the run command to request the data. However, the
following is a discussion of input by data points.
As described earlier, the program can accommodate
up to 100 pairs of times and heat release
rates. The program performs a linear interpolation
between the specified points to determine the heat
release rates at the required times during the calcula-
tions. The data are entered by typing the time in sec-
onds, by a comma, followed by the heat
release rate i n kilowatts. A return or enter is then typed
to proceed to the nest
Heat release rates entered as less than 0.1 kilowatt
will be converted to that value. The program will auto-
matically assume a starting value kilowatt at time
zero. A heat release rate at time zero does not have to be
entered unless a greater initial heat release rate is
required. When all of the desired and heat release
rates have been entered, a -9,-9 followed by a return is
entered to the data entry and begin the calcu-
lations. Actually, any negative time followed by a heat
release rate will result in the same action.
Optional Upper Limit on Fire. Fire growth may
be approximated by the t-squared curve for some time.
Because of the action of a suppression system, limita-
tions of fuel, or limitations of combustion air, t-squared
fire growth eventually must stop. The optional upper
limit on fire growth allows the user to specify a heat
release rate at which the fire curve reaches steady
Send Results to Printer or to File. To sent results
to the printer, press P. To send results to a file, press t
and enter the file name.
Run Simulation. To run ASET-C, press R. If heat
release rate by point entry has been selected from the
Menu, the data points will be requested after the run
starts.
Program Outputs. The output of the ASET-B pro-
gram is a summary of the input data and a table of the
conditions in the room as a function of time. The first
in the table is the simulation time in seconds.
The second and third columns are the temperature in the
upper layer in degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit. The
fourth and fifth columns are the height above the floor
of the interface between the upper and lower layers. The
sixth and seventh columns are the heat release rate of
the fire in kilowatts and Btu per second. The output has
the same number of significant digits as does ASET-B,
which allows users to verify that this program produces
the same results as ASET-B for the same input.
LIMITATIONS OF
The use of ASET-C or any design aid requires the
design engineer to make the final evaluation as to the
appropriateness of the design. The ASET-C programs
are based on certain engineering approximations of the
fire environment and should be used to supplement
rather than replace sound engineering judgment. The
program results should be treated as approximate and
the user is encourayed to become familiar with how
changes in the input variables affect the program results.
The temperature of the upper layer and the height of the
interface respond differently to changes in the input
data. Appropriate factors of safety should be applied to
either the input data or ths program results.
Some of the limitations of the program have been
presented in conjunction with the input data require-
ments. There are, however, some additional limitations.
The mathematical procedure used in ASET-C is very
that is, the procedure will normally converge and
produce results. There are combinations of input data
for which the program will either fail to converge or halt
due to an illegal mathematical operation. If the
dure for solving the equations fails to converge, a warn-
ing will be printed and the solution will continue. The
results following this message may be in error and
. .
,
should be treated as such. The failure to converge is
ally a result of a release value that changes too rap-
idly. In most cases, problem can be corrected by
minor smoothing of the input heat release curve.
VERIFICATIONOF
Results of the program have been compared
to data from a limited number of actual fire experiments
(Cooper 1981, These comparisons can be
extended to the ASET-B and ASET-C programs since
they produce results that are within a few percent of
those produced by The fire experiments consid-
ered a of a hospital room-corridor building
space. Comparisons were found to be generally
able. This does not necessarily mean that the compari-
son will be favorable all cases. Clearly, additional
studies are required in this area and that work is ongo-
ing.
AppendixF-ASET-C: A Room Fire Programfor Personal Computers
SAMPLERUN (ENGLISHUNITS)
HEATLOSS FRACTION 0.80
FIREHEIGHT =
ROOMHEIGHT =
ROOMAREA =
Fire curve input manually
TIME(sec), HEATRELEASERATE(kW):
TIME
sec
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
35.0
45.0
50.0
55.0
60.0
65.0
70.0
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
105.0
110.0
120.0
125.0
135.0
140.0
145.0
155.0
160.0
170.0
175.0
180.0
TEMP
C
21.3
23.4
24.9
27.7
29.2
30.8
32.6
34.4
36.4
38.6
40.9
43.3
46.0
51.8
55.0
61.9
65.8
69.8
74.2
79.0
90.0
96.2
102.9
143.7
163.3
184.5
195.9
TEMP
F
70.3
74.2
76.7
79.3
84.6
87.5
90.6
97.5
105.6
119.8
125.2
130.9
137.0
143.5
165.5
183.7
205.1
217.2
243.9
258.7
290.7
307.9
325.9
344.6
384.7
LAYER LAYER
ft
9.0
8.7
8.3
7.8
6.5
6.0
5.7
5.3
5.0
4.4
I
3.9
3.4
3.2
3.0
2.6
2.5
2.3
2.1
2.0
I .S
1.7
I
1.3
1.2
0.8
0.6
0.2
0.0
FIRE
kW
0.1
20.1
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
90.0
100.0
10.0
120.0
130.0
160.0
180.0
200.0
218.8
237.5
256.2
275.0
293.8
3
331.2
350.0
368.8
387.5
406.2
425.0
443.8
462.5
48l
500.0
FIRE
0.1
9.6
28.5
37.9
47.4
56.9
66.4
75.9
85.4
94.8
104.3
113.8
123.3
132.8
142.3
161.2
170.7
225.3
278.6
296.4
314.2
332.0
349.8
367.5
385.3
438.7
456.5
Principles of
SAMPLE RUN UNITS)
HEATLOSS FRACTION= 0.80
FIRE HEIGHT m
ROOM HEIGHT= m
ROOM AREA = 20.00 sqm
fire growth constant 0.046890
TIME
sec
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
55.0
65.0
70.0
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
105.0
110.0
115.0
120.0
125.0
130.0
135.0
140.0
145.0
150.0
155.0
160.0
TEMP
C
21.5
22.6
23.3
24.3
25.4
26.8
28.4
32.5
35.1
41.5
45.3
49.8
54.8
60.5
66.9
74.1
9
101.3
124.8
138.5
171.0
190.3
236.2
263.5
329.0
362.7
TEMP
F
70.2
70.6
71.5
72.6
74.0
75.7
77.8
80.2
86.6
90.5
95.2
100.5
106.6
113.6
121.6
130.6
140.8
165.3
179.9
196.1
214.3
234.4
256.7
1.3
339.8
373.5
413.4
457.1
506.3
56
613.1
6
LAYER
m
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.5
1.3
1.2
1.1
I
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0. I
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
FIRE
kW
0. I
1.2
FIRE
0.1
1.1
4.4
10.0
27.8
40.0
54.5
71.2
90.1
1.2
134.5
160.1
187.9
250.2
284.6
1.3
360.2
401.4
444.8
490.3
694.9
751.6
810.6
871.7
935.1
1000.7
1068.5
1138.6
1210.8
1285.3
1441.0
Appendix G
Data and Computer Output
for Stairwell
his appendix lists the data and CONTAM output for Example 10.4. Figure G1 is the CONTAM representation
of the building. The design parameters are listed in Table G-l and the flow areas are listed in G-3. The
CONTAM runs are summarized in Table G-3, and the CONTAM simulated pressure differences from the stair
to the building are listed in Table G-4. Table G-5 is a listing of the entire CONTAM flow output for run 1. For a dis-
cussion of the results of this example, see Example 10.4 in Chapter 10.
(a) Ground
Notes. Typical Floor
l . Values of in Table E2.
Symbols
2. This door is either opened or closed
Single-door Leakage area of dosed single door
(Single-door or Open-door)
Double-door Leakage area of closed doubles door
Flow area of opened single
Leakage area of closed elevator door
Leakage area of cracks and gapsin walls
Leakage area of construction cracks and gaps in elevator walls
SW-wall Leakage area of cracks and gaps in walls
Leakage area of construction cracks and gaps in budding floor
El vent to at the elevator
Stairwell 1
FL Open plan space on the
EL
Figure G CONTAM 10.4: (a)
337
AppendixG-Data andComputer Output Stairwell Example
Table G-1:
DesignParameters for Example10.4
4 Design number of open doors from stairwell to building
Number of stories
Height between stories 12.0 (3.66 m)
Outside winter design temperature (-1
Outside summer design temperature
Building design temperature
Minimum design pressure difference 0.05 in. (12.4 Pa)
Maximum design pressure difference 0.30 in. (87 Pa)
Table
Flow for Example 10.4
CONTAM Tight Building Loose Building
Path Name
Doors:
Single - Closed
Double -Closed
Single - Opened
Elevator -Closed
Walls (per floor):
Exterior
Elevator
Stairwell to Building
Stairwell to Outside
Building Floor
Elevator Shaft Vent
Single-door
Double-door
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
Elev vent
Effective Areas of shafts
2
Stairwell SW-floor 41 3.8 41 3.8
Elevator 1290 120 1290
I . A C, of is for all flow areas for open stairwell doors for which C 0.35.
2. Effective area of a shaft is the area that results in a pressure drop equal to the friction losses of in the shaft. See Examples 6.9 and 6.10
Table G-3:
Summaryof CONTAMRuns for Example 10.4
Building Stair Supply
Run File Season Leakage Stair Doors
Summer Loose 20,500 9.67
2 Summer Loose G 20,500 9.67
3 Winter Loose G, 12, i3, 14, 15 20,500 9.67
4 Winter Loose G 20,500 9.67
5 Summer Tight 13,900 6.56
6 Winter Tight G 13,900 6.56
The pressurization air was obtained running program several times for runs I and 6 pressure differences
are 31 of 0.05 in. (12.4
G indicates ground door.
TableG-4:
PressureDifferencesAcross interior
1
Stairwell Door for Example 10.4
Run 2
in. Pa
. NA
0.171 42.5
40.3
39.6
0.149 37.1
0.147 36.6
0.145 36.1
35.6
0.141
34.6
33.3
0.133
I . interior door is one
Run 3
in. Pa
NA NA
Run 4
in. Pa
NA NA
0.204 50.8
53.2
0.228
0.239 59.5
0.248 61.7
0.253
0.256 63.7
0.257 63.9
0.259 64.4
0.267 66.4
0.271 67.4
0.275 68.4
0.276 68.7
NA indicates is interior stairwell door on ground floor.
Run S
in. Pa
NA NA
Run 6
in. Pa
NA NA
0.110 27.4
0.1 27.4
0.110 27.4
0.110 27.4
0.1 27.4
0.110 27.4
0.109 27.1
0.109 27.1
0.109 27.1
0.109 27.1
26.9
26.9
26.9
0.107 26.6
Appendi x G- Dat aand Comput er Out put for Exampl e
Table CONTAMFlowand Pressure for Example 10.4 Run
p r o j e c t : EX-10-4D
d e s c r i p t i o n : Exampl e 10. 4 - 4 SW-Doors Opened
s i mu l a t i o n d a t e :
s i mu l a t i o n t i me :
a mb i e n t t e mp e r a t u r e :
b a r o me t r i c p r e s s u r e : 29. 5 i n . Hg
wi nd s p e e d : 0. 0
wi nd d i r e c t i o n : de g
l e v e l : G e l e v a t i o n : 0 . 0 f t
zone P
EL 0 . 1 0 3
T . p a t h
73. 4
El e v
l o o r
l l
SW-wall
73. 4 SW-f l o o r
SW-wall
l l
l e v e l : 2 e l e v a t i o n : 12. 0 f t
zone P T p a t h
- 0. 069 73. 4
FL 73. 4
SW-wa l l
wa l l
579. 50
- 273. 68
-27.3. 68
80. 68
- 293. 32
- 11451. 74
94
- 80. 68
- 110. 94
Flow
- 271. 45
- 579. 50
- 155. 15
- 47. 20
- 401. 87
- 1525. 34
SW1 -0.005 SW-floor
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
SW2 -0.005
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
loor
Ambt
SW2/G
level: 3 elevation: 24.0 ft
zone P T path
EL -0.241 73.4
from Flow
46.22
271.45
393.53
393.53
EL/3
Ambt
SW1 -0.181 73.4 SW-floor
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wa11
SW-floor
Ambt
SW2 -0.181 73.4 SW-floor
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
zone P T path
EL. -0.412 73.4
EL/3
Flow
Appendix G-Data and ComputerOutputforStairwell Example
SW1 -0.355 73.4 SW-floor
Open-doo
SW-wal
SW-wal l
SW-floor
SW2 -0.355. SW-floor
Open-doo
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
zone P T path
L -0.584 73.4
loor
-0.529 73.4 SW-floor
Ope c r
SW-wa
1
w 2 -0.529 SW-floor
Open-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
level: 6 elevation:
zone P path
-0.756 73.4
Elev wall
3
SW2 4
Ambt
Ambt
FL/4
Ambt
Ambt
Ambt
from
FL/6
Flow
44.05
-44.
-375.00
-1361.45
-102.81
-1361.45
-13.24
-102.81
dP Flow
-0.
-0.001 -53.35
-0.001 -53.35
EL/ 6
Ambt
SW1 -0.701 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
SW2 -0.701 73.4 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
zone P T path
E L -0.927 73.4
Elev door
Flow
-16.45
2598.71
-140.07
-140.07
Ambt
SW1 -0.874 73.4 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
FL/7
Ambt
zone P T path
EL -1.099 73.4
Flow
-17.07
AppendixG-DataandComputer Output for Stairwell Example
loor
FL -1.107 73.4
Single-door
Single-door
loo r
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW2 -1.046 73.4 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
zone P path
EL -1.271 73.4
loor
-1.218 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
SW2 73.4 SW-floor
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
from
FL/9
9
EL/9
Ambt
t
9
Flow
0.000 -1688.91
-0.008 -16.95
0.000
-0.008 -144.31
-0.008 -144.31
108.0
zone P T path
EL -1.442 73.4
SW2 -1.390 73.4
Single-door
SW wall
level: elevation: 120.0 ft
zone
E L
FL
SW1
SW2
P T patn
-1.614
- 73.4
Single-door
wall
73.4 SW-f
l
from
EL/
EL/9
t
t
3 / 1 0
3 / 1 0
t
9
Flow
-16.07
-136.83
136.83
-87.32
69.41
-755.43
-1462.62
-151.44
-88.81
-69.41
-151.44
-69.41
-88.81
1772.29
Flow
0.000 -1137.18
-0.006 -14.53
0.000 1399.17
-0.006 -123.73
-0.006 -123.73
AppendixG-Data Computer for Stairwell Example
SW-wall
SW-floor
zone P T path
EL -1.786 73.4
from
FL/12
Flow
-911.05
-12.54
1137.18
-106.80
-106.80
Ambt
-1.734 SW-floor
l l
SW-wall
loor
Ambt
SW2 -1.734 73.4 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
level: 13 elevation: ft
zone P T path
E L -1.958 73.4
loor
from
FL/13
Flow
-726.25
-10.25
911.05
-87.24
-87.24
EL/13
Ambt
Ambt
. . Principles ofSmoke Management
SW2 -1.906 73.4 SW-floor 0.000 -568.54
Single-door -0.055 -145.53
SW-wall -0.055 -66.70
l l Ambt -0.079 -79.85
SW-floor 0.000 860.62
level: 14 elevation: 156.0
zone
EL
FL
SW2
T path
73.4 loor
zone P
EL -2.301
from
EL/ 15
EL/14
EL/14
.
Ambt
FL/
t
Ambt
from
Ambt
Flow
-584.77
-7.85
726.25
-66.85
-66.85
7.85
66.85
66.85
143.91
-106.76
65.96
-533.25
-143.91
-76.68
-65.96
-281.99
-143.91
-65.96
-76.68
Flow
-473.52
-6.17
-78.72
65.56
65.
-449.73
-143.04
-73.39
Appendix G-Data and ComputerOutput for Example
SW wall
SW2 -2.249 73.4 Single door
SW
SW-floor
zone P T path from
EL 73.4 t
Elev floor
Flow
-0.008 -473.52
0.000 473.52
systems:
name air flows:
recirc outside
Exhust 0.00 0.00
40999.97
Note:
flows in scfm
pressures in
temperatures in F
* indicates limit exceeded
Appendix H
Data and Computer Output for
Zoned Smoke Control Example
his appendix lists the data and CONTAM output for Example 12.5. The example is an eight-story building
with zoned smoke control and two pressurized the exception of the number of stories, the
design parameters and flow areas of this example are the same as Example 10.4 (Appendix G), and Figure GI
is applicable.
The CONTAM runs are summarized in Table H-l , and the CONTAM simulated pressure differences the
stair to the building are listed in Table H-2. Table H-3 is a listing of the entire CONTAM flow output for run l .
For a discussion of the results of see Example 12.5 in Chapter 12.
Table H-l:
Summary of CONTAM Runs for Example 12.5
Fire Floor Adjacent Floor
Building
Eshaust Supply
Run File Season Leakage m
3
/s cfni
Summer Loose G 2800 1.32 2800 1.32 l600 0.761
2 Summer Loose 2 2800 1.32 l600 0.761
3 EX-12-5B Loose 7 2800 1.37 2800 l600 0.761
4 EX-12-5E Winter Loose G 2800 1.32 l600 0.761
5 EX-12-5D Winter 2800 1.32 1600 0.764
6 EX-12-SF Winter Loose 2800 1.32 2800 1.32 l600 0.764
I . Gindicates the exterior ground stairwell door.
Table H-2:
Pressure Differences Calculated by CONTAM for Example 12.5
Stairwell to Fire Floor Floor Below to Fire Floor Above to Fire Floor
Run in. Pa in. Pa in. Pa
2 0.065 16.2 0.060 11.9 0.066 16.4
3 0.053 13.2 0.053 0.072 17.9
4 0.063 l 5.7 A NA . 0.069 17.7
5 0.054 13.1 31.6 0.051
6 0.103 75.6 0.091 23.1
NA indicates
Appendix H-Data andComputer Output for Zoned Smoke Control Example
Table H3. CONTAMFlowand Pressure Output for Example 1
project: EX-12-5A
description: Example 12.5 Summer - Loose Building - Fire on Floor
simulation date : Janl
simulation time:
ambient temperature: F
barometric pressure: 29.9 in. Hg
wind speed: 0.0 mph
wind direction: 0.0 deg
G elevation: 0.0 ft
zone D T path from
EL 0.044 73.4 0.000 855.97
-0.061 -47.48
-0.061 -404.24
-0.061 -404.24
-0.018 73.4
Single-door
Single-door
return
SW-wal l
SW-wall
Double-door
Ambt
Ambt
Exhust
SW2/G
Ambt
Ambt
0.069 73.4 SW-floor 0.000 317.03
Single-door Ambt -0.067 -160.52
SW-wall -0.066 -72.87
SW-wall -83.64
0.069 73.4 SW-floor 0.000 317.03
Single-door Ambt -0.067 -160.52
SW-wall -0.086 -83.64
SW-wall -0.066 -72.87
2 elevation: 12.0 ft
P T path f dP
EL -0.128 73.4 0.000 322.91
0.024 29.57
0.000 -855.97
0.024 251.74
0.024 251.74
-0.104 73.4 FL/ 3 -479.55
-0.024 -29.57
-0.024 -251.74
EL/2 -0.024 -251.74
Single-door 0.001 19.87
Supply 2800.00
Ambt
SW1 -0.103 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
SW2 -0.103 73.4
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
Ambt
zone P T path
EL 73.4
from
FL/3
FL/ 3
4
EL/ 3
EL/ 3
EL/3
t
SW1 -0.275 SW-floor
. Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
FL/ 3
Ambt
FL/3
SW2 -0.275 SW-floor
Single-docr
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
FL/3
Ambt
level: 4 36.0
zone P T path
EL 73.4.
from
EL/ 5
Appendix H-Data and Computer for Zoned Smoke Control Example
-0.447 73.4 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
zone
EL
FL
SW1
SW2
P T path
-0.643 loor
loor
-0.64 loor
Elev door
single-door
Single-door
loor
SW-wal l
SW-wall
-0.618 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wal l
SW-wall
SW-floor
FL/ 4
FL/4
FL/5
EL/ 4
EL/ 4
SW2 4
SW2 4
Ambt
FL/ 4
Ambt
Ambt
from
FL/ 6
EL/5
Ambt
FL/5
Ambt
PrinciplesofSmokeManagement
SW-floor
zone P T path
E L -0.8 3.4
loor
from
EL/5
FL/6
668.01
-4.68
-583.62
-39.86
-39.86
FL -0.8 73.4
Single-door
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
FL/7
EL/6
EL/6
FL/5
Ambt
-0.790 73.4 SW-floor
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
FL/6
Ambt
FL/6
FL/6
FL/6
Ambt
SW2 -0.790 SW-floor
Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
zone P T path
EL -0.986 73.4
from
3.26
-668.01
27.77
27.77
EL/7
FL/6
.
Ambt
Ambt
Appendix Dataand ComputerOutput forZonedSmokeControl Example
SW-wall -0.024 -44.35
loor 0.000 368.28
-0.962 73.4 SW-floor SW2 0.000 -178.95
-0.024 -96.76
SW-wall -0.024 -44.35
SW-wall Ambt -0.029 -48.22
SW-floor 0.000 368.28
zone P T path
EL -1.158 73.4
loor
SW2 -1.134 73.4 Single-door
SW-wall
SW-wall
SW-floor
level: 9 elevation: 96.0
zone P T path
EL -1.330 73.4
systems:
name air flows:
recirc outside
Exhust 0.00 0.00
Supply 0.00 6000.00
from
Ambt
Ambt
from
Ambt
456.28
8.48
72.23
456.28
-456.28
Note:
flows in
pressures in
temperatures in F
indicates limit exceeded
Appendix I
SCOPE
Inspection Procedures for
Smoke Control Svstems
The inspection procedures described in this appen-
dix apply to smoke control systems that are dedicated
only to controlling smoke in building fires or that make
use of air-moving equipment with another function,
such as heating and air conditioning. These procedures
are, o f a general nature, intended as a guide for tlie
development of specific procedures for individual
smoke control systems. These procedures address tlie
major components of smoke control but, by
their general nature, cannot address all possible
nents. In this appendix, the phrase "as specified" is used
to mean as specified in accordance with a contract docu-
ments, a code, or some other standard or standards that
have been agreed upon by the owner, designer, builder,
code official, and other involved parties.
BARRIERS
a. Clieck walls, partitions, floors, and ceilings
of barriers of smoke control systems for
obvious and unusual openings that could
adversely smoke control perfor-
mance.
b. Check tliat gaps around doors do not exceed
the limits specified. gasketing is required,
check that it is as specitied.
c. Check that automatic door closers in barri-
ers of smoke control are as speci-
fied.
AIR-MOVING
a. Check ducts to that materials
material and construction are as
Check duct installation. Duct installation,
including the hangers, not reduce the
fire resistance rating of structural members
and of assemblies. Frequently, structural
and have fire protec-
tive coverings, such as construction
or a sprayed-on layer. Check that ducts are
installed in such a that these protec-
tive coverings are not damaged. Check that
clearance ducts to conibustible con-
struction is as specified. In addition, check
that where ducts pass through walls, floors,
or partitions, the openings in construction
around tlie ducts are as specified.
Clieck that installation and materials of duct
connectors and flexible duct connectors are
as specitied. CAUTION:
of
be for
Check duct coverings and linings to verify
that their fire safety requirements are as
specified. Check that duct coverings do not
conceal any service opening.
Check direct access and inspection provi-
sions. Service openings and telescoping or
removable duct sections are used for direct
access and inspection. Check a service
opening or a telescoping or removable duct
section is provided in ducts as specified
adjacent to fire smoke dampers.
and smoke detectors. Check these
access openings are identified as
specified. Check that service openings are
.
Appendix I-Inspection for Smoke Control Systems
provided in horizontal ducts and plenums
where specified.
Check air filters to verify that they have the
classification specified.
g.
Check that the location, fire protection rat-
ing, and installation of fire, ceiling, and
smoke dampers are as specified. Generally,
fire, ceiling, and smoke dampers should be
installed in accordance with the conditions
of their listing and the manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions that are supplied with the
damper. Further, check installation by
removing link (where applicable)
and operate damper to verify that it
closes. It is desirable to operate dampers
with normal air flow to ensure that they are
not held open by the airstream. Remember
to reinstall all links that have been
removed during inspection.
CONTROLS
a. Check manual controls. Check that devices
for manual activation and deactivation of ,
the smoke control system are of materials
and installation as specified.
b. Check automatic Check that
devices for automatic activation and deacti-
and control of the smoke control sys-
tem are of materials and installation as
specified.
Table :
inspectionChecklist-Barriersof Pressurized Stairwells
Project:
Inspection agent: Date:
General:
All materials in plenums appropriate
2 Air filters appropriate
3 Fan inlets protected by
4 Heating equipment installation appropriate
5 Cooling equipment installation appropriate
6 Manual controls installed
7 Automatic controls installed
I Duct material appropriate
2 Duct installation appropriate
3 Duct connectors appropriate
4 Duct coverings appropriate
5 Duct linings appropriate
Duct access and inspection provisions:
Access at all required locations
2 Access properly identified
Dampers:
I Fire dampers located where required
2 Fire dampers of appropriate rating
3 Fire dampers installed appropriately
4 Ceiling located where required
5 Ceiling dampers of appropriate rating
G Ceiling installed appropriately
7 Smoke dampers located where rcquired
8 Smoke dampers of appropriate rating
9 Smoke dampers installed appropriately
Combination fire and
located where required
I I fire and snioke dampers
of appropriate rating
Combination tire and smoke dampers
installed appropriately
Comments:
YES REMARKS
Appendi x I-Inspection Procedures f or Control Systems
Table1-2:
InspectionChecklist-Barriers of Elevator Smoke Control Systems
Project:
DESCRIPTION
General:
l All materials in plenums appropriate
3 Fan inlets protected by screens
4 Heating equipment installation appropriate
Cooling equipment installation appropriate
Ductwork:
Duct material appropriate
Duct connectors appropriate
Duct linings appropriate
I Access at all required locations
Dampers:
4 Ceiling dampers located where required
Ceiling dampers of appropriate rating
6 Ceiling dampers installed appropriately
7 Smoke dampers located where required
10 Combination fire and smoke dampers
I I Combination fire and smoke dampers
Combination fire and dampers
Comments:
YES REMARKS
of Smoke Management
Table
Inspection Checklist-Barriersof Zoned Smoke Control Systems
Project:
DESCRIPTION
General:
l All materials in plenums appropriate
3 Fan inlets protected by screens
4 Heating equipment installation
5 Cooling equipment installation appropriate
Ductwork:
Duct material appropriate
3 Duct connectors appropriate
5 Duct linings appropriate
I Access at all required locations
Dampers:
4 Ceiling dampers located where required
S Ceiling dampers of appropriate rating
6 Ceiling dampers installed appropriately
7 Smoke dampers located where required
10 Combination fire and smoke dampers
I I Combination fire and smoke dampers
Combination fire and smoke dampers
Comments:
YES NO REMARKS
Appendi x I-Inspection Procedures for Smoke Cont rol Syst ems
Table 14:
Inspection List-Fire Safety Controls in HVACSystems
Project:
DESCRIPTION
Manual shutdown:
Appropriate fans stopped
2 Appropriate smoke dampers
fully and tightly closed
Automatic shutdown by return detector:
Automatic shutdown by supply detector:
fully tightly closed
Automatic by detector system:
Comments:
Appendix J
Test Procedures for
SCOPE
Stairwell Pressurization
The test procedures described in this appendix
apply to systems for stainvell pressurization.
EMERGENCYPOWER
If power or other emergency power has
been provided for the operation of the stainvell pressur-
ization control system, acceptance testing shall be con-
ducted with emergency power and normal power.
During one test started under power conditions,
the normal power shall be shut off to determine the abil-
ity of the stairwell pressurization systems and all associ-
ated systems to properly operate under power or
other emergency power.
NORMAL OPERATION TEST
With all building HVAC systems in opera-
tion, any zoned smoke control systems shut off, and the
stairwell doors closed, measure and record the pressure
differences across each door. The sign conven-
tion for all pressure difference readings in the stairwell
tests is: a pressure resulting from a from
the stairwell is positive, and a pressure difference result-
ing from a flow to the is negative.
Evaluate these pressure differences to detennine
that are appropriate for the balanced HVAC system.
Generally, this would be about 0.01 inches of water
gage, but pressure differences as large as 0.03 inches
water gage are not a for However, higher
pressure differences may occur for special systems such
as those intended to control pollutants. Addi-
tionally, greater pressure can be caused by
stack effect (as explained in Chapter
STAIRWELL PRESSURIZATION TEST
Activate the stairwell pressurization systems by a putting a
detector in alarm as required by the contract documents.
Test each pressurized stairwell by conducting the following
steps.
a. With all stairwell doors closed (except for
the exterior ground floor door if it is
required to be opened upon system activa-
tion), measure and record pressure differ-
ences across each closed stainvell door.
b. Open tlie exterior ground floor stairwell
door (except if the exterior ground floor
door is required to be opened upon system
activation), and measure and record pres-
sure differences across each closed stairwell
door. For without a ground floor
exterior door, another highly severe open
door condition must be tested. This can be
an exterior door not at the ground floor or a
large flow path to the outside created by
opening the door and other doors,
including an exterior building door.
c. Open an additional stainvell door, and mea-
sure and record pressure differences across
closed stainvell door. Repeat this step,
anotiier door each time, until the
required number of is opened. The
required number of doors is that
that be opened during testing as stipu-
lated tlie applicable codes or contract
d. With required of doors opened,
flow direction open
Appendix Procedures for Systems
ways using a 6 ft strip of tissue paper
secured at the top of the door
e. Check that the measured pressure difference
is within the acceptable range, as defined in
the contract documents. If the pressure dif-
ference is not in the acceptable range, dou-
ble check that the states of fans, dampers,
and doors is as required. if any of these were
not as required, they should be fixed and the
zone retested. After this, if the pressure dif-
ference is not acceptable, the flowrate of air
to the stairwell in question should be mea-
sured and adjusted as appropriate. If the
pressure differences are too low after these
actions, excessive air leakage paths in the
should be filled, caulked, or
sealed as appropriate. (Often it is very diffi-
cult to locate leakage paths in buildings.
Chemical smoke from smoke bombs can be
used to find these leakage paths. The stair-
well is filled with chemical smoke and pres-
surized, while the low-pressure side of the
stairwell barriers is examined for smoke
leakage that indicates the location of a leak-
age path.) Then the zone should be retested.
TableJ-1:
Test Work Sheet-PressurizedStairwell
Project
Stairwell No.
Test Agent:
Pressure Difference Flow Direction
From Stair To Stair Doors in Pressurized Stairwell
Comments:
(inches of water gage)
Appendix K
SCOPE
Test Procedures for
Zoned Smoke Control Systems
The test procedures described in
apply to zoned smoke control systems
dedicated systems or part of systems for
and air conditioning (HVAC).
EMERGENCY POWER
this appendix
that are either
heating,
been provided for the operation of the zoned smoke con-
trol system, acceptance testing shall be conducted with
emergency power and normal power. During one test
stated under normal power conditions, the normal power
shall be shut off to determine the ability of the zoned
smoke control systems and all associated systems to
properly operate under power or other emer-
gency power.
SMOKECONTROL DIAGRAM
Identify the exact location of each smoke control
zone. If it is not part of the building plans, make a
smoke control zone diagram of the building. This dia-
gram should include the locations of all zone boundaries
and of all doors i n those boundaries.
NORMAL OPERATIONTEST
With all building HVAC systems i n normal opera-
tion, the zoned smoke control system shut off, and the
smoke barrier doors closed, measure and record the
pressure differences across each smoke barrier door.
Evaluate these pressure differences to determine that
they are appropriate for the balanced HVAC system.
Generally, this would be about 0.01 inches water gage,
but pressure differences as as inches
gage are not a cause for concern. However, higher pres-
sure differences may occur for special systems, such as
those intended to control airborne pollutants. Addition-
ally, greater pressure differences can be caused by stack
effect (as explained in Chapter 5).
SMOKE MODE TEST
Each smoke zone is to be individually tested by per-
forming the following sequence.
Activate smoke control system operation in
the zone. This should be accomplished by
putting one of the detectors into that
are intended to activate the snioke control
system in that zone.
Check that the operation of fans is as
required by the contract documents.
Check that the position of smoke dampers is
as required by the contract documents.
Also, check that any smoke dampers
required to be closed are fully and tightly
closed.
Check to verify that all doors required by
the contract documents be closed during
smoke control system operation are fully
closed and that they operate freely, allowing
use during evacuation without becoming
jammed in their door frames. This should
include doors in the boundary of the smoke
zone being tested.
and record pressure
across all the closed doors in the boundary
of the smoke zone being tested. Pressure
differences resulting from air flowing to the
snioke zone being tested are to be recorded
Appendix K-Test Procedures for Zoned Smoke Control Systems
as positive values, and pressure differences
resulting air flowing the -smoke
zone being tested are to be recorded as neg-
ative values.
Check that the measured pressuredifference
is within the acceptable range, as defined in
the contract documents. If the pressure dif-
ference is not in the acceptable range, dou-
ble check that the state of fans, dampers,
and doors is as required. If any of these are
not as required, they should be fixed and the
zone retested. After this, if the pressure dif-
ference is not acceptable, the flow rates of
air to and from the smoke zones in question
should be measured and adjusted as appro-
priate. If the pressure differences are too low
after these actions, excessive air leakage
paths in the construction should be filled,
caulked, or sealed as appropriate. is often
very difficult to locate leakage paths in
buildings. Chemical smoke smoke
bombs can be used to find these leakage
paths. The high-pressure sides of smoke
barriers are exposed to heavy concentrations
of chemical smoke, while the low-pressure
side of the barrier is examined for smoke
leakage that indicates the location of a leak-
age path. Exterior walls, interior partitions,
floors, and ceilings, including areas above
suspended ceilings, must not be overlooked
when hunting for excessive leakage areas.)
Then the zone should be retested.
g.
Test for smoke feedback into supply air.
Place six smoke bombs (three-minute
tion size) in a metal container, simulta-
neously ignite all bombs, and locate
container near exhaust inlet in smoke zone
being tested so that all of the chemical
smoke produced by the bombs is drawn
directly into the exhaust airstream. Check
that air supplied to other zones of the build-
ing has no trace of chemical smoke. If
chemical smoke is detected in this supply
air, its path should be the path
should be blocked, and then the smoke feed-
back test should be conducted again. (The
two most likely causes of smoke feedback
are a leaky or party opened return air
damper and an outside air inlet located in
the vicinityof the exhaust air outlet.)
h. Make sure that this zone has been returned
to its setting before continuing to
test other zones.
Comments:
K-l:
Test Work Sheet-Zoned Smoke Control Systemin Operation
Project:
Test Agent: Date:
Flow Direction
From Zone To Zone Doors of Smoke Control Zone
Pressure Difference
(inches of water gage)
Appendix K-Test for Zoned Smoke Control Systems
TableK-2:
Test Work Sheet-Zoned Smoke Systemin Smoke Control Mode
Project:
Test Agent: Date:
Pressure Difference Flow Direction
Doors of Smoke Control Zone (inches of water gage) From Zone To Zone
Comments:
No
Fans operatingappropriately
Smoke dampers in requiredposition
Pass feedback test
Yes
Appendix L
Inspection Procedures for
Atria Smoke Exhaust Systems
SCOPE
The inspection procedures described in this appen-
dix apply to atrium smoke exhaust systems. These pro-
cedures are of a general nature, intended as a guide for
the development of specific procedures for individual
smoke control systems. These procedures address the
major components of smoke control systems but, by
their general nature, cannot address all possible compo-
nents. In this appendix, the phrase "as specified" is used
to mean as specified in accordance with a contract of
documents, a code, or some other standard or standards
that have been agreed upon by the owner, designer,
builder, code and other involved parties.
AIR-MOVING EQUIPMENT
a. Check ducts to verify that materials of duct
material and construction are as specified.
b. Check duct installation. Duct installation,
including the hangers, must not reduce the
fire resistance rating of structural members
and of assemblies. Frequently, structural
members and assemblies have fire protec-
tive coverings. such as construction
or a sprayed-on layer. Check that ducts are
installed in such a manner that these protec-
tive coverings are not damaged. Check that
clearance ducts to combustible con-
struction is as specified. In addition, check
that where ducts pass through walls. floors,
or partitions, the openings i n construction
around the ducts are as specified.
c. Check that installation and of duct
and duct connectors are
as specified. CAUTION: Because the char-
acteristics duct connectors and flexible
duct connectors one should
not be the
d. Check duct coverings and linings to verify
that their fire safety requirements are as
specified. Check that duct coverings do not
conceal any service opening.
e. Check direct access and inspection provi-
sions. Service openings and telescoping or
removable duct sections are used for direct
access and inspection. Check that a service
opening or a telescoping or removable duct
section is provided in ducts, as specified
adjacent to fire dampers, smoke dampers,
and smoke detectors. Check that these
access openings are identified with letters as
specified. Check that service openings are
provided in horizontal ducts and plenums
where specified.
f. Check air filters to verify that they have the
classification specified.
g.
Check that the location, fire protection rat-
ing, and installation of fire, ceiling, and
smoke dampers are as specified. Generally,
fire, ceiling, and smoke dampers should be
installed in with the conditions
of their listing and the manufacturer's instal-
lation instructions that are supplied with the
damper. Further check installation by
removing the fusible link (where applicable)
and operate damper to verify that it fully
closes. It is desirable to operate dampers
with normal airflow to ensure that they are
not held open by the airstream. Remember
to reinstall all links that have
removed during inspection.
CONTROLS
a. Check manual controls. Check that devices
for manual activation and deactivation of
the smoke control system are of materials
and installation as specified.
b. Check automatic controls. Check that
devices for automatic activation and deacti-
vation and control of the smoke control sys-
tem are of materials and installation as
specified.
Appendix L-InspectionProcedures for AtriaSmoke Exhaust Systems
Test Procedures for
Atria Smoke Exhaust Svstems
SCOPE
The test procedures described in this appendix
apply to systems for smoke exhaust systems.
EMERGENCY
been provided for the operation of the atrium smoke
exhaust acceptance testing shall be conducted
with emergency power and normal power. During one
test started under normal power conditions, the normal
power shall be shut off to determine the ability of the
atrium smoke exhaust system and all associated systems
to properly operate under power or other emer-
gency power.
EXHAUST OPERATION TEST
With all building HVAC systems in normal opera-
tion and any pressurized zoned smoke control
systems, and other smoke management systems shut off,
activate the atrium smoke exhaust system by a signal
from a smoke detector or initiating device. After activa-
tion, determine that the smoke exhaust fans are operat-
ing as intended. The flow of the smoke
exhaust fans should be measured before the eshaust
operation test.
Principlesof Smoke
Index
A
Acceleration of gravity 66, 90, 93, 121, 122, 183, 184,
191, 196,197,207,218,219,222,243,261,268,321
Activation 8, 148, 154, 168, 205, 206, 208, 236, 249,
1
Air
density 143, 153, 158,
191, 195-196,207,241
gas constant 67, 1,268
properties 97,220,268,269
specific heat 269- 270
Airborne matter
Airflow 2-4, 6, 70, 71, 74, 79. 87-95, 97, 109, 112,
113, 115, 117-119, 120-122, 142, 148, 150, 154, 158,
169, 172, 173, 175, 179, 181, 197, 206, 207, 210, 213,
226, 235, 236, 238-240, 247, 257, 289-293, 295-301,
312,369
Anemometer 78,240,241,245
119, 120, 122
120, 122, 123, 126, 1,
323,329-333
1
Atria 4, 8, 131, 192, 195, 196, 199,
201, 206, 207, 210, 215, 217, 221, 223, 225, 253, 254,
274,275,322,323
Atrium
mechanical exhaust 199
natural venting 4, 190, 199, 203,207
filling 129, 199,201,205,221,248,272,323
Attenuation coefficient (see extinction coefficient)
AZONE 120, 123, 195, 200, 202, 203, 205, 206,
211-215
B
Barriers 10,235,236,254,355,357-359,362,
366
Base fuel package 23- 26
equation 93, 240
Boundary conditions 229, 232, 233
Boundary layer 56, 75, 78. 245, 255
Buoyancy 2-4, 66, 71, 73, 74. 79. SO. 87, SS, 92,
129, 150, 175, 176, 179, 195, 207, 217,
C
13, 14, 25, 252
cone 14,248
open air 14,
oxygen consumption
room 14
Carbon dioxide 252
Carbon monoxide (CO) 8, 27, 34, 36, 38, 252, 254,
256, 271
Carboxyhemoglobin 38
Chimney effect (see stack effect)
Church Street fire tests 4
Clear height 202, 203
Colebrook equation 101
Commissioning 3, 9, 105, 146, 152, 161, 167, 175,
235,236,247
Communicating spaces 10,224
2, 3, 5, 6, 32, 87, 129, 172, 180,
199, 291
Computational fluid (CFD) 3, 197, 247, 250
Confined Flow 190
Conservation of energy 123, 125,219
Conservation of mass 84, 121, 123, 125, 219, 229,
291, 330
Conservation of momentum219,228,230
CONTAM 130, 132, 137, 139, 154, 155, 161,
165, 180, 206, 257, 289, 290, 292, 293, 295-298, 312,
320,337,338,349
Contaminant 88, 120-123,243,290,291, 298
Control 123, 125, 158, 188, 189, 225, 244
Convective fraction 24, 182, 184, 202, 204, 205, 223,
245,321,322,325,327
Critical air velocity 89, 90, 244
D
111, 113, 114, 117, 139, 169, 175, 178,
236, 357-359, 362,366, 369
balancing 1 17
barometric 168
bypass
chatter 149, 169
control 1 17
curtain 17
fire 3, 117. 149,254,257, 355, 357-359
leakage classification 118, 178
multi-blade 17, 1 18
return 178, 179, 366
smoke 3, 79, 87, 117, 18, 179,257, 355-360,
365,368,369
Darcy-Weisbach equation
Decision tree 5, 6
DETACT-QS 2l , 120, 126
DETACT-T2 2 120
Detectors 19, 169, 247, 250, 365
Diameter
fire
hydraulic 92, 93, 95, 96, 101, 104, 243, 299
plume
Index
Differential pressure (see Pressure difference)
Differential pressure instruments 237
Dilution 130, 172, 177,243
Dimensional Analysis 217
Dimensionless groups 219,330
Door-opening force 105-107, 145
Duct 3, 8, 79, 101-104, 111, 112, 114, 117, 118, 140,
149, 169, 173, 178, 179, 236, 239, 243-245, 253, 255,
272,290,355- 359,369
Duct, access 357- 359
E
Economizer 113
Egress 7, 27, 51-53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 88, 107, 120, 126,
161,244,249,253,254,277,329
Elevator 4, 49, 63, 80-82, 89, 97-99, 133, 139, 142,
143, 155, 157-159, 161, 165-169, 171, 172, 236, 247,
248, 250-252, 256, 272-274, 277-279, 281- 287,
293,295,301,338,358
car motion 158, 277
evacuation 119, 120. 157, 158, 161, 165, 166, 167,
277,278,285,287
piston effect
119,120,277,284,285,287
Energy conservation 7, l , 149, 157
English units (I-P units) 3, 259, 265, 268, 282, 322,
325, 334
Evacuation 1, 3, 6, 7, 27, 29, 37, 48-52, 56-63, 87, 119,
120, 130, 133, 140, 141, 146, 148, 157-159, 161,
168, 175, 199- 202,205, 207, 244, 250- 252, 254, 274,
component-by-component
constrained flow 57
density 55, 58-61
correlations 5 I
hydraulic 51. 56
velocity 5
Evacuation 53
Exhaust fan 176
Exhaust inlets, number 193, 13, 244
Exhaust inlets, separation 175, 194
Expansion 172, 175
Exponential flow equation 94, 96, 97, 243
Extinction (attenuation) coefficient 28, 1, 32, 245
F
Fan 2-4, 6, 9, 10, 66, 79, 87-89, 92, 109, 112, 114,
121, 129, 139, 140, 146, 149, 152, 158, 161,
169, 175, 177, 236, 737, 239, 247, 251, 272, 274,
289-295, 297, 315, 316, 319, 357-360, 362, 365,
366,368
blade 115
axial 115
backward flow 115, 117
I
backward rotation 115, 117
centrifugal 115, 117, 141, 146, 148,
exhaust 111,113,120,169,172,175-177,205,206,
244,245,371
forward curved 15
propeller 115, 1, 142
return 179
roof-mounted 140, 141
supply 7, 113, 154, 179,225
temperature 176, 177
tubeaxial 115, 1
vaneaxial 115, 17
variable flow6, 169
120, 126, 130, 137,254,271
Fire
building l l , 79, 88,
90, 107, 131, 139, 157, 166, 167, 177,237,
251,252,257,271-273,275- 277.355
design 129, 180, 188, 199,203, 205. 207
fighters 139, 149, 166, 167
flaming 8,
fully developed 13, 18, 37, 133, 188
growth coefficient 22.245,
growth time 206
research tower 7 96
'scenario 2, 21, 4 50, 129, 249
size 7, 192, 250
8, 29, 237
spread 87, 172, 185,257
sprinklered 2, 7, 19, 107, 180, 188, 232, 237, 252
steady 11, 21, 192, 200-203, 205, 207, 2 215,
323-325
suppression 5, 6, 7, l 25, 9 199, 249,
252,253, 257.332
test 7,248,251,252,255,256,
1,273, 274
t-squared 18, 21-23, 192, 201, 202, 214, 215, 329,
332
unsteady 21, l , 324,326
ventilation controlled 18,
Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) 23 253
Flame height 182-186, 204, 205,
327
Flashover 13, 254
Flexibility 6, 7
Flowarea
effective 63-66, 70, 79-51, 143-145, 150, 152. 161,
172-174,243
parallel paths 63-65
paths 63-65
Flow coefficient 4, 63-66, 81, 82, 93, 94, 96,
97, 103, 133, 145, 152, 159, 163, 164, 174, 191, 196,
243,338
Fractional effective dose (FED) 131,243
Fractional incapacitating dose 44, 131
Friction losses 66, 93, 143, 150, 161, 163, 164,338
Fuel package 14, 129,253
G
Gas law (see Ideal gas law)
Governing equations 2 1
H
Haber's Law 36
Hazard analysis 3, 5, 7, 119, 122, 129, 130, 131,
133, 168,207,248
Heat exposure 130, 131, 133,207
Heat release density 22, 184,244
Heat release rate (HRR)
automobile 17
Christmas tree 14, 15
cribs 17
furniture 13-15, 21
kiosk 14
pallets 17, 22
peak 14, 15,
sprinklered fires 19
Heat Transfer Scaling 223
Height limit 145-147,243
HVAC 6-10, 79, 88, 1 11-113, 115, 117, 123, 129, 139,
172, 175, 179, 226, 236, 250, 255, 360,
361,365
Hydrogen bromide
Hydrogen chloride
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
I
Ideal gas law 67, 143
Ignition 2, 5, 19, 22-25, 124, 129, 223, 237,
247
Inspection 88, 235, 236,355-360, 369, 370
lnternational system (SI) units 3, 259, 261
J
JET 2 120, 122, 126,
Johnson City Retirement fire I
L
2 l , 120, 122, 126
,
Leakage area (see flow area)
M
Manometer
Manual stations 8
Mass optical density 131, 133,245
Metric units (see International system units)
MGMGrand fire 157,248,257
detector activation 120, 126, 192,226, 227
Froude 21 1,222,224
network 104,
pressure 221,222
salt water 256
saltwater 22 1
turbulence 229- 232
181,211,274
K
Navier-Stokes (NS) equation 94
Neutral plane 82- 85,243,273
Newton Raphson method 102
Newton's second law 218
N-Gas model
Nomenclature 277,321
0
Objectives, smoke management 5
Open doors 105, 140, 141, 154,338
Optical density 131, 133, 245
Orifice equation 94, 100
Oxygen 8, 74, 79,
175,250,252,254
P
Panic 1,254,255
Percentage obscuration 28-30,245
Perfect gas law (see Ideal gas law)
Physical (scale) 130, 197, 217,219, 221
tube 240,241
120, 181, 193-195, 210,211,213,244, 245
Plume
average temperature 188, 189,208,325,326
axisymmetric 181-186, 188, 189, 199, 204, 21 1,
244,245
balcony 186,187, 197,204,257
centerline temperature 126, 182-184,322,323,325,
327
corner 185, 186, 188
maximum height 189,245
wall 185, 186, 188
window 188,204
Poiseuille Flow 94
Post-flashover fire
Power law 75
Prandtl number 217, 218, 220
Index
Pressure difference
average 142, 145, 162
critical 158, 159
design 107, 109, 162, 168, 172, 175,338
Pressure sandwich 8, 17
Pressurization 105, 113-1 15, 9,
120, 122, 129, 139, 140-146, 148-150, 152-155,
159, 161, 165-169, 173-176, 180, 210, 226, 237, 248,
249,251,256,272,273,275,292,293,338,361
Pull box (see Manual station)
Purging 87, 88, 149, 168,
R
Radiant fraction 24
Reliability 8, 9, 62, 166
Remote control 8
Resiliency 6, 7
Response time index (RTI) 1, 127,244
Reynolds averaging 229
Reynolds number 78, 92-96, 101, 217, 220-224, 240,
244,299
Roosevelt Hotel fire
Roughness 101-103,245,300
S
Safety factors 7, 146, 152, 161, 167
Scaling relations 217, 221-223
Shopping malls 92, l81,252,272-275
Similitude
1,244,256
bombs (see Smoke, chemical)
chemical 236,237,362,366
dampers (see Damper, smoke)
definition 27
detectors 8,208,209, 224, 249, 355, 369
exhaust 4, 5, 7, 87, 114, 123, 129, 149, 169, 175,
194, 195, 203-206, 214, 250, 252,
369,371
filling 129, 199, 200, 201, 205, 248, 272,323
horizontal flow 126, 195, 196,295, 301
layer interface 122, 190, 195,204, 332
shaft 142, 149,150, 169, 172, 175,256
venting 129, 149, 169, 172, 190,207,210
Specific heat, constant pressure
Specific heat, constant volume 218, 219
Specific heat, ratio 46, 89, 125, 177, 189, 204, 212,
219,243,261,269,270,321,330
Sprinkler
activation 2
time constant
Stack action (see Stack effect)
Stack effect 66, 70, 71, 73, 79-84, 107, 108, 129, 142,
167,179,251,273,361,365
Stack effect, normal
Stairwell pressurization
analysis 147
compartmentation141
140, 141, 146, 148, 150
pressure profile 142, 145, 146
single injection 140
vestibules 141
with open doors 146, 148,
Stairwell, pressure losses 104
Standard atmospheric pressure 67, 73, 93, 120, 190,
261, 268
Stratification207,208,236,249
Symmetry 104,105, 146, 152,229,283
T
Temperature, conversion 261
Thermal inertia 223, 224, 244
Thermal radiation (radiant heat flux) l l, 23, 24, 27, 45,
130, 1,255
equation
Time lag
ceilingjet 191, 205
plume 192, 205
Toxicity 3, 27, 47, 109, 133,
135,250,252,255,256,271
Tracer gas 7
Transient fuel 21,9
Transmittance 27-29,244
Units of measurement 259
v
Vector 227,228,247,248,250
Vestibules
Virtual origin 182-185, 245,250,
Viscosity, dynamic (absolute) 17-219,227,228,
231,245,268
Viscosity, kinematic 218,245
Visibility 13l, 134,
1,272
Volumetric flow 64, 74, 92- 94, 96, 103, 12, 144, 150,
152, 174, 176, 177, 190, 194, 204, 205, 223,
W
Weather data 109, 290, 296, 297
Wind 6, 66-69, 74, 75, 78-80, 104, 107-109, 120.
141-143, 148, 172, 207, 226, 243-245, 248, 249, 251,
Zoned smoke control 2, 8, 74, 89, 120, 139, 142,
Winddata 78, 109,274,296
149, 171, 172, 175, 178-180, 236, 237,273, 349, 359,
361,365,367,368,371
z
Zero floor leakage idealization 70, 7 142

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