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Smoke & Fire Behavior
When a fire occurs in a large open space such as an atrium, concert hall, or other indoor gathering space, considerable smoke accumulates near the ceiling. To ensure that this smoke does not prevent people from evacuating, building designers use smoke management systems that may involve fans and/or natural ventilation openings.
However, if the exhaust locations do not have consistent and sufficient negative external pressures, the buoyancy of the hot smoke alone may not be enough to remove the smoke from the building.
CPP can evaluate the performance of such systems and potentially save you thousands of dollars in reduced fan costs by optimizing mechanical and non-mechanical airflow systems.
Naturally ventilated smoke
Because it is simple and robust, using natural ventilation for smoke management is a common practice all over the world. By relying on the natural tendency for warm smoke to rise up and out of the building through any available openings, the need for fans is reduced or eliminated. In addition, the size of the fire is less of a concern, because the larger the fire, the greater the rate of exhaust.
However, wind forces are a critical concern in a naturally ventilated smoke evacuation system because wind can reverse the flow and push smoke back into the building.
By combining CFD for indoor smoke and airflow behavior and wind tunnel testing for outdoor wind effects, CPP can help design an effective system that will achieve smoke control performance goals for all wind conditions.
