DE-13-013 — An Integrated Fire Safety Plan to Manage Smoke Movement during a High-Rise Fire

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A computer program designed specifically to track smokemovement during a fire was applied to the task of designing anintegrated smoke management scheme for high-rise buildings.The goal of the program was to design a smoke control planthat manipulates the pressure distribution throughout thebuilding while keeping smoke away from building occupants.The results of the program indicate that a plan to pressurizeboth the stairwells and floor spaces within the building and toutilize the elevator shafts as a route to ventsmoke to the exteriorcan be employed to maintain smoke-free areas on the floors aswell as in the fire escape stairs. Combining stair and floor pressurizationhas several advantages, including reducing the sizeand capacity of the pressurization equipment necessary to keepsmoke at bay. The combination of pressurized areas alsoreduces the force necessary to open fire escape doors and keepsthe force within code limitations. The final aspect of the smokemanagement scheme involves equipping the elevator shaftswith exhaust fans to reduce the flow resistance of smoke thatis transported to the exterior of the building. The combinationof pressurized stairwells and floors, coupled with elevatorexhaust, forms a three-pronged approach to smoke managementthat has the best opportunity to improve life safety duringa fire. The program results are used to determine the capacityof the pressurization equipment sufficient to maintain smokefreeconditions in the high-rise building. The dedicated fansemployed in the stairwells that are capable of preventingsmoke from invading the fire escapes are reasonably sized.Floor pressurization equipment is shown to be within the capabilitiesof existing comfort control equipment. The computerpredictedcapacity of the stairwell air-handling units (AHUs)compare well with the size of equipment that has been used inseveral experimental stairwell pressurization tests.

Product Details

Published:

2013

Number of Pages:

11

File Size:

1 file , 1.6 MB

Product Code(s):

D-DE-13-013

Note:

This product is unavailable in Russia, Belarus