Closed-Form Equations for Room Smoke Filling During an Initial Fire

Abstract

Closed-form equations were derived to calculate the smoke layer height and temperature in the room of fire origin. First of all, a conventional zone type model was introduced and verified against the full-scale experimental data. Then, by using the calculation model, virtual experimental data were created varying the building design parameters such as fire growth rate, floor area and ceiling height. Regression equation was derived for smoke layer temperature using the virtual experimental data that correlates the dependence on building design parameters. As to the smoke layer height, an analytical formula (Tanaka's formula) was verified against virtual experimental data. This type of simple, hand-calculable formula would be useful for practitioners in fire safety engineering design of building for evacuation safety from smoke.