Effects of Optical Properties of Smoke Particles on Fire Detection Characteristics predicted by a Fire Dynamic Simulator Model

Abstract

This study examined the smoke detection time prediction performance of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) in relation to the optical properties of smoke particles. Specifically, this work explored how smoke detection times are affected by the mass-specific light extinction coefficient, an input value needed to predict FDS smoke detection times. Therefore, a smoke generator and a smoke detection sensor that employs the light extinction principle were installed in a fire compartment, with the mass-specific light extinction coefficients of the smoke particles generated by the smoke generator measured through Gravimetric Sampling and Light Extinction (GSLE) experiments. FDS fire simulations were performed under the same conditions as the smoke detection experiments to compare the Optical Per Meter (OPM) of the detector. The results confirmed that the F DS fire simulation was consistent with the smoke detection experiments when the measured mass-specific light extinction coefficient of the smoke particles was entered as input. In addition, it was found that fluctuations in the mass-specific light extinction coefficient, an optical property of smoke particles, may significantly affect smoke detection times by directly affecting the OPM.