Scale Modelling Studies On Atrium Smoke Movement and the Smoke Filling Process

Abstract

The smoke filling process in a scale model of an atrium building with natural vents was studied. The model was a 1/25 scale model of a three-level shopping mall. An optical visualization technique was applied to observe the smoke movement pattern and the smoke filling process in the atrium space. Transient variation of air speed, temperature, and smoke layer thickness were studied by correlating the time scale on the model with the real situation through the preservation of the Froude number. A comparison with the empirical relationships was made. The zone model CCFM.VENTS developed at the Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA, was used to verify the results.