One-Way Coupling of Fire and Egress Modeling for Realistic Evaluation of Evacuation Process

In the discipline of fire engineering, computational simulation tools are used to evaluate the available safe egress time (ASET) and required safe egress time (RSET) of a building fire. ASET and RSET are often analyzed separately, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and crowd dynamics, respectively. Although there are advantages to coupling the ASET and RSET analysis to quantify tenability conditions and reevaluate evacuation time within a building, the coupling process is computationally complex, requiring multiple steps. The coupling setup can be time-consuming, particularly when the results are limited to the modeled scenario. In addition, the procedure is not uniform throughout the industry. This paper presents the successful one-way coupling of CFD and crowd dynamics modeling through a new simplified methodology that captures the impact of fractional effective dose (FED) and reduced visibility from smoke on the individual evacuee’s movement and the human interaction. The simulation tools used were Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Oasys MassMotion for crowd dynamics. The coupling was carried out with the help of the software development kit of Oasys MassMotion in two different example geometries: an open-plan room and a floor with six rooms and a corridor. The results presented in this paper show that, when comparing an uncoupled and a coupled simulation, the effects of the smoke lead to different crowd density profiles, particularly closer to the exit, which elongates the overall evacuation time. This coupling method can be applied to any geometry because of its flexible and modular framework.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981211032636
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • He-in Cheong https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3820-7571 © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2021.
• Authors:
  • Cheong, He-in
  • 0000-0002-3820-7571
  • Wu, Zhiyu
  • Majumdar, Arnab
  • 0000-0002-6332-7858
  • Yotto Ochieng, Washington
• Publication Date: 2021-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1244-1259
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Volume: 2675
  • Issue Number: 12
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0361-1981
  • EISSN: 2169-4052
  • Serial URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/trr

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crowds; Evacuation; Fires; Fluid dynamics; Multistory structures; Pedestrians; Smoke
• Identifier Terms: Fire Dynamics Simulator (Computer program)
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01784667
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 13 2021 3:58PM