Experience in the Use of Zone Type Building Fire Models

Experience in using state-of-the-art zone type fire models for analysis of fire tests and the design of smoke control systems for large buildings is discussed. In one case, correcting for the sideways blowing of the fire plume by the jet of air entering the fire room changed the qualitative fire behavior. The modeling of horizontal vents between floors of a nearly closed building presents a challenge for current models. It can only be satisfactorily met for special cases; others may require assumptions than can not be strictly justified. Modeling large area low ceiling rooms can be improved by the use of "pseudo rooms" though this technique is largely unsupported by experimental data. High ceiling, large area rooms - atria - are not well treated by present zone models.