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Author
Dolph, B. L.
Title
Quantitative Target Space Smoke Curve Analysis and Procedures.
Coporate
Worcester Polytechnic Inst., MA
Report
Thesis, May 1995, 137 p.
Keywords
fire research | smoke control | zone models | tenability limits | fire models | optical density | critical parameters
Identifiers
CFAST (Consolidated Fire Growth and Smoke Transport); target space smoke tenability curves; Smoke Tenability Curve (STC)
Abstract
This thesis develops methods for construction probabilistic smoke tenability curves as described in the Building Fire Safety Engineering Method. The computer program CFAST, as implemented in HAZARD I, is used to provide values for critical parameters needed to evaluate when tenable conditions exist in various target spaces. Target spaces are susally selected as areas that are critical to the egress system within a building or ship. To evaluate lifesafety, the conditions in those spaces which are distant from the room of fire origin must be able to be estimated in terms of tenability. Tenability is defined using minimum visibility distances, interface heights, and instantaneous exposure temperatures within the target space. Critical values for these parameters are chosen to describe the tenability limits for specific types of occupant. The approach developed is applied in a similar network structure to that used to evaluate flame movement in the BFSEM and Ship Fire Safety Engineering Method. The degree of belief that a target space is tenable is developed in terms of the predicted performance of the passive and active smoke control systems within a building or ship.