Smithsonian's Dulles Center Using Advanced Computer Fire Modeling Techniques in Performance Based Design. ABSTRACT ONLY.
Smithsonian's Dulles Center Using Advanced Computer Fire
Modeling Techniques in Performance Based Design.
ABSTRACT ONLY.
(93 K)
Rzeznik, M. J.; O'Neill, J. G.; McGrattan, K. B.
International Conference on Fire Research and
Engineering (ICFRE3), Third (3rd). Proceedings. Program
and Abstracts. Society of Fire Protection Engineers
(SFPE), National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) and International Association of Fire Safety
Science (IAFSS). October 4-8, 1999, Chicago, IL,
Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Boston, MA, 1-1
pp, 1999.
Keywords:
fire research; fire protection engineering; computer
models; fire models; fire protection
Abstract:
Fire protection in large facilities, especially those
that are designed for special purposes, is a challenge
because often conventional fire protection design
techniques do not apply to these spaces. In many cases
local building codes and standards are also not
applicable since during the code development process the
design of such atypical spaces was not anticipated. A
good example of a large special purpose facility is the
planned National Air and Space Museum Extension at
Dulles International Airport. NASA Dulles Center will
consist of several large exhibit spaces for restored
aircraft, including a retired Space Shuttle, ladustrial
shop areas, archive storage, and a large format theater.
Because this large building, over 1 million square
feet, will function as a large assembly space, travel
distance requirements of applicable building codes were
a concern to the design team and building owner.
Additionally, there was some question as to the need and
effectiveness of smoke exhaust and/at smoke control
systems for the space. In order to address these design
concerns, a computer model was used to aid in evaluating
the effectiveness of various fire protection systems in
the large open exhibit areas. This evaluation was done
prima&y to quantify the ability of occupants to egress
the space safely in the event of a fire. The Large Eddy
Simulation (LES) Fire Model being developed at NIST is a
computational fluid dynamics code that solves the
Navier-Stokes equations governing the transport of smoke
and hot gases from a fire. The results of LES produce
realistic simulations of various types of fire-related
scenarios in large spaces. The results of LES were used
to evaluate the effect of a large unimpeded fire in the
large semi-cylindrical NASA exhibit space. The results
of this simulation demonstrated that based on the
proposed exhibit materials and maximum anticipated
occupant load, a large fire in the hall would permit
ample egress time from the space for all occupants not
in intimate contact with the fire's point of origin.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899