A recent article published in Fire Safety Journal introduces an innovative method to assess visibility in performance-based fire safety design.
The study, led by Kristian Börger, Alexander Belt, and Lukas Arnold, presents a waypoint-based approach that enhances visibility analysis during fire simulations.
This approach allows for a more accurate and reliable assessment of evacuation routes, considering factors such as smoke distribution and exit sign visibility.
The researchers focus on improving existing numerical fire models by applying Jin’s empirical relation to account for inhomogeneous smoke distributions.
They introduce a new way to calculate visibility along egress routes, creating visibility maps that can be integrated into fire safety evaluations.
As reported by the authors, the model offers a clear and simple method for identifying areas of a building that may pose risks during a fire evacuation due to poor visibility.
The study builds on existing fire dynamics simulation tools, like the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), to create visibility maps.
These maps are generated by computing the visibility along lines of sight to exit signs, considering factors such as smoke density, the type of exit signs, and visual obstructions.
By incorporating these factors into the simulation, the model provides a more realistic evaluation of egress routes and helps to identify “blind spots” that could hinder the safe evacuation of building occupants.
The authors note that the method requires only moderate computational effort, making it accessible for practical use in fire safety assessments.
Börger said their approach enables a more distinct and realistic representation of visibility in complex building environments, enhancing the reliability of fire safety assessments.
The visibility maps are created using Python software and can be applied to various fire models.
This new approach offers several benefits for fire safety engineering.
It allows for an objective and automated analysis of visibility during fire simulations, reducing the potential for bias in the interpretation of results.
The visibility maps are easy to interpret and can be used by professionals without advanced fire safety qualifications, thus supporting the building approval process.
The method also eliminates the need for predefined performance criteria, as the required visibility emerges naturally from the building’s geometry and the location of exit signs.
This makes the approach adaptable to a variety of building designs and fire scenarios, providing a flexible solution for fire safety engineers.
In complex buildings with multi-story designs or unusual layouts, the proposed method can be particularly valuable.
The visibility maps enable a more detailed understanding of how smoke may impact visibility along different evacuation paths, allowing engineers to identify areas where evacuation could be compromised.
The study illustrates this with a practical example, showing how visibility maps can reveal hidden dangers that traditional methods might overlook.
Although the model does not completely replace the need for other safety considerations, such as smoke management systems, it offers a reliable tool to assess one of the key factors in fire safety: visibility.
The study presents a new waypoint-based approach for assessing visibility in fire safety design, specifically in performance-based fire safety engineering.
By integrating numerical fire models and smoke distribution data, this method creates visibility maps that help identify safe evacuation routes.
The approach reduces subjective interpretation of fire simulation results and provides an easy-to-understand assessment tool for professionals.
It is particularly beneficial for complex building designs and contributes to improving fire safety evaluations in building planning and design.
