SMOKE MOVEMENT IN BUILDINGS by John H. Klote Building and Fire Research Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899 and Harold E. Nelson Hughes Associates, Inc. 3610 Commerce Drive Baltimore, MD 21227 Fire Protection Handbook, 18 Edition, NFPA FPH1897, Section 7, Chapter 6. Cote, A.E., Linville, J.L., Appy, M.K., Benedetti, R.P., Cote, RM., Curtis, M.H., Grant, C.C., Hall, 4R., Jr, Moore, W.D., Powell, P.A., Solomon, RE., Tokle, G.O., and Vondrasek, RJ., Editors. National Fire Protection Association, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA, 1997. NOTES: ‘This paper is a contribution of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and is not subject to copyright.Section 7/Chapter 6 SMOKE MOVEMENT IN BUILDINGS Sake and fre gaeee, inherent in all unwanted fre, sre dangeraie prvdvts of combustion that have critical influences on life safety, property protection, and fire suppression practices in buildings. fn Some fies, the volume of smoke is so great that it may fill an entice building and obscure visibility a the street level to such an extent that it in difficult to identify the Bre-involved building. In ether inc dont, the volume of smoke generated may be considerably less, a: though the danger to Tife is not necessarily diminished because of the presence of ether airborne producis of combustion, This chapter gives information onthe techniques used 1 eva uate the physical charactristies of smoke movement through both short and tall buildings as a basis for designing smoks-conteol sys- tems, Italso covers the approaches that can be used to test the effec tiveness of designed smoke-control systems inthe absence of actual performance tests involving tet tes, For more information on controlling the hazards of smoke, see the following chapters in this section: Chapter 7, “Venting Prac ties" and Chapter 14, “Airconditioning and Ventilating Systems” Also see Seaton 1, Chapter 10, “Simplified Fine Guawth Caller This chapter provides general background, a discussion of re lutonships, and selected equations useful in understanding smoke ‘movement and smoke management in builings. OF necessity, the information i not suficient for detailed design analysis, but design {information is available from a number of sources. The 1992 book by Klote and Mike! Design af Smoke Managemens Systems, pro- ‘ides a consolidation and systematic presentation of data and caleu- lions necessary for the design of systems to manage smoke ‘movement, Specific design information is provided in that publica ‘ing Tor presurized stairwell, precsurizedelovatore, zoned smoke contra, and smoke management in large spaces including alia and shopping malls. The smoke-control chapter of the 1995 SFPE, Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering? summarizes much of ‘he general information from Klote and Milke. NFPA 92A. Recom: mended Practise fon Sine-Cinral Systems lercinaier hei Jot FL Kt, D.Se, PE it reearch engnovr tthe Building and Fite Research Laboratory NIST He isa member ofthe SFPE, the NEDA Aie Condtining Comite ane NEPA Sre Manapome Syme Cone, Dr. Klote sala a member of the ASHIRAE Fire and Smoke Consol Commits, Harold E Nelson, PE, v3 soni research ire protec Yionengineer with gles Avocisen, le, altro, MD es om pres “the SPE, ad chara ofthe NEPA She Mast Ses 7-93 ——— Revised by Jobn H. Klote and Harold E. “Bud” Nelson ss NFPA Q7A), was frst published in 1988 and provides additional recommendations for stairwell pressurization systems and zoned ‘smoke-control systems, including suggested levels of pressurization for such systems in sprinklered and Unsprinklered busldings. NFPA 92B, Guide for Smoke Management Systems in Malls, Aria, and Lange Areas (heseinaferreferied to a5 NFPA 92D), vas fis pub lished in 1991, and isa technical guide forthe design of smoke man agement systems in shopping malls. atria. and other large-volume spaces, CLASSIFICATION OF SMOKE ZONES: As a fire burns it 1. Generates he, ‘Changes major portions of the burning material or fuel from its ‘original chemical composition toonc or more other compounds, such as carbon dioxide, earhon monoxide, water, and/or other compounds. Often, duc to les than 100 percent combustion efficiency, trans ports & portion ofthe fuel as soot or other material that may or ‘may not have undergone a chemical change. ‘A major portion ofthe heat generated aso fuel burns reanains inthe mass of produets liberated by the fre. This mass expands, is Tighter than the surrounding air. and rises as a plume. The rising plume is turbulent and, because ofthis, entrains large quaaties of air from the surtounding atmosphere into the rising gases. This en- 1 Tereages the total mass and vom af the pam 2. Cools the plume by mixing the cool entrained air withthe rising hot gases. Normally, the rising plume is hover at its center and cooler toward the edges where cooler air is entrained Dilutes the concentration offre products in the plume Smoke, as discussed in this chapter, is therefore defined as a ninture of hot vapors and gases produced by the combustion pro cess along with unbumed decomposition and condensation matter And the quantity of air that is enrsined o otherwise mixed into the For the purposes of describing emake movement in buildings, the treiment of smoke movement is divided into two general areas (1) the hat smoke zone and (2) the coo! smoke 20ne7-94 CONFINING FIRES Hot Smoke Zone This zone includes those areas in a building where the temperature ofthe smoke ishigh enough so that the natural Buoyancy ofthe body ‘of smoke tends 10 lift the smoke toward the ceiling while clean, or at leas Tes polluted, air is drawn in through the lower portion ofthe space, Normall, this condition exiss ia abe room) of Are exigin. De pending upon the level of energy produced by the fre and the size ff consecting openings, sich a8 open doors, hot smoke zones can readily exist in adjacent rooms oF corridors. Industrial and ware house smoke and hea venting, aria smoke removal, and the move- ‘ment of smoke ta conndors open to spaces that have hashed over, ll involve a hot smoke zone where the smoke is lifted and driven by ‘the buoyant forces produced by the fire. Cool Smoke Zone ‘This zone includes those areas in a building where mixing and other forms of heat transfer have reduced the effect of the diving force of the fire tothe point at which buoyant lift in the smoke body is mi- nor factor. In these areas, the movement of smoke is primarily cor trolled by other forces, such as wind and stack effect, and the mechanical heat, ventilating, sir conditioning, or ether aie-meve. ‘ment systems. In these areas, the movement of smoke is essentially the same as the movement of any other pollutant SMOKE. MOVEMENT IN THE HOT SMOKE ZONE. “The volume of combustion products entrained in arising plume in the hot smoke zone is eatvely small, compared with the volume of arin the total mixture. Consequently, the smoke produced by a fire Will approximate the Volume of ai drawn into the rising plume. Fig te 7-6 llastetes te press In situations in which the height of the plume, as measured from the top ofthe fie othe level ofthe srmoke layer, is more than about tice the heigh of the solid body of flame, itis reasonable to estimate the amount of sucke using developed formlas.™ In general the equations given in tis chapter for conditions in the ot smoke zone should be used where the fire i small compared to the beight ofthe space involved. For locations where this fs not tive, approaches such as those contained in Section 7, Chapter 7, fenting Practices"; Section 11, Chapter 5, "Deterministic Com puter Fire Models”: and Section 11, Chapter 10, “Simplified Fire ‘Growth Calculations” are more appropriate ‘The following equation is based on research conducted at Fae tory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC) ands the equation used ayer Height ot | cea ayer Flammable vapors Burning Sol fl decomposing, ‘9ving of ammabe vapors FIG. 7-64. The production of smoke from a fre. for smoke production in NFPA 92B. The amount of smoke gener sted can be estimated as i= 0.071K°7Q"2"” +0.00180, where >it = mas flow in plume at height, kes; Q. = convective heat release rate of fire, kW; Insight above tap of fel, mn: and wal factor (see Figure 7-68), “The above equation Is the same as the corresponding equation in NFPA 928 forthe value of ‘Ie expression aso inludes a seres of assumptions, the most important of which are 1. The tip of the Name isa significant distance below the bottom of the smoke layer. The formula, while useful, is much less accu fate in spaces with alow eciling relative tothe eight of the fi involved 2, The fire bed itself covers an area whose length and width are reasonably approximate o each other. The original formula is based onthe assumption ofa circular fire. The degree of eo in ‘he formula increases as the relationship of length wo sd 2. The ceiling ie suficently high sothat acorretion forthe vit “origin ofthe fire is unnecessary. This is true where the fre small compared tothe height ofthe space involved, as isthe cse for smal tres m rooms or tor design applications ahvolving ats or other large-volume spaces. Flame Height ‘A reasonable estimate of the visible lame height? can be obtains! ‘rom the expression: 166(Q7%)"* where sp = mean lame height. m = heat release ofthe fire, KW; and k= wall factor (see Figure 7-08), NN a uct package Fuel package warn fen walls vot ae ie yyy \ a ruetpacaye” | Fuel packas Fuel package ust package ear wa near nte e my wet FIG. 7-68, Wall factors for fuel package locations