02-04.
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2–52
per meter) when the spacing length is 0.5 m and the flash-
ing speed is 4 m/s. When the spacing length is set to be
1.0 m, the effectiveness decreases but it is still useful in
smoke under 0.8 1/m. However, when the spacing is
greater than 2.0 m, less effectiveness is expected even un-
der a no-smoke condition and it decreases as the smoke
density increases. The evaluation values in the meshed
area to the left in Figure 2-4.17 were obtained before and
after smoke inhalation, but under conditions of no smoke.
This area shows stability of the evaluation, and no assim-
ilation effects are observed.
From Figure 2-4.17, the effectiveness of flashing trav-
eling signs in an ambient atmosphere is maintained up to
a smoke density of 0.4 1/m. This result is very important
for evaluating the escape guidance system from the view-
point of safe evacuation. Visibility (observable distance)
of normal exit signs drops rapidly from more than 10 m to
5 m, and the guidance effectiveness is also lost over the
same range of smoke densities.2 This relation between the
visibility of ordinary exit signs and the smoke density is
expressed in Figure 2-4.18.
Compared with the decrease in visibility of ordinary
exit signs, the decrease in the effectiveness of the guid-
ance system with increasing obscuration seems to be
small, so that the new system is expected to maintain high
and stable effectiveness of guidance escape, even in rela-
tively dense smoke. It is known that the threshold of
smoke density for safe evacuation of a building without
emergency signs is under 0.5 1/m for evacuees who are
familiar with the building and 0.15 1/m for strangers.4
The effectiveness of this escape guiding system is
also illustrated by previous experimental observations
mentioned in the section headed Correct Answer Rate
and Emotional Instability in Thick Fire Smoke, that is, 7
subjects out of 31 participants could not proceed beyond
2.8 m from the exit, 3 subjects were stopped at 5.3 m, 3
subjects at 6.9 m, and 1 subject at 8.6 m in the corridor
filled with thick smoke (CS C 0.92 F 0.21). Many evalua-
14
12
Observable distance (m)
10
8
6
0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Extinction coefficient, Cs (1/m)
Figure 2-4.18. Relation between smoke density and
visibility of exit sign.
Fire Dynamics
tion values at 0.2 1/m smoke density give higher values
than those under a nonsmoke condition. It is considered
that interference by the background lighting is weakened
by the smoke and the evacuees are able to concentrate
more on the flashing light. Therefore, in thinner smoke at
the very beginning of fire, this type of guidance system
can be expected to have a high effectiveness for safety
evacuation, as well as in thick smoke.
Clearly, the spacing between flashing light sources is
a very important factor to maintain effectiveness. High ef-
fectiveness is expected, especially, when the spacing is
less than 1 m. The relation between effectiveness and
flashing light conditions in the presence of smoke is
found to be almost the same as the relation under a non-
smoke condition.
Conclusion
The following are the major conclusions derived
from these research activities:
1. Relation between smoke density and visibility in fire
smoke was examined under various kinds of smoke,
and simple equations were proposed for practical use.
2. The visibility in fire smoke depends on its irritating na-
ture as well as the optical density of the smoke. In-
creasing irritating effect causes a rapid drop of visual
acuity. A modification due to irritating effect was made
for the visibility versus smoke density equation.
3. Evacuees begin to feel emotional instability in rela-
tively thin smoke; however the threshold of smoke
density varies with the subject. Through experiments
and investigations, it was found that the level de-
pended on the degree of evacuees’ familiarity of the in-
ternal geometry of a building on fire. Evacuees in
unfamiliar buildings tend to feel emotional instability
in thinner smoke.
4. Ability of evacuees to think clearly when exposed to
fire smoke decreases with increasing smoke density.
Generally, this is caused by both psychological and
physiological effects on evacuees. Also, in due course,
hot smoke causes a further decrease of thinking ability.
5. Conspicuousness of the ordinary exit sign was im-
proved by a flashing light source sign or by adding a
flashing light source in conditions where there were
many other light noises.
6. A new type of escape guidance in fire smoke by travel-
ing flashing light sources toward exits was developed,
and the effectiveness was examined in a smoke-filled
corridor. This new system is expected to maintain high
and stable escape guidance, even in relatively thick
smoke.
References Cited
1. T. Jin, “Visibility through Fire Smoke,” Bull. of Japanese Assoc.
0.5 0.55 of Fire Science & Eng., 19, 2, pp. 1–8 (1970).
2. T. Jin, “Visibility through Fire Smoke,” J. of Fire & Flammabil-
ity, 9, pp. 135–157 (1978).
3. T. Jin and T. Yamada, “Irritating Effects of Fire Smoke on Vis-
ibility,” Fire Science & Technology, 5, 1, pp. 79–89 (1985).