A numerical study of the effect of window configuration on the external heat and smoke spread in building fire

This article presents a numerical study of external heat and smoke spread caused by compartment fires in multistory buildings. Usually, a building fire causes not only hazard to the occupants in that compartment, but also poses a possible threat to the occupants in other compartments, in particular to those located at upper stories. In this study, three scenarios with different window configurations are performed on the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations and the standard k-ε model. Analysis of the computational results found that the window configurations and area as well as its location affect the heat and smoke pattern and in turn the safety of the occupants at upper stories. This implies that window design for multistory buildings, in terms of fire safety, should be carefully considered.

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