Modeling of the Effect of Heat Release Rates on Fire Smoke Control in Multilevel Underground Parking Garage

Abstract

Smoke is the real threat in a fire in an enclosed, underground parking garage. A model of the smoke movement in a basement was simulated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) 6.0 software. In this paper, the study used a basement model of 60 m (length) × 30 m (width) × 13 m (height) and has three typical floors. Smoke ventilation shafts were provided for the basement. The required ventilation was based on the air changing ten times per hour. Smoke modeling was investigated under different fire scenarios. Well-controlled liquid pool fire with a heat release rate (HRR) of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MW was used as an input parameter. The following parameters were varied: the location of the fire, the presence or absence of sprinklers, the presence or absence of a smoke extraction system, the variation of the quantity of makeup air to be introduced to basement, and the presence or absence of a jet fan and ducting. Simulation shows that the provision of sprinklers is very important to reduce the heat release rate. The ventilation strategy through a mechanical exhaust fans and makeup air fans can be applied to make the time for smoke removal faster. When makeup air is less, the heat release rates from the design fire more than 5 MW cause high temperature in the fire compartment which may cause fatal injury when exposed to human skin. Combination of ventilation fan and jet fan shows good performance to make smoke removal time shorter.