Numerical Investigations of Smoke Dynamics in Unconfined and Confined Environments

Plume dynamics in high-rise buildings are of interest to building engineers because of the safety concerns. Herein, the temperatures, velocities, and pressures of smoke rising in buildings of various sizes as a function of the fire size were simulated using the Fire Dynamics Simulator software. The numerical results were validated against the analytical solutions for confined (building enclosure) and unconfined (open-air) systems. As the building area decreased and the fire size increased, the buoyancy-driven flow was accelerated, hence increasing the overall building temperature. In addition, the low pressure at the bottom of the building due to the buoyant smoke increased the vertical pressure gradient throughout the building. These parametric studies can be used to develop design-safety guidelines for building engineers concerned with smoke dynamics.