Pyrosim-based numerical simulation of fire safety and evacuation behaviour of college buildings

Abstract

In colleges, fire accident poses a severe threat to the lives and properties of teachers and students, because fire evacuation is difficult due to the dense population, numerous experimental instruments, and various flammables and explosives on campus. This paper explores deep into the fire safety of college buildings, and analyses the types and hazard sources of fire on campus. Then, a building information model (BIM) was established according to the location of fire source, the type of fire growth, and the maximum heat release rate, and applied to fire process simulation on PyroSim and Pathfinder. The simulation results show that the smoke at staircases 1 and 2 on the second floor reached the critical height at 63s and 76s, respectively; despite a relatively long distance from the fire classroom, the smoke at staircase 3 on the second floor reached the critical height at 123s, making the staircase impassable. Among the four evacuation exits, exit I suffered the greatest from the fire, and became impassable since 86s. The other exits and stairways on the first floor were affected but still passable. Except the fire classroom. The average temperature variation on the second floor was 5℃. After the fire broke out, the total evacuation time increased by 21s. Exit I is the only evacuation exit where the evacuation is faster under fire than under no fire. The research results provide a good reference for fire analysis and fire protection of other buildings.