Experimental studies on natural smoke filling in atria

Experimental studies on natural smoke filling during an atrium fire were carried out in a new full-scale burning facility: the PolyU/USTC Atrium with inner length 22.4 m, width 11.9 m and height 2.7 m. Diesel pool fires were located at the floor with all the windows and vents of the atrium closed, leaving just a vertical gap for supplying fresh air. Two sets of experiments, each consisting of 20 hot smoke tests with pool diameters 0.6 m and 1.0 m, were performed. Transient mass of the burning fuel, vertical temperature distributions and descending time of the smoke layer were measured. Results compiled from the tests were compared with those predicted by a smoke filling model developed from a plume equation that appeared in the literature.