VERIFICATION OF A MODEL OF FIRE AND SMOKE TRANSPORT

A set of comparisons between a comprehensive room fire model and a range of real-scale fire experiments is presented. For these comparisons, a zone-based model, CFAST ('consolidated fire and smoke transport' model) is used. The model predicts the evolution of a fire in a room and the subsequent transport of the smoke and toxic gases which result from this fire. These comparisons serve two purposes: to determine, within limits, the accuracy of the predictions for those quantities of interest to the users of the models (usually those extensive variables related to hazard), and to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the underlying algorithms in the models to guide future improvements in this and other models. The predicted variables selected for comparison deal with both of these purposes. Although differences between the model and the experiments were clear, they can be explained by limitations of the model and of the experiments.