Smoke production

Smoke production depends on the heat release rate of the fire and the kind of smoke plume
that rises above the fire. This section addresses the axisymmetric plume, balcony spill plume, wall
plume, corner plume, and the window plume.

The convective portion of the heat release rate is

𝑄𝐶 = 𝑋𝑐 𝑄

Where:

QC = convective heat release rate of fire, Btu/s (kW),

Q = heat release rate of fire, Btu/s (kW),

Χc = convective fraction of heat release,dimensionless.

The convective fraction of heat release varies from about 0.4 to 0.9, but = 0.7 is commonly
used for most design applications.

Axisymmetric Plume

The smoke plumes that are of concern for fire protection in buildings are by nature unsteady
and turbulent processes. The empirical equations for plumes are based on time-averaged flow that
considers the plume coming from a point called the virtual origin.

The basic concepts of plume analysis were developed by Morton, Taylor, and Turner
(1956). Empirical plume equations were developed at the California Institute of Technology
(Cetegan, Zukoski, and Kubota 1982), National Institute of Standards and Technology (McCaffrey
1983), and Factory Mutual Research Corporation (Heskestad 1983, 1984). The following
equations are primarily based on the work at Factory Mutual Research Corporation. [2]
Mass flow

For Z greater than or equal to ZL (Z≥ZL), then mass flow is

1 2
𝑚 = 0.071𝑄𝐶 3 (𝑧 − 𝑧𝐿 )5/3 [1 + 0.19𝑄𝐶 3 (𝑧 − 𝑧0 ]

For Z less than ZL(Z≤ZL), the mass flow is

0.0056𝑄𝐶
𝑚= 𝑧
𝑧𝐿

Where:

m = mass flow of an axisymmetric plume at height z

QC = convective heat release of fire

Z = distance above base of fire

Z0 = distance to virtual origin

ZL = limiting elevation

Virtual origin

𝑧0 = 0.083𝑄 2/5 − 1.02𝐷𝑓

The distance to the virtual origin can also be expressed in terms of heat release density as:

𝑧0 = 0.083𝑄 2/5 − 1.15(𝑄/𝑞)1/2

Where:

q = heat release density

Limiting Elevation

𝑧0 = 0.235𝑄 2/5 − 1.02𝐷𝑓

Or

𝑧0 = 0.235𝑄 2/5 − 1.15(𝑄/𝑞)1/2

Simplified axisymmetric plum