Fire Science and Technorog y Vol.24 No.

4(2005) 165-178 165

Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in

Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings
Jun-ichi Yamaguchi 1, Takeyoshi Tanaka 2
Technical Research Institute Obayashi Corporation, Japan
1

2
Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan

ABSTRACT
This paper proposes simple equations for predicting the smoke filling time in the room
of fire origin, which may be practically used to evaluate the performance of evacuation
safety design of building. The simple equations were developed for the typical types of
design fires, i.e. constant, t-square and their combination. Also these equations can be
used for rooms having irregular ceilings, whose horizontal section areas change with
height. Their prediction capabilities were verified by comparison with the predictions by
BRI2002, a two-layer zone model often used as a tool for evacuation safety design. These
simple equations are found to have prediction capability almost equivalent to BRI2002
for smoke filling in the room of origin.
Keywords: Smoke Filling Time, Simple Equations, t 2 fire, Irregular Ceiling,
Evacuation Safety design

1. INTRODUCTION

In the context of performance-based fire safety designs of buildings, it is a common

practice that the performance of evacuation safety in fire is evaluated by means of
comparing the required safe egress time (RSET) with the available safe egress time
(ASET), i. e. the time when fire-induced conditions within an occupied space become
untenable [1]. Although heat, toxic gases, visibility etc. in smoke are involved in the
untenable conditions, the assessment of the available safe egress time in the room of
origin in fire safety design practices is most often based on the smoke filling time to the
critical height [2]. If all the occupants have escaped from the room before the interface
of the smoke layer descends to their height, it follows that they are not exposed to the
smoke so it is not necessary to care complicated conditions of tenability. This is of course
a bit conservative but a very convenient safety criterion for practical building designs.
The smoke filling time is influenced by the configuration of the fire room and the
behavior of the fire growth. It is true that the behaviors of fire growth of real world
combustible items, such as chairs, wardrobes, trash baskets and beds, are complicated
and differ from one to another. So their burning behaviors are experimentally
investigated using furniture calorimeters based on oxygen consumption heat release
rate measurement method [3],[4]. From such experimental measurements, it has been
found that heat release rates at initial stage of many burning items can be empirically

Received 22 July 2005

Accepted 6 February 2006
166 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

approximated in the form of Q= α t2 letting Q be the heat release rate, t be the time and α
be a constant associated with the item [3]. This type of fire is now being used extensively
as the design fires in evacuation safety and smoke control designs of actual buildings [5],
[6].
The purpose of predicting fire behavior in fire safety design of a building is to verify
the fire safety performance of the building under some appropriately conservative
assumption but not to analyze the fire behavior as accurately as possible. What design
fire is to fire safety design is just like what design load is to structural design of
building. It does not necessary represent a realistic fire behavior but it is an artificial
fire condition that is so determined that somewhat severer result than most of real fire
cases is predicted [7].
As long as the fire behavior in a building is predicted at safer side for fire safety
design, the simpler the design fire the easier the calculation for safety verification.
However, too severe design fire condition may claim unbearably expensive fire safety
measures. So the design fire of which the heat release rate grows proportionally to
t-square at the initial stage and then levels off at the maximum heat release rate for
a while until the available fuel has been depleted is often employed [8]. Currently,
three types of design fires are most frequently used in fire safety design practices, i. e.,
constant, t-square, and their combination.
Smoke filling time etc. in complex conditions have been predicted often using two
layer zone smoke transport models, such as BRI2 in Japan [9], ASET[10] and CFAST[11]
in USA and many others [12].
On the other hand, for the prediction of the smoke filling in a fire room with simple
geometry, simple prediction equations are provided as practical FSE tools [5], [6], [8].
The advantages of such simple equations in fire safety design practices are as follows:

1) Easy to grasp the relation between design conditions and smoke filling behavior.
2) Easy to understand the effect of fire parameters, such as heat release rate, on smoke
filling behavior.
3) Easy to use for designers, who are not fire experts.
4) Can be calculated promptly responding to change of design conditions

In addition, simple calculation equations in general have a function as an educational

tool of fundamental fire physics for designers etc. since such equations explicitly show
what parameter how much affects the fire behavior. In this study, for the purpose of
expanding the applicability of such simple smoke filling equations, the simple equations
which can apply to several typical design fires and rooms with somewhat complex ceiling
geometries were developed.
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 167

2. THE SMOKE FILLING TIME IN THE FIRE ROOM

2.1 e fundamental equations of smoke filling

Simple equations for smoke filling have already been proposed for some simple cases
[5] and validated with full-scale smoke filling experiment in a large scale space [13]. The
outline of the method is summarized as follows.
In order to predict the smoke filling behavior, it is, in principle, necessary to solve
the conservation of mass and the conservation of heat, at least. However, to derive the
simple smoke filling equation, only mass conservation is considered, i.e.

(1)

where, ρ and V are the density and the volume of the smoke layer, respectively. mp is the
flow rate of the fire plume.
As shown in Figure 1, considering a rectangular room with constant ceiling height, the
volume of the smoke layer, V, can be expressed as

(2)

where Ar is the floor area of the room, Hr is the ceiling height, z is the smoke layer
interface height.
Using Equation 2 into Equation 1 is given as follows

(3)

It is assumed here that the plume mass flow rate is given by the following formula by
Zukoski et. al.[14].

(4)

where Cm is the plume coefficient, for which Zukoski proposed Cm=0.076.

Incidentally, the smoke layer interface height, z, should be measured from the virtual
point of heat source distance. However, the virtual point of heat source distance is
ignored for convenience.
Using Equation 4 into Equation 3 yields

(5)

Equation 5 is the basis for the following discussions in this paper.

Figure 1 Schematic of calculation model

168 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

2.2 e heat release rate of design fire and the ceiling geometry of fire
room
As stated already, the design fires most frequently used in fire safety design practices
of actual buildings are illustrated in Figure 2 in terms of the heat release rates. Namely,
the heat release rates of such design fire sources are
(a) constant with time (constant fire)
(b) proportional to time-square (t2 fire)
(c) proportional to time-square in the beginning, then constant (t2-constant fire)

(a) constant fire (b) t2 fire (c) t2-constant fire

Figure 2 The heat release rate of the design fire
In fire safety design practices, smoke filling calculations are frequently required for
not only simple rectangular rooms but also somewhat complex spaces whose horizontal
section areas vary with height, atria for example. Figure 3 illustrates the ceiling
geometries of fire room consideration in this paper.

(A) regular ceiling space (B) irregular ceiling space

Figure 3 The ceiling geometries of the fire room

2.3 e smoke filling for constant fire

For a constant fire, the heat release rate of Equation 5, Qf, is substituted by the
constant heat release rate Qc, i.e.

(6)

2.3.1 Regular ceiling space

For rooms of regular ceiling height, the smoke filling equation with a constant fire
have been already available [2], i.e., the smoke layer interface height as a function of
time is given by

(7)
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 169

Reversely, the smoke filling time as a function of the smoke layer interface height is
given by

(8)

2.3.2 Irregular ceiling space

Equation 7 and 8 can be extended to irregular ceiling space, such as a dome and
a sloped ceiling atrium etc., if the space geometry is modeled into a combination of
rectangular space elements as illustrated in Figure 4.
It is not so difficult to derive the smoke filling equation in such a configuration as
shown in Figure 4. That is, by slightly modifying the equation demonstrated in [16], the
smoke filling time as a function of smoke layer interface height is given as

(9)

where n is number of rectangular space elements, A i is horizontal section area of

rectangular space elements and Hi is ceiling height of rectangular space elements. And
the smoke layer interface height, z, needs to satisfy z≤Hn.
It is interesting note that Equation 9 is given by making summation of smoke filling time
calculated by Equation 8 regarding each part of the space with different ceiling height.

Figure 4 Dividing the room vertically

Reversely, as an identical equation, the smoke layer interface height is given as a
function of time as follows:

(10)

where the time, t, in Equation 10 needs to satisfy the following condition:

(11)
170 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

2.4 e smoke filling for t2 fire

In case of t2 fire, the heat release rate of Equation 5, Qf, is expressed as follows

(12)

where α is the fire growth rate coefficient.

Using Equation 12 into Equation 5 yields

(13)

Equation 13 can be integrated as

(14)

where z0 is the smoke layer interface height at time t0.

2.4.1 Regular ceiling space

For a simple rectangular space whose ceiling height is regular, using (t0,z0)=(0,Hr), at
the time of fire ignition, into Equation 14 yields the equation for the smoke layer interface
height as a function of time as follows:

(15)

Reversely, the smoke filling time as a function of smoke layer interface height is as
follows:

(16)

2.4.2 Irregular ceiling space

In an irregular ceiling space, a simple smoke filling equation with t2 fire has not yet
been proposed. This can be derived as follows:
First, the smoke filling time to fill the height ceiling part, i.e., the smoke filling time
to the height which changes the cross-section area, t1, can be calculated as, using Ar=A1,
Hr=H1 and z=H2 in Equation 16 as

(17)

Next, the time for the smoke layer interface height descends to height between H2 and
H3, i.e. H3 ≤ z < H2, is given using Ar=A1+A2 and (t 0 ,z 0 )=(t 1 ,H 2 ) in Equation 14 as

(18)
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 171

Using Equation 17 into Equation 18 yields as follows:

(19)

where H3 ≤ z < H2 .

The similar process, Equation 17 through Equation 19, can be repeated to yield the
equation for smoke filling time to arbitrary height z as

(20)

where z ≤ Hn.

Reversely, the smoke layer interface height can be given as a function of time as
follows:

(21)

where the time, t, in Equation 21 needs to satisfy the following condition:

(22)

Note that the smoke filling time for t2 fire is again given by the summation of the
filling times in the spaces fictitiously divided corresponding to different ceiling height.

2.5 e smoke filling for t2-constant fire

In this section, the simple equations in t2-constant fire, as shown in Figure 2(c), is
considered. In this case, the heat release rate of Equation 5, Qf, is given as follows

(23)

where tc is the time at which the initial heat release of the growth fire reaches the
constant value, i.e.

(24)

2.5.1 Regular ceiling space

During the initial growing stage, i.e. 0 < t ≤ tc, is given by Equation 15, therefore the
smoke layer interface height Hc at time tc is

(25)
172 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

Figure 5 The schematic of the smoke layer interface height

After the transition to constant fire, i.e. t > t c, the simple equations constant fire,
Equation 7 and Equation 8, can be invoked. Using t=t -t c, Hr=Hc in Equation 7 yields

(26)

where t ≥ tc.

Hence, the smoke layer interface height in Equation 26 can be obtained by calculating
the smoke layer interface height at the transition time, Hc, and then using Equation 26.
Or we may obtain a single equation, by using Equation 25 into Equation 26, as follows:

(27)

Equation 26 can be solved for t to yield the smoke filling time as a function of the smoke
layer interface height as follows:

(28)

or identically

(29)

3. COMPARISON OF SIMPLE EQUATION AND BRI 2002

PREDICTIONS

3.1 Calculation conditions

In order to examine the level accuracy of the simple equations for smoke filling in
this paper, comparisons of prediction results are made between the simple equation and
BRI2002, a smoke transport zone computer model, for 3 sample cases shown Table 1.
Two types of room geometries as shown in Figure 6 (a), i.e. Type1: irregular ceiling
space, and (b), Type 2: regular ceiling space, are considered.
Incidentally, the reason that each room has an opening in the lower part of wall is
that BRI2002 needs a certain opening for room pressure calculation.
Unlike BRI2002, the smoke layer density ρ is not calculated by the simple equations,
so ρ is assumed as ρ=1, in these case studies.
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 173

Table 1 Calculation conditions

CASE 1 CASE 2 CASE 3

Heat t2-constant fire

t2 fire
Release
Rate[kW]

irregular ceiling space regular ceiling irregular ceiling

Ceiling
(Type 1) space (Type 2) space (Type 1)
Geometry
Figure 6(a) Figure 6(b) Figure 6(a)

(a) Type1: irregular ceiling space

(b) Type 2: regular ceiling space

Figure 6 The schematic of room geometries

3.2 Comparison of prediction results

(1) CASE 1
Figure 7(a) and (b) shows the comparison of the predictions for CASE 1 by BRI2002
[15], which is the revised version of BRI2 smoke transport model, and the simple
equations. The calculations by BRI2002 were made for two different locations of the fire
source, i.e. in Area 1: high ceiling part and in Area 2: low ceiling part, of which results
are shown in Figure 7(a) and (b), respectively.
The smoke filling predictions by the simple equations are slightly faster than the
predictions by BRI2002, particularly when the fire source is in Area 2.
However, the simple equations can be said to be sufficiently accurate as tool used for
smoke filling prediction in usual fire safety design practices.
174 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

(a) The fire source location is in Area 1

(b) The fire source location is in Area 2

Figure 7 Comparison of the predictions by BRI2002 and the simple equations for CASE 1

(2) CASE 2
Figure 8 shows the comparison for CASE 2, in which t2-constant fire was assumed
in a regular ceiling space. As can be seen in this comparison, the agreement of the
predictions is very good between the simple equation and BRI2002.

Figure 8 Comparison of the predictions by BRI2002 and the simple equations for CASE 2

(3) CASE 3
Figure 9 shows the comparison for CASE 3, in which t2-constant fire was assumed in a
irregular ceiling space. The fire source location for prediction by BRI2002 is in Area1. As
can be seen in this comparison, the agreement of the predictions is very good between
the simple equation and BRI2002.
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 175

As can be seen in this comparison the agreement between the simple equation is
again very satisfactory.

Figure 9 Comparison of the predictions by BRI2002 and the simple equations for CASE 3

4. CONCLUSION

In this paper, simple predictive equations for smoke filling were developed for
t-square fire source and a t-square and constant combined fire source, i.e. t-square fire
at first and then constant fire at later stage, as shown in APPENDIX A. These equations
are applicable not only to spaces with regular ceiling but also with irregular ceiling. It
is very interesting to note that the smoke filling time in a irregular ceiling space can be
calculated by fictitiously dividing the space corresponding to the different ceiling height,
and adding up the smoke filling times calculated for each of the fictitiously rooms.
The comparison of the predictions by the simple equations with those by BRI2002
demonstrates that the simple equations can be useful tools for smoke filling calculation
in fire safety design practices. The simple equations developed in this study are
summarized in Appendix.
Incidentally, unlike a computer model such as BRI2002, the simple equations cannot
predict smoke layer temperature so the density has to be assumed. It is desirable for
better prediction to improve the model to enable to estimate the smoke layer temperature.

REFERENCES

1. The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 3rd Ed. Chapter 3, p-367.
2. For example, The verification method for evacuation safety of buildings, Ministry
Order No. 1441, Ministry of Construction, JAPAN, 2000
3. Quintiere, J.: Principles of Fire Behavior, Delmar Publishers, p113
4. Gross, D.: Data Sources for Parameters Used in Predictive Modeling of Fire
Growth and Smoke Spread, NBSIR 85-3223, NBS, 1985
5. Tanaka, T. and Yamana, T.: Smoke Control in Large Scale Space ; (Part 1 Analytical
theories for smoke control in large scale spaces), Fire Science and Technology, Vol.
5, No. 1, 1985
176 J.YAMAGUCHI and T.TANAKA

6. NFPA 92B: Smoke management System in Malls, Atria, and Large Areas, 1991
Edition, NFPA, 1991
7. Tanaka, T.: Concept and Framework of a Performance Based Fire Safety Design
System for Building, J. of Applied Fire Science, Vol.3, No.4, 1993
8. Karlsson, B. and Quintiere, J. Q.: Enclosure Fire Behavior, CRC Press.
9. Tanaka, T.: A Model of Multiroom Fire Spread, NBSIR 83-2718, NBS, 1983
10. Cooper, L. Y. and Stroup, D. W.: ASET - A Computer Program for Calculating
Available Safe Egress Time, Fire Safety J., 9, 1985
11. Jones, W. W., Forney, G. P., Peacock, R. D. and Reneke, P. A.: A Technical Reference
for CFAST: An Engineering for Estimating Fire and Smoke Transport, TN-1431,
NIST, 2000
12. Friedman, R.: A Irnational Survey of Computer models for Fire and Smoke, J. of
Fire Protection Engineering, 48(3), 1992
13. Yamana, T. and Tanaka, T. : Smoke Control in Large Scale Space ; (Part2 Smoke
control experiments in a large scale space), Fire Science and Technology, Vol.5,
No. 1, 1985
14. Zukoski, E.E., Kubota,T., Cetegen, B., : Entrainment in Fire Plume, Fire Safety
Journal, Vol.3, 107-121, 1980/1981
15. Tanaka, T., Yamada S., : BRI2002 Two Layer Smoke Transport Model, Fire Science
and Technology, Vol. 23, No. 1(special issue), 2004
16. Tanaka, T., : Introduction to Fire Safety Engineering of Buildings, The Building
Center of Japan, pp.232-235, 2002(in Japanese)

NOMENCLATURE LISTING

Ai horizontal section area of rectangular space elements (m2)

Ar horizontal section area of fire room(m2)
cp specific heat of air(kJ/kg.K)
Cm plume coefficient(kg/kJ1/3.m5/3.s2/3)
Hc smoke layer interface height with tc(m)
Hi ceiling height of rectangular space elements (m)
Hr ceiling height of fire room(m)
mp flow rate of fire plume(kg/s)
n room division number
Qc heat release rate of constant fire(kW)
Qf heat release rate(kW)
t time(s)
tc Transition time from t2-fire to constant fire(s)
V smoke layer volume(m3)
z smoke layer interface height(m)
 Simple Equations for Predicting Smoke Filling Time in Fire Rooms with Irregular Ceilings 177

Greek
α fire growth coefficient(kW/s2)
ρ smoke layer density(kg/m3)

APPENDIX

The simple equations for smoke filling

Ceiling
geometry

Type of
design fire regular ceiling space irregular ceiling space

constant fire

t2 fire

t2-constant fire