5/4/2018 Design: Performance: Fire Modelling: Two-Zone Models

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Introduction Zone Models - Two Zone Models Design
Fire Introduction
Behaviour
Two-zone models are valid for localised or pre-flashover fires. The compartment is divided Requirements
Norminal
Fires into different zones including the upper layer, lower layer, fire and plume. The main features Methodology
Time include: Prescriptive
Equivalence Performance
Parametric Educational
Fires The upper layer represents the accumulation of smoke and pyrolysis beneath the
Packages
Localised ceiling.
Fires
Performance
External
In each layer, the gas temperature is uniform with the upper lower being hotter. Fire Modelling
Window There is horizontal interface between the upper and lower layers. Thermal
Fires Analyses
The air entrained by the fire plume from the lower layer into the upper layer is taken
Zone Structural
Models into account. Analyses
CFD

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram how a compartment is modelled in a two-zone model.

Similar to the one-zone models, the two-zone models are based on the solving the ordinary
differential equations for the conservation of mass and energy in the compartment, but at a
higher degree of complexity. The conservation of mass and energy need to be considered for
individual zones, as well as the exchange of mass and energy between these different zones.
The main interests are the evolution of the gas temperature and the thickness of the upper
layer.

Figure 1 Schematic diagram for typical two-zone model

In real enclosure fires, a pre-flashover fire may develop into a post-flashover fire under
certain circumstances. Annex D (informative) of BSEN1991-1-2 (2002) lists two situations
when a two-zone fire model may develop into a one-zone fire model. They are:

If the gas temperature of the upper layer is higher than 500°C

If the upper layer is growing to cover 80% of the compartment height

The examples of two-zone models include:

CCFM.VENTS from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
US (Forney, Cooper & Moss 1990)

CFAST from NIST (Peacock et al. 2000)

OZone from the University of Liège, Belgium (Cadorin & Franssen

2003; Cadorin et al. 2003)

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