Natural smoke filling in PolyU/USTC Atrium

Experimental studies on natural smoke filling during an atrium fire were carried out in a new full-scale burning facility: the PolyU/USTC Atrium, at Hefei, Anhui, China. The internal dimension of the atrium is 22.4 m long, 11.9 m wide, and 27 m high. A diesel pool fire of 1.2 m diameter and heat release rate up to 654 kW was located at the center of the atrium floor. All vents of the atrium were closed, leaving just a vertical gap of width 1.65 m and height 0.2 m for supplying fresh air. Five hot smoke tests were carried out. Vertical temperature distributions and descending time of the smoke layer were measured. Results on the smoke-filling process compiled from the tests were compared with the USTC/PolyU model, a simple mathematical model developed from a plume equation appearing in the literature. Comparison was also made with the smoke-filling equation appearing in the literature.