Multi-criteria numerical analysis of factors influencing the efficiency of natural smoke venting of atria.

Smoke management in the atrium with natural smoke venting is influenced by many parameters. The analysis presented considered the impact of atrium height, atrium shape and layout of air inlets, wind direction, wind speed and location of the fire outbreak. Experimental research is here very awkward due to the costs, thus the numerical analysis is a convenient way to examine such a large parameters domain. So wide range of research was feasible thanks to the use of Taguchi method of experiment design. The flow volume through the exhaust vents and the soot mass fraction at the ground floor were chosen as criteria to evaluate the efficiency of the smoke removal system As a result, the relative importance of examined parameters were obtained, and above all the interactions between parameters were revealed. This allows to formulate some hints for designers to make the smoke removal systems robust on the wind influence and other unpredictable factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]