Numerical simulation of fire spread in terminal 2 of Belgrade airport

Increasingly the fire protection concerns at airports are being addressed using computational fluid dynamics and most of these studies have been based on the prescriptive recommendations on design of an airport terminal building given by appropriate standards. However, this study is based on the performance based principles of so called Qualitative Design Review (QDR), introduced by recently adopted fire safety standard (BS 7974: 2003-2004). Apart from the evaluation of the wider aspects of fire safety, the main objectives of this study were to provide sufficient information on the space and time distribution of temperature and smoke concentration in the building, and to assess both the most critical fire scenarios and the performance of the ventilation system. Of particular interest was data monitored on the escaping route, at the head height. This data was used to assess the safety of escaping passengers.  Based on the simulation, it is evident that a significant increase of temperature and smoke concentration at the monitoring point occurred after 4.5 minutes for given conditions. Time lag of the temperature front to the smoke concentration front is observed. This study was conducted as a part of the refurbishment project of Terminal 2 of Belgrade Airport in Serbia and Montenegro.