Using Computational Fluid Dynamics to Design an Emergency Ventilation System for a Transit Subway Station

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to design a ventilation system to purge heat and smoke from a transit subway station during a fire emergency. Alternate ventilation scenarios, such as natural and mechanical (push pull or exhaust) ventilation are considered. Patron evacuation routes free of hazardous heat and smoke are devised based on the computational results. Graphical representation of the temperature and velocity fields for the different scenarios are presented and analyzed. It is concluded that mechanical ventilation operating in exhaust or push-pull mode is effective in purging the heat and smoke, and can provide safe evacuation routes during emergency conditions.