Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Fire and Human Evacuation for Nuclear Applications

The nuclear industry has seen an increased use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology as a high-fidelity tool for design-basis and beyond-design-basis accident simulations. Among its applications, CFD modeling of fire and smoke propagation in confined zones (e.g., a main control room (MCR)) is a promising approach, since detailed experimental investigation under various accident scenarios would be difficult. Egress analysis considering human behaviors is of significant importance to an effective accident mitigation strategy, and high-fidelity analysis tools now encompass these parameters in the simulation and design of emergency evacuations. In this study, the fire and smoke propagation in a MCR is modeled using the large eddy simulations (LES) code fire dynamics simulator (FDS), along with an evacuation module, EVAC to simulate the emergency egress under an electrical cabinet fire scenario. The FDS results presented in this paper constitute the first step at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) in advancing the CFD modeling of fire and evacuation for nuclear applications.