Engineering Numerical Simulation on the Amount of Make-up Air for Mechanical Smoke Exhaust in Atrium

Smoke is one of the major hazards on to the occupants in atrium fires. It is commonly accepted that the smoke should be timely exhausted. Make-up air must be supplied simultaneously to the atrium in order to keep the smoke exhausting efficiency. The amount of make-up air therefore acts as a key factor of the smoke management system design. Numerical simulations were performed in this study to investigate the impact of make-up air on the smoke exhausting efficiency. Results show that when a 30% or more of the amount of smoke exhaust for make-up air is able to be kept smoke exhausting process efficient. The “as much as possible” concept for make-up air should not be considered regarding the research results.