Smoke Control Services

Protect Occupants, Structural integrity & equipment

Trust Decades of Experience.

Performance Based Fire Protection Engineering has helped design hundreds of smoke control systems. Our team – including our founder, an active-duty firefighter – pairs this rich expertise with specializations in modern computer modeling and simulation software. The result? Highly effective and efficient smoke control systems, well-documented rationales for AHJ approval and seamless special inspections and system commissioning.

MULTIZONE AIRFLOW NETWORK MODELING

CONTAM: The Missing Link.

For complex applications, advanced airflow modeling becomes necessary. That's where CONTAM comes in. Our team of licensed FPEs utilizes the NIST-developed technology to help design and integrate stairwell pressurization systems, elevator pressurization systems and floor-to-floor (zoned) smoke control systems to ensure individual and combined system performance.

Design Better Smoke Control Systems With CONTAM.

Our team of licensedFPEs utilizes the NIST-developed technology to help design and integrate stairwell pressurization systems, elevator pressurization systems and floor-to-floor (zoned) smoke control systems to ensure individual and combined system performance. CONTAM modeling involves several important steps for the best results:

• Data collection
• Model creation
• Scenario definition
• Simulation
• Documentation
• Optimization

Essential CONTAM Resources.

If you want to learn more about CONTAM modeling, here are helpful resources:

• CONTAM introduction by NIST
• CONTAM software guide
• CONTAM video tutorial on defining building levels and zones
• CONTAM video tutorial on simulating contaminants and occupant exposure
• CONTAM video tutorial on defining airflow paths
• Government paper on CONTAM airflow model descriptions and validation
• White paper on using CONTAM for simulating airflow and contaminant transport
• Article comparing CFD and multizone modeling from contaminant migration

Egress Modeling: The Other Side of the Story.

Smoke control systems are designed to maintain tenability. Fire modeling is used to evaluate the amount of time it takes before conditions become untenable (RSET: Required SafeEgress Time). Egress modeling is used to evaluate the amount of time required for the occupants to evacuate (ASET: Available Safe Egress Time). The goal of the smoke control system is to demonstrate that ASET > RSET.

Commissioning & Special Inspections of Smoke Control Systems.

An efficient design is only the beginning. Our licensed fire protection engineers serve as special inspectors to examine, compare, test, and document the installation and performance of a smoke control system to ensure that it functions in accordance with the approved design.