FEMTC 2022 Videos are Freely Available

Thunderhead Engineering recently hosted the sixth Fire and Evacuation Modeling Technical Conference, where over 35 presentations on the latest research, experiments, and case studies were delivered by leading members of industry and academia. The event was held in the Czech Republic and broadcast globally with viewers and speakers participating from all over. Just as we've done since the first FEMTC in 2011, all presentations were recorded and are now available on the FEMTC event page for free viewing.

Here are a couple of summarized highlights from the event.

CFD Analysis Of Fire Protection Sprinkler System Adapted For A Storage/Sale Rack Of Flammable Liquids

Patricio Valdés of IDIEM, which roots back to Universidad de Chile, presented a CFD analysis of a fire protection sprinkler system which was intended to extinguish fires in a retail storage rack of flammable liquids. Valdés and his team also performed live full-scale experiments and relayed their findings to the retailer.

The retailer stored many popular flammable products together which were not well protected from rapid combustion. As a state entity, Valdés and his team were asked to investigate the protection offered by the current system in place. Valdés further provided a sprinkler system adaptation suggestion for improved safety.

Stadium Egress And Bleachers Connection To Stairs And Exit Platform

Guillaume Lagaillarde, CEO of 1Point2 and reseller of PyroSim and Pathfinder for France, offered insights into his paper titled "Stadium Egress and Bleachers Connection to Stairs and Exit Platform". Specifically, Lagaillarde examines vomitories, bleachers, staircases, and more through Pathfinder evacuation modeling scenarios.

Lagaillarde explored many advanced modeling techniques he and his team have explored while building stadium models. He provides use cases for the real world challenges they faced and shares his insights. During the recorded Q&A session, several viewers wanted to find out more.

You mentioned the 40 cm aisles. How did you implement that in your model?

I cheated. In fact, we just erased the seats. We assume that if there is an aisle and a seat, we assume only an aisle, then enlarge the access door. You are forced to cheat somehow. You are not doing an ergonomic simulation of people with legs and arms. You have to remember your agents are cylinders. You have to adapt your model to your agents. You have a cylinder that is averaging a very complex person. If the level of detail of your geometry is somehow much higher than the level of detail of your agent, you are making a mistake.

To view the full list of presentation videos, visit the FEMTC 2022 event page.