American Journal of Energy Engineering

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Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios

Received: 31 May 2015    Accepted: 01 June 2015    Published: 15 June 2015
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Abstract

Malls like any retailing centers face exposure for a host of risks including fire, which is no stranger to shopping malls. Fires in closed malls, patronized by lots of people, can cause many fatalities among panicked people running and pushing to get out of these burning places and great damage to the property itself. This computational study covers the possibilities of smoke propagation and evacuation due to hazardous fires in a large shopping center (mall) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The mall occupies 50,753 m2 and has two main floors. It contains 144 stores in the ground floor and 56 stores in the upper floor. It has five gates, one elevator, four escalators and five emergency exit stairs. The study is divided into two parts. Part I concerns four scenarios of fire simulation. Part II considers corresponding four scenarios of evacuation. The present results explain how fast the smoke may spread in such buildings and its mechanism to move from one floor to another. The smoke propagation/movement is highly affected by the architecture of the building and the type of activities inside it.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14
Published in American Journal of Energy Engineering (Volume 3, Issue 4-1, July 2015)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire, Energy and Thermal Real-Life Challenges

Page(s) 52-71
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fire Dynamics Simulation, Smoke Propagation, Shopping Center (Mall)

References
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Author Information
  • Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering & Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

  • Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering & Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

  • Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering & Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

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  • APA Style

    Khalid A. Albis, Muhammad N. Radhwi, Ahmed F. Abdel Gawad. (2015). Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios. American Journal of Energy Engineering, 3(4-1), 52-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14

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    ACS Style

    Khalid A. Albis; Muhammad N. Radhwi; Ahmed F. Abdel Gawad. Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios. Am. J. Energy Eng. 2015, 3(4-1), 52-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14

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    AMA Style

    Khalid A. Albis, Muhammad N. Radhwi, Ahmed F. Abdel Gawad. Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios. Am J Energy Eng. 2015;3(4-1):52-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14,
      author = {Khalid A. Albis and Muhammad N. Radhwi and Ahmed F. Abdel Gawad},
      title = {Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios},
      journal = {American Journal of Energy Engineering},
      volume = {3},
      number = {4-1},
      pages = {52-71},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajee.s.2015030401.14},
      abstract = {Malls like any retailing centers face exposure for a host of risks including fire, which is no stranger to shopping malls. Fires in closed malls, patronized by lots of people, can cause many fatalities among panicked people running and pushing to get out of these burning places and great damage to the property itself. This computational study covers the possibilities of smoke propagation and evacuation due to hazardous fires in a large shopping center (mall) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The mall occupies 50,753 m2 and has two main floors. It contains 144 stores in the ground floor and 56 stores in the upper floor. It has five gates, one elevator, four escalators and five emergency exit stairs. The study is divided into two parts. Part I concerns four scenarios of fire simulation. Part II considers corresponding four scenarios of evacuation. The present results explain how fast the smoke may spread in such buildings and its mechanism to move from one floor to another. The smoke propagation/movement is highly affected by the architecture of the building and the type of activities inside it.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Fire Dynamics Simulation and Evacuation for a Large Shopping Center (Mall): Part I, Fire Simulation Scenarios
    AU  - Khalid A. Albis
    AU  - Muhammad N. Radhwi
    AU  - Ahmed F. Abdel Gawad
    Y1  - 2015/06/15
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14
    T2  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
    SP  - 52
    EP  - 71
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2329-163X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.s.2015030401.14
    AB  - Malls like any retailing centers face exposure for a host of risks including fire, which is no stranger to shopping malls. Fires in closed malls, patronized by lots of people, can cause many fatalities among panicked people running and pushing to get out of these burning places and great damage to the property itself. This computational study covers the possibilities of smoke propagation and evacuation due to hazardous fires in a large shopping center (mall) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The mall occupies 50,753 m2 and has two main floors. It contains 144 stores in the ground floor and 56 stores in the upper floor. It has five gates, one elevator, four escalators and five emergency exit stairs. The study is divided into two parts. Part I concerns four scenarios of fire simulation. Part II considers corresponding four scenarios of evacuation. The present results explain how fast the smoke may spread in such buildings and its mechanism to move from one floor to another. The smoke propagation/movement is highly affected by the architecture of the building and the type of activities inside it.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 4-1
    ER  - 

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