A tool to design steel elements submitted to compartment fires - OZone V2. Part 1: pre- and post-flashover compartment fire model

The computer code OZone V2 has been developed to help engineers in designing structural elements submitted to compartment fires. The code is based on several recent developments, in compartment fire modelling on one hand and on the effect of localised fires on structures on the other hand. It includes a single compartment fire model that combines a two-zone model and a one-zone model. In this paper, the description of this compartment fire model is given. The main model is first presented. It consists of the usual zone model equations fully coupled with the partition model equations. The partitions are modelled by the finite element method. The switch from the two-zone to the one-zone model is then explained. The vertical, horizontal and forced vent sub-models are presented, followed by the fire source and the combustion models. A comparison between this code and another compartment fire model NAT is made. The OZone calculations are then compared to full scale fire tests. Considerations as to how this model is used for the design of steel elements will be presented in a companion paper (Fire Saf. J., this issue). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.