CFAST Tutorial 1

Workshop Fire 1
Cheat files

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September 2008

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Tabbed-pages organize the inputs for CFAST simulations into several categories
(From CFAST Help file):
Simulation Environment includes simulation time, specification of model outputs,
and ambient conditions. Also included on the page are a constantly updated list of
errors, warnings, and messages about the input file specification or model simulation.
Compartment Geometry defines the size, construction characteristics, and position
of the compartments in a simulation.
Horizontal Flow Vents, Vertical Flow Vents, and Mechanical Flow Vents allows
the user to connect compartments with doors and windows, ceiling and floor vents, or
forced air ventilation systems.
Fires include user specification of the initial fire source and any additional burning
objects in one or more of the compartments of the simulation.
Detection / Suppression defines any heat alarms and sprinklers in the
compartments of the simulation.
Targets provide the ability to calculate the temperature and net heat flux to objects
placed and oriented arbitrarily in the structure.
Surface Connections allows for more detailed description of the connections
between compartments in the simulation to better simulate the transfer of heat from
compartment to compartment in the simulation.
Each of these tabbed-pages is described in more detail below. In addition, a series of
menus allow the user to open and save files; run the simulation, or access help and
program information.

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CFast Tutorial 1 (CFast v.6)

The Scenario
A workshop is situated at an elevation of 200m (above sea level) and measuring 8m by 5m by
3m high. The workshop has brick walls, a concrete base and a corrugated sheet steel roof,
with an ill-fitting door 1m wide by 1.98m tall, fitting in a 1m by 2m frame (with a gap of 1cm at
the top and bottom). The workshop also has a sash window 1m by 1m propped open at the
bottom by 0.1m.
A spark initiates a fire in a corner of the workshop at a workstation 1m from the rear and left
hand walls.

CFAST default tab of Simulation Environment

Entering the data:

From the CFAST initial window (shown above);
In CFAST version 6 (used here), most of the commands are accessed by the tabs at
the top of the main data entry section which opens the relevant windows. By adding
data in these windows you will be creating a fire scenario for the building above.
Follow the instructions below to add this scenario data (on the top tabs, going from
left to right) and create the fire model.

Simulation Environment:
This window/tab allows the user to define ambient conditions and simulation times specific
to the fire in question, for this fire values different to the standard set-up are specified so
can be altered here:
Before beginning to define the structure, it is best to start by assigning a title or description
to the input file
Click on the title field and replace the text with Workshop Fire 1;

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Specifying simulation time and spreadsheet output

This allows the user to specify the total simulation time, display time intervals and intervals
to output to a spreadsheet file (e.g. excel) with defined time intervals;
From the simulation environment tab:
Enter the following data (much of which are the default settings):
Simulation time:
950 s
Text output interval:
50 s
Binary output interval:
0s
Spreadsheet output interval: 10 s
SmokeView output interval: 10 s
Specifying ambient conditions:
Interior:
temperature
elevation
pressure
relative humidity

20 oC
200 m
101300 Pa
50 %

temperature
17 oC
elevation
200 m
pressure
101300 Pa
Values for Wind Speed, Scale Height and Power Law can be left as default (these can be
changed as the scenario dictates, but for this simple scenario, are considered as
reasonable for this fire model)
Exterior:

To check/change the units of the conditions entered above:

Select Tools from the menu bar
Select Select Engineering Units
Check that the default settings read:
Length
m
Mass
kg
Time
s
o
C
Temperature
Pressure
Pa
Energy, quantity of heat
kJ
These units can be amended using the drop-down menu arrows to the right of each text entry
field within this box
Click OK.
Saving the simulation file
The file should be saved in the directory that appears, not elsewhere. You will be able to
save the files to another location such as a memory stick later to take away if required.
Either:
Select the File option from the menu bar
Select Save as and type Fire1.in
Click Save.
Or:
Click the Save button to the bottom of the window
Type Fire1.in

Click Save

fire1a.in

Modifying the Compartment Geometry

In order to model a fire scenario, the user must portray the geometry of the structure in terms
of the size and elevation of every compartment in the structure. Thermophysical properties of
the enclosing surfaces can also be specified by selecting surface materials in order to
accurately model the heat transfer through surfaces.
This can be done from the
Compartment Geometry tab:
Click on the Compartment Geometry tab

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 Click on the Add button

This will automatically become compartment 1, and can be named for clarity in more complex
simulations
Below the tabulated table at the top of the window, click in the Compartment Name
field and type Workshop;
Modify the compartment sizes as follows:
Width :
8m
Depth:
5m
Height:
3m
Leave the position options as x, y and z = 0. These figures determine the position of the
compartments with relation to each other, but since only one compartment is used here, this
is not necessary.
Next you need to specify compartment surfaces from the initial description, using the
arrow to the right of each surface, select the following from the dropdown menus:
Ceiling:
1/16 sheet steel [Steel, plain carbon (1/16)]
Walls:
Common 3 brick [Brick common (3in)]
Floor:
Normal weight 6 concrete [Concrete, normal weight (6in)]

Click Save fire1b.in

At any point after defining the first room, click on the Save and then View buttons at the
bottom of the window to start SmokeView and get a 3-D visualisation of the geometry
In SmokeView holding the left mouse button down and dragging will move the
compartment to gain different views
Close the SmokeView window before returning to CFAST.
(Note: while modifying input details, any inconsistencies will be shown as errors at the bottom left of
the window, this should read No Errors before proceeding to the next step)

Modelling Doors and Windows

The scenario states 3 vents to the outside, top and bottom of the door and the open window.
These must be defined for the computer model you are creating:
From the Horizontal Flow Vents tab:
1. Ventilation path due to the gap at the bottom of the door:
Click Add
Alter vent 1 details by entering the following data:
First Compartment:
Workshop (choose from drop down menu)
Second Compartment:
Outside (choose from drop down menu)
Sill:
0.0 m
Soffit:
0.01 m
Width:
1.0 m
(Clicking on Save then View will reveal this added vent as a pink line you may have to rotate
the compartment by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse up or down)

fire1c.in
The vent is currently in the corner of the front face of the compartment, to move
along to the correct position:
Alter the Vent offset in the first compartment (workshop) to 4.0m

Save and view to show the new vent position fire1d.in

2. Ventilation path due to the gap at the top of the door:
Since this vent is directly above the first vent, the easiest way to add this vent is
to click Duplicate. This will add a second vent directly over the first
Modify vent 2 to read: sill: 1.99m, soffitt: 2.00m, width: 1.0m, first compartment
vent offset: 4.0m
3. Ventilation path due to the open sash window:
Add a third vent with the window details: first compartment: Workshop, second
compartment: outside, sill: 1.0m, soffitt: 1.1m, width: 1.0m, offset: 2.0m
This will place the window opening on the same wall as the door, to alter this use the
Face option:

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 Click on the drop-down menu next to the face option and select Rear
Vertical flow:
The Vertical Flow tab allows the user to define vertical vents through floors and ceilings,
since none of these are described in the scenario, these do not need to be altered here.

Mechanical Flow Vents

The Mechanical Flow tab allows the user to define mechanical vents such as powered
vents, since none of these are described in the scenario, again these do not need to be
altered.

Save (and view) File fire1e.in

Modifying the Fire Type and Location

From the Fires tab, a range of common fire loads can be selected, and this allows
positioning of the fire. Initially no fire is present in the compartment.
Click on the Add button to add a fire to the compartment
Add the following data to the relevant box:
Compartment:
Workshop
Position:
X=1.0m, Y=4.0m, Z=0
Fire object:
3 panel workstation

Save (and view) File

fire1f.in

The fire will be shown in your geometry in yellow

This completes the data input for this simple fire simulation the three other tabs are not
used in this basic simulation, but will be discussed later.
Running the simulation
Click on the Run button near the bottom of the window;

(This will bring up a dialog box which display the results of the simulation as a snapshot in time, this will
also be dumped out to an excel file for later analysis);

Or: from the menu-bar, select Run! then Model Simulation, CFAST

Results of the simulation

Once the simulation is finished (the Current Time Step field will show Stopped), the
results can be viewed visually via the SmokeView window (within your defined
geometry)
Wait until the simulation time has elapsed (for this example that is 950s)
Click on Close
Click on Save
From the main top drop down menu-bar select Run! and Simulation Visualization,
SmokeView

(Note: if you select the View button from the bottom of the screen as before, then the
visualisation file in SmokeView will not be loaded and no graphics will be displayed. To
rectify this re-run the simulation and use the menu bar to enter SmokeView).

This will bring up the visualisation you have seen before after defining the fire

In SmokeView:
Right click over the SmokeView window
From the menu that appears, select Load/Unload, Zone fire file and
fire1.plt, Pa,m,K,K
This will start the simulation, the zone temperature is initially shown as a vertical 2-D
representation within the compartment. Take a few minutes to use the other options
in SmokeView to change the speed of the visualisation, orientation of the zone

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graphics to vertical, etc.. Main functions of SmokeView are given at the end of this
tutorial.
To make the visualisation smoother, return to CFAST (Simulation Environment) and
alter the SmokeView Interval Output to 1 s, re-run the simulation and return to
SmokeView using the tool bar method described above.(Note: this will also
increase the visualisation time)

Excel files will be available from My Documents, CFastData, Samples, and will be prefixed by
Fire1, showing as an Excel file (the PC cluster you are using may require a different file
location - you will be advised beforehand if this is the case).
(Note: the file name will end .f , .n, .s or . w for flow, normal, species and wall outputs respectively but will
usually display as an Excel icon )

Exiting the Simulation

Having examined the visualisation, close the SmokeView window

End of CFAST Tutorial 1.

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Main Functions of the SmokeView Program

Some of the functions listed here will only be available when SmokeView is entered via the
Run! menu and the simulation running.
Load/Unload > Zone fire file > filename.plt, Pa,m,K,K
Runs the visual simulation this can only be accessed where Smokeview has been
opened via the Run! menu option and the simulation has completed.
Load/Unload > Zone fire file > Unload
Unloads the visualisation file to show the basic geometry and vents
Load/Unload > Reload > All options
Allows reloading of the visualisation file to restart now, in 1min, 5min, 10min or
cancel. This option is usually not used as the file automatically reloads when it
reaches the end of the simulation
Show/Hide > Labels > All options
Shows various additional information on the visualisation window, including colour
bars, time bars, title, axis, frame advance rate, time label, frame label, slice average
and memory load along with an option to show or hide all of these. Where a star
precedes the option, this indicates that the option is on, selecting the option with the
left mouse button enables or disables the function.
Show/Hide > Zone > Layers
This incorporates 2 options, defining the colours and orientation of the layer. Colours
Hazard or Colours Temperature allows the user to toggle between viewing the
general hazard layer, and the temperature of the layer, temperature being the default.
The orientation of the layer is changed by switching between horizontal and vertical,
or switched off by selecting Hide. Selecting Hide will show the plume only.
Show/Hide > Targets / Target Orientation
This will show any defined targets and their orientation
Show/Hide > Offset window
Reduces the size of the simulation within the window for better viewing area when the
window is maximised
Options > Shades > Colorbars > Original/Rainbow/Black and White
Toggles between multicoloured and black & white (greyscale) simulation colours
Options > Shades > Flip Background
Toggles between black background and white background. The black background
often provides better/easier viewing of the simulation colours
Options > Shades > Transparent
Toggles between opaque and transparent layers so that the detail behind the layer is
visible or obscured respectively
Options > Units > All Options
Self explanatory, allows the user to choose between units of temperature (C/F/K) and
velocity (m/s, mph, f/s)
Options > Rotation > All Options
Allows user to select the orientation of the viewer either World Centred (geometric
centre level), eye centred (as if looking at the geometry from eye level) or World
Centred, Level Rotation (allows only level (horizontal) rotation of the geometry,
preventing vertical rotation)
Options > Maximum Frame Rate > All Options

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Allows the user to define the speed of the simulation in terms of frames per second
(FPS). Be wary of the real time functions as these can be very slow
Options > Font Size > Normal / Large
Toggles between standard and large font sizes on the SmokeView window for easier
viewing
Options > Zoom > All Options
Allows the user to make the geometry larger or smaller in the SmokeView window.
Values < 1 zoom out, values > 1 zoom in. Isometric removes the perspective view
and gives a more 2D view
Dialogs > All Options
These are advanced options which allow functions such as touring through the
geometry. There are default tours available from Dialogs > Tours > New Tour then
clicking on Next Tour will cycle through the available tours. Tours can be defined
manually depending upon geometry, but this is not covered here. More information is
available from www.nist.gov/smokeview
Tours > All Options
Allows user to toggle between manual tour (using the mouse manually by holding and
dragging the left mouse button) or predefined tours as discussed in Dialogs above.
The default is Manual
View > Save As Startup
Will save the current configuration and use the settings when re-opening SmokeView
with another simulation, this function is used to avoid re-configuring the settings each
time the simulation is run
View > Internal or External
Changes the perspective as through the observer is either inside or outside the
geometry respectively. External view is the default and is more useful
Help > All Options
This gives details of the version of SmokeView being used, basic commands and
functions and to change the viewing angle. Also given is the URL link to the
SmokeView section of the NIST website
Quit
Quits SmokeView returning to the CFAST input page

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