| dc.description.abstract | With the technological advancement in the area of fire safety (SCI), computational
evacuation simulation tools emerge to assist architects and engineers in decisionmaking, in the face of different situations and design solutions, in the analysis of the
weaknesses and strengths of buildings, and in readjustments and improvements to
the built environment. This study aimed to analyze, through computer simulation
scenarios, considering the evacuation in normal situation and in a panic situation, the
evacuation time of the building, the flow rate and the specific flow of the access doors
and emergency exits, the dynamics of movement of the occupants and the
identification of critical points related to the evacuation process of the Convention
Center of the Federal University of Santa Maria/RS. The building modeling was
developed with the aid of the Pathfinder program, which allowed the simulation by
the SFPE mode (Society of Fire Protection Engineers), based on numerical modeling
techniques, based on the output flow and the Steering mode, with the combination of
mechanisms steering and collision handling. Through simulations, in scenarios with
occupants in normal evacuation conditions, the longest evacuation time was 485
seconds, the doors that most contributed to the exit of the building were PA 03 and
PA 06, the highest flow rate was in port PA 03, with the passage of 2.21
occupants/second, as well as the highest specific flow, with the passage of 1.30
occupants/m.s. For scenarios with occupants in a panic condition during evacuation,
the longest abandonment time was 217 seconds, the doors that proved to be the
most effective for escaping the building were PSE 03, PSE 05 and PSE 06, the
highest flow rate of registered was at the PSE 06 door, with the passage of 3.87
occupants/second, as well as the highest specific flow, with the passage of 2.15
occupants/m.s. The critical points identified in the study of the building are the
circulations/stairways for accessing and exiting the rows of seats, as a possible place
of congestion, and a pillar in the foyer, as a possible obstacle, both at the mezzanine
level. The movement of the occupants in the evacuation scenarios of the SFPE mode
was configured in queues, and in the Steering mode, the movement was
spontaneous and random. In view of the study, it is expected to contribute to the
academic and professional circles, promoting the use of computational simulation
tools as an auxiliary instrument for the analysis and elaboration of projects in the area
of fire safety in buildings. | |
