Error Rates of Tunnel Fire Simulations According to Model Scale

Many experiments, including firefighting experiments, have been performed through simulations to observe representative trends. Numerous experiments have also been conducted by making scale models because of space limitations. Simulations and scale model experiments, however, have large errors compared with real-world full-scale experiments. In this study, we used the PyroSim software to calculate the error rate of simulations performed at reduced scales. The simulation was designed using Froude scaling from 1:1 to 1:2, 1:10, and 1:20 ratios considering a tunnel bus fire scenario. In the simulation results, the smoke arrival time at a certain location showed an increasing error rate as the scale reduced, and the temperature showed a similar tendency. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the efficient design of simulations and scale model experiments considering the a tradeoff between experiment costs and error rates.