Knowledge baseCourse1 of 10 lessons published

FDS + PyroSim from scratch

The course takes you from an empty folder to a finished report: you build a room model, add the fire, ventilation and measurements, run the solver and read the results. Every lesson ends with a working .fds file you can compute on FDSRun.

Outline

  1. 01What FDS is — and what not to expect from itComing soonThe LES model, its range of applicability and its limits. When a CFD simulation answers a design question, and when it is an expensive illustration.
  2. 02Installation and the anatomy of a projectComing soonFDS and Smokeview, the PyroSim licence, the file layout: .fds, .smv, .out, _hrr.csv, _devc.csv. Where to look for what once a run finishes.
  3. 03Your first input file: a room, a fire, a resultComing soonA minimal working .fds file — HEAD, MESH, TIME, REAC, SURF, OBST, VENT, DEVC, TAIL — step by step, with every line explained.
  4. 04Geometry in PyroSimComing soonImporting DWG/IFC, working with layers, snapping to the mesh, groups and copies. How not to turn an architectural plan into a model nobody can compute.
  5. 05The computational mesh and the MPI splitD*, choosing the cell size, conforming mesh boundaries, balancing the load across cores. Why eight meshes does not mean eight times faster.
  6. 06The design fire: reaction, HRRPUA, the t² curveComing soonREAC and soot yield, heat release per unit area, growth ramps. Translating the scenario from your report into namelists.
  7. 07Ventilation and smoke controlComing soonA VENT with a prescribed velocity versus the HVAC model, make-up air, vents and smoke curtains, control logic through CTRL.
  8. 08Measurements: DEVC, SLCF, BNDF, ISOFComing soonWhat to measure and where, so the result can be judged against the criteria — visibility, temperature, CO, smoke layer height.
  9. 09Running the solver and watching over itComing soonLocally or in the cloud, how many cores, how to read the .out file and the HRR chart mid-run, and when to stop and fix the model.
  10. 10Analysing results and writing the reportComing soonSmokeview, charts from the CSVs, the grid sensitivity study, and the structure of a report that passes review.

Lessons are published as they are written. Missing a topic? Write to us — the order follows what people ask for.

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