Scientists
and engineers are adapting a NIST-developed computational
model to re-create aspects of the fires that occurred following
the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The model,
Fire Dynamic Simulator,
and a software package, called SmokeView, have been used
previously to aid in the re-creation of building fires that
resulted in firefighter fatalities. Preliminary calculations
have demonstrated the model's ability to shed light on the
impact of building geometry, fuel distribution, and wind
conditions on the smoke and fire flows within and outside
the trade towers. Such information may be helpful to firefighters
in predicting the likely behavior of future large-scale
fires in high-rise buildings.
