THE USE OF FIRE DYNAMICS SYSTEM (NIST) IN DETERMINING THE ARCHITECTURE OF EDUCATIONAL SPACES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software, developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as a tool to assess and improve Fire Safety (FS) in educational environments, specifically in the classrooms of CEFET in Araxá (MG), Brazil. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on the importance of fire safety in educational environments, highlighting the vulnerability of children and young people. Concepts of fire behavior, smoke propagation, and thermal conditions in buildings are addressed. Method: The methodology adopted for this research involves detailed computer simulations using FDS to analyze different fire scenarios. The simulation results were validated with the PyroSim software. Data collection was conducted through these simulations, generating robust empirical data that support the review and development of specific regulations. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that FDS is an important ally in promoting fire safety in educational buildings. The simulations showed the effectiveness of FDS in predicting fire behavior, smoke propagation, and thermal conditions, helping to prevent and minimize potential damages. The discussion contextualizes these results, highlighting the need for accurate empirical data to strengthen Brazilian fire safety legislation. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied to positively influence legislation, optimize architectural designs, and promote safety guidelines in educational institutions in Brazil. Originality/Value: This study significantly contributes to the advancement of knowledge and practices in FS. The originality of the research lies in the application of FDS for simulations in educational environments, offering a robust tool for evaluating and improving fire safety.


INTRODUCTION
The fire, characterized by large fires, represents a significant threat to safety, putting both human lives and structures at risk.Although the total elimination of risks is desirable, in practice, there are conditions that prevent this ideal scenario, leading responsible bodies to work with risk limits considered acceptable.Among the most common causes of fires are problems with electrical installations, loss of fuel, domestic accidents involving candles, cigarettes and other sources of heat, electrical discharges and overload when using equipment, among others.
Public gathering places represent an important focus of fire concern, since people, in dangerous situations, tend to panic and look for ways to escape, which can result in riots, injuries and even deaths.Therefore, it is crucial that prevention and protection measures are applied with maximum rigor, ensuring that evacuation and firefighting are carried out quickly and efficiently.
According to data from the Sprinkler Brazil Institute (IES), the number of fires reported in 2022 represents only a small fraction of the actual number of occurrences.2,041 occurrences of structural fires were recorded from January to December of this year, with commercial establishments being the most affected, followed by public meeting places and warehouses.
These numbers reinforce the need to intensify efforts to prevent and combat fires, as well as promoting safety in all buildings, especially those frequented by the general public.
According to the Tripartite Negotiation Commission for the Electrical Sector of the State of São Paulo -CPNSP (2021), in homes, companies and schools, short circuits are major causes of fires due to installations with old wiring or overload, in addition to ignition sources and load of combustible elements.
In summary, fires can occur mainly in the following situations: -Installations with equipment that does not comply with quality certifications

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-Inadequate sizing of wiring, circuit breakers and other elements -Buildings that do not follow basic safety standards on the electrical network.
Fire safety (SCI) of buildings is a field of engineering study that aims to limit, to acceptable levels, the probability of death, injury and material loss in a fire.It must be considered, mainly, in the project preparation phase, when all the security measures that an area must have and the installation location of all equipment are determined, according to its technical characteristics.
Fire safety measures (SCI) can be passive and active.The active ones are the identification of a fire start, the alarm and the extinguishing of the fire.Passive measures include the protection of building structures, which are defined in the project: -the evaluation of materials used in execution and finishing, -escape routes , -control of combustible materials, -the necessary distance between buildings, -the design of fire resistance, -planning efficient escape routes, -the provision of equipment that helps extinguish the fire and its periodic maintenance, signage, control of possible fire sources, adequate compartments, in addition to training the building's occupants and rescue teams.
In Brazil, SCI is guaranteed by meeting prescriptive requirements of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), but these requirements establish values and criteria that often have no theoretical basis.It is the architectural project that, when well designed, guarantees collective safety in a building, as it includes preventive and passive protection measures when planning emergency exits (horizontal and vertical routes), the specification of materials, technical knowledge of engineers, installers, and members of the Fire Department .Unfortunately, according to Gouveia (2017), when designing and preparing projects for a building, fire safety has an ancillary position in most projects.Professionals prepare everything from the preliminary study to the executive project, without considering the fire regulations for the use of the building.When the structural project is completed, a complementary project, fire safety, is contracted.This negligence is ratified by Brazilian standards, which consider the SCI project part of the building installations.NBR 12,722 (ABNT, 1992), for example, when listing the types of projects required for construction, including architectural design, geotechnical design and structural design, classifies the fire protection system as "other special installations".5 Physical-mathematical models implemented in software have been great aids in fire safety projects due to the possibility of simulating fire behavior in the event of a fire.When using this software with the characteristics of the buildings, data close to the real ones are obtained, such as the estimated time for escape, the temperature curve and the fire propagation trajectory, guaranteeing safety measures.These simulations are used in studies of fire scenarios in the design phase of a building, highlighting the need (or not) for more resistant and betterperforming materials, for more dynamic and efficient layouts , for viable and cost-benefit solutions incorporated.to exclude possible errors.
Among these types of tools is the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), a computational fluid dynamics software (

FDS SOFTWARE IN FIRE SAFETY
This software models the characteristics of buildings, such as materials used for execution and finishing, dimensions of openings and gaps, safety devices, among others.These models result in estimates of the time to escape, the fire temperature curve, the fire propagation trajectory, etc.Thus, fire scenarios are studied that are used in the design of any building, so that the effects of a possible fire are avoided or, at least, minimized (Figures 1 and 2).The FDS is based on a sequence of actions previously specified as parameters (execution time, colors, materials, installed devices, reactions), but it is necessary to create an input file, which can be a note, for example, for parameterization.7 As the software does not have a graphical interface, the input data is entered by the user on command lines in a single input file, through a text editor that must contain all the model information, such as: simulation title, dimensions of the computational domain, mesh divisions, simulation time, initial environmental conditions, properties of combustible and noncombustible materials, combustion conditions, desired outputs, etc.The program understands the characters written between the symbols "&" and "/" as commands.The data necessary for the analysis are specified in the input file using a list of commands with pre-defined formats in their programming ( namelist ) (TABACZENSKI et al., 2017).
From this input file, the program performs the simulations, and, together with the SMV software, the graphical interface is created, allowing the visualization of the simulation.The FDS itself does not have a visualization tool.Output files of different types are also created by software , which present calculations made by the application during the simulation.
Heat Release Rate Per Unit Area (HRRPUA) graphs can be obtained , or heat release rate per unit area (Graph 1-3).You can visualize the smoke and fire generated inside the building, their behavior and that of devices, such as sprinklers , and the oxygen concentration.
In the Brazilian context, there is still a lack of research dedicated to computer fire simulation models, despite the relevance of the topic and the urgent need for studies based on 8 performance parameters, but the use of computer software for simulations is crucial to identify solutions effective fire safety in a variety of scenarios.
Studies conducted in the area of fire safety have predominantly focused on analyzing the structural behavior of buildings in the face of fires, considering the construction system subjected to high temperatures in isolation.However, such analyzes often neglect the complexity of the fire itself, which is characterized by a series of variables, giving each occurrence a unique nature.
Currently, architecture professionals use software such as AutoCAD and Revit , which allow visualizations in both two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D), facilitating the understanding of projects during execution and the identification of possible errors that may go unnoticed in two-dimensional representations.3D visualization provides a more comprehensive understanding of the project as a whole.Furthermore, computer simulation can integrate different evacuation programs and smoke propagation modeling.
The movement of smoke and toxic gases, as well as the evacuation of people, are interdependent and crucial processes for the preservation of human life (SEITO et al., 2008).
Computational evacuation models are tools of increasing use.According to Valentin (2008), these models can be movement, partial behavior and behavioral.Movement ones simulate the movement of the occupant from a point inside the building to an exit or safe area.The partial model simulates less complex behaviors such as overtaking.Behavioral ones can incorporate decision making or actions taken under certain environmental conditions.However, the risks and high cost of equipment and facilities necessary to carry out experiments that evaluate fire behavior in fires make this type of research scarce in the world and practically non-existent in Brazil.
The famous phrase "Fire goes out in the project!" summarizes the economic and social 9

HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN FIRE SITUATIONS
The analysis and prediction of human behavior in fire situations constitute a complex system, involving people, buildings, safety means and the type of fire in question.Despite the growing relevance of the topic, studies in this area are relatively recent and have only received systematic attention in recent decades.
In most situations, people adopt behaviors within normal standards.However, phenomena such as flames, increased temperature, smoke and toxic gases can trigger emotional instability, contributing to what is called maladaptive behavior (VALENTIM, 2008).Bryan ( 2002) also observes that excessive efforts motivated by fear often make evacuation difficult, generating more panic and hindering rescue efforts.
According to Groner (2001), the study of human behavior in fires demands a multidisciplinary approach, involving knowledge in psychology, ergonomics, medicine, among others.Understanding the cognitive aspects of human behavior in fire situations is still challenging, being compared to a "black box".
According to Frantzich (1998), risk is defined as: The probability of an undesirable event occurring under specific circumstances arising from the occurrence of a special hazard.Fire risk in any scenario can be defined as the combination of the probabilities of the start of a fire and its consequences and, finally, fire risk in a project is the combination of the probabilities and consequences of all events and scenarios involved in that project.
Cordeiro (2010) identifies three aspects that influence the human reaction to danger: individual factors (age, physical size, health status), factors related to fire (temperature, heat flow, reduction of oxygen, exposure to gases) and factors linked to alarm systems (alert systems, sound notification, personal notification and noise).
Architects and engineers, when designing buildings, follow standards and regulations to size spaces, structures and means of escape, as well as fire safety systems.However, knowledge about human behavior is still limited among designers (VALENTIM, 2018).It is essential to consider human factors to design efficient means of escape in buildings.
Gouveia (2017) highlights that many architects do not incorporate the various qualitative aspects of fire safety into their creative process, resulting in projects that do not prioritize safety from conception.This gap in professional training is reflected in a lack of understanding of fire safety concepts and principles.10 According to Ono (2002), the implementation of effective security measures in buildings depends on the awareness and knowledge of those responsible and users.Currently, the fire safety system is often thought of only as a technical solution subsequent to the architectural project, which may not adequately consider the characteristics of the building's users and their vulnerability.
Over the past 30 years, significant studies have been conducted to understand people's involvement and interaction with fires.The literature highlights age as a critical factor that affects evacuation dynamics, especially due to children's limited cognitive capacity, making them a vulnerable group in fire situations.Therefore, the study and modeling of emergency evacuation in school buildings, which house people of different age groups, are extremely important to guide decision-making and evacuation actions.

Computer Fire Simulations
• Initial Simulations: Six fire simulations were carried out using the FDS and PyroSim software to verify their functionalities and improve their analysis capabilities.These simulations allowed the obtaining and comparison of variables such as: -Variations in ceiling height -Door and window openings -Changes in the building's constituent materials -Insertion or not of obstacles • Specific Simulations: To better understand the data, two fire simulations were carried out in a designed environment measuring 2x8 meters, using concrete: -First Simulation : Environment with a ceiling height of 2.7 meters, without openings.
-Second Simulation : Environment with a ceiling height of 3 meters, with two openings (a door and a window).
In both simulations, a central obstruction was added.The duration of the simulations was 5 seconds, which could vary up to 15 seconds.

COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS WITH THE SOFTWAR AND FDS
The analysis of the simulations revealed significant differences in thermal conditions and fire propagation between environments with and without openings.Figure 4 shows the plan of these environments.It was found that, in simulation 1, in a closed environment, the fire reached a lower temperature.In the simulation with openings, the fire temperature right at the beginning of the simulation (5 seconds) was higher due to the presence of a greater amount of oxygen.
During the development of the simulations, it was noticed that temperatures rise considerably when doors and windows are closed (Figure 5).When these are open, the heat flow generated is lower and there is greater dissipation of smoke and fire (Figure 6).The images were collected 15 seconds into the simulation, at which point the maximum temperature in simulation 1 reached 552°C and in simulation 2 it reached 533ºC.

Figure 4
Floor plan environments with and without openings  The architectural design, the type of building materials (more flammable or not) and the user profile (young people, people with mobility difficulties, the elderly, children) significantly influence the building's burning time and evacuation time.These factors confirm the need to develop and implement specific regulations and fire safety guidelines that consider these variables.Therefore, all simulation analyzes must be aimed at the user of the analyzed building.
It is crucial that safety standards are adapted to guarantee the effective protection of all occupants, minimizing risks and ensuring quick and safe evacuation in emergency situations.

CONCLUSIONS
The research aimed to highlight the importance of fire simulations using software in architectural projects of educational institutions as a crucial preventive measure.Computer simulations with software such as FDS in the preparation of architectural projects, combined with the competence of professionals specialized in Fire Safety (SCI), proved to be an effective strategy for reducing material damage to the building and optimizing architectural projects.
Several variables were analyzed, including the time needed for the fire to reach high temperatures and the heat load supported by the building's constituent materials.These factors were compared with existing data, this thorough analysis provided a solid basis for the conclusions obtained.
Computer simulations with the FDS software made it possible to clarify that the architectural design, the type of building materials (more flammable or not) and the profile of users (young people, people with mobility difficulties, the elderly, children) significantly influence the operating time.burning of the building and the time taken to evacuate users.
We can conclude that the use of FDS software is an important ally in promoting fire safety in buildings, preventing and minimizing possible damage.15 The incorporation of data from computer fire simulations integrated into the project design process will improve the architecture of spaces and reduce damage in the event of an accident.This research represents a significant contribution to advances in the development and design of integrated projects, in accordance with SCI principles, resulting in safer environments prepared to deal with adverse situations.

Figure 0
Figure 0Simulation carried out using FDS software

Figure 2
Figure 2Example of simulation carried out using FDS software importance of the topic (MINISTÉRIO DASAÚDE, 1995).The importance of planning in this context is measured by the number of accidents avoided and not by the number of fires extinguished.Designers play a fundamental role in the preventive process.However, architectural creation and derivative projects are often developed without fully considering scientific knowledge in fire prevention.It is crucial that professionals understand the implications of fire protection measures and recognize the importance of more solid training in this field.The problem is, to a large extent, cultural, and the training of planners is not immune to the influence of the environment.Often, especially in urban areas, we witness loss of life and enormous economic losses from fires.The Use of Fire Dynamics System (NIST) in Determining The Architecture of Educational Spaces for Children and Young People ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.8 | p.1-16 | e08427 | 2024.
Environment : A classroom at CEFET-MG, Araxá campus , was used, which had the same design and construction characteristics as the building where the fire and evacuation simulations took place.Although the predominant material in The Use of Fire Dynamics System (NIST) in Determining The Architecture of Educational Spaces for Children and Young People ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.8 | p.1-16 | e08427 | 2024.11 the construction was traditional masonry, it was decided to use concrete in the simulations.The modified variables included: -Size of door and window openings -Ceiling height of the building -In all simulations, a central obstruction prevented free flow.

Figure 5
Figure 5 Simulation 1 -in an environment without opening Figure 5: Simulation 2 -in an environment with 2 openings