Fire Dynamics Simulator Releases Version 6.9
The Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) is a widely used computer fire modeling tool, provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), that helps the fire safety community better understand fire dynamics problems and associated risks. The FDS is a computational fluid dynamics model developed to predict smoke and heat transport from fires in the built environment. Key features of the FDS are its fast computational speed and relatively modest requirements in terms of computational hardware, enabling fire protection engineers to quickly conduct computations. The Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes, supports the continued development of the FDS as a contributor to better serve the user community of fire protection engineers, fire researchers, and designers of life safety systems. Earlier this year, the updated FDS versions 6.9 and 6.9.1 released on March 20, 2024, and April 9, 2024, respectively, provided users with new features, enhancements, outputs, and bug fixes.
New Features in FDS 6.9 Improve User Experience
Updates will continue to expand the capabilities of the FDS and improve the user experience.
- SPyro (Scaling Pyrolysis) method allows a new, practical way to model pyrolysis in the FDS when cone calorimeter data exists for the material of interest.
- New ember generation method
- New ember ignition method
- New external ramp control
- Improvement of 3D heat transfer algorithm
For a full list of new features, enhancements, outputs, and additional information, visit the FDS Release Notes.
“I am particularly excited about two new FDS capabilities in the 6.9.0 release. With Spyro, a new method for predicting fire growth and spread, and a new method for externally controlling FDS behavior, I hope this provides fire protection engineers a means to estimate the hazards of specific materials and fuels without extensive characterization research, and being useful in egress modeling.”
- Jason Floyd, lead research engineer, FSR
