Can smoke control become smart?

Smoke control solutions are used to maintain tenable conditions in buildings, enabling evacuation process, rescue operations and reducing the thermal stress on the building structure. For last 50-years the design process of such solutions did not significantly change – a required volumetric capacity is calculated with theoretical and empirical models, and further, mechanical design is prepared to deliver this capacity. In this paper, a new approach – “smart smoke control” is introduced, as a system that adapts the performance parameters based on the momentary measurements of temperature in the building. The system follows the growth and decay of fire in the building, which allows optimization of its mechanical parameters, and provides substantial increase in the performance. This paper provides a discussion on traditional and new concepts in smoke control, and defines areas, in which a paradigm shift must occur, to enable widespread adoption new and more efficient solutions. The paper does also refer to previous proof of concept studies, presenting the preliminary assessment of the performance of a smart smoke control system.