Working With a Scenario

In Fenix+ 3 application, you can perform different actions with a scenario. The section below describes these actions.

Creating a New Scenario

When creating a project, a new (empty) scenario is created automatically.

To create a new scenario in the project, do the following:

1. Navigate to Project | Add scenario or click the button on the control panel.

You can also use the Ctrl + Q hot key.

A window opens in which you need to select components for the new scenario.

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2. In the Title field, enter the name for the new scenario.

Every scenario in the project must have a unique name.

3. In the left part of the window, select components of the new scenario. When you select a component, the preview area displays all the objects included in it, as well as their relative positions on the scene.

Every scenario consists of several independent components. In fire risk calculation projects, the scenario consists of 3 components:

• Topological;
• Evacuation;
• Fire.

In projects for calculating fire risk for an industrial facility, the same topology must be used in all scenarios. Therefore, in industrial projects, it is not possible to select a topological component in the new scenario creation window.

When working on a scenario, all its components are created automatically. Any object created in the scenario belongs only to one of the specified components.

The Topological component includes the following objects:

• Wall;
• Roof;
• Solid object;
• Room;
• Door;
• Window;
• Ventilation;
• Floor slab;
• Opening;
• Stairway (flight, landing);
• Line;
• Text;
• Registering device.

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The Evacuation component includes the following objects:

• Occupants;
• Exit.

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The Fire component includes the following objects:

• Calculation area;
• Fire source.

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After you specify all the components for the new scenario, the final appearance of the scene is displayed in the preview window.

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4. In the left part of the window, select the metadata to be used in the new scenario.

Scenario metadata refers to the properties of objects placed on the scene that determine the behavior of an element during evacuation or fire dynamics simulation. Metadata does not include the geometric properties of objects.

Depending on the selected set of metadata, objects in the new scenario receive various properties.

Below is a list of metadata for each object in the scenario:

• Building:

  • Evacuation start time.
  • Alarm delay.

• Fire source:

  • Starting time.
  • End time.
  • Specify the maximum burning area.
  • The maximum burning area.

• Door:

  • Is blocked.
  • Fire resist door.
  • With a registering device.
  • With a closer.
  • Consider leaks.
  • Leakage characteristics.
  • Leak area.
  • Specific characteristics of resistance to gas permeation.
  • Characteristics of resistance to gas permeation.

• Exit:

  • Available for М0.
  • Available for М1.
  • Available for М2.
  • Available for М3.
  • Available for М4.

• Floor:

  • Consider the evacuation start time.
  • Evacuation start time.
  • Alarm delay.

• Room:

  • Consider the evacuation start time.
  • Evacuation start time.
  • Alarm delay.
  • Consider the temperature.
  • Temperature.

• Stairway:

  • Is blocked.
  • Ignore in case of fire.
  • On fire.
  • Measure DFF (dangerous fire facrors) on a surface.
  • With a registering device.

• Ventilation:

  • Type.
  • Airflow.
  • Activation time.
  • Activation delay.

• Window:

  • Consider leaks.
  • Leakage characteristics.
  • Leak area.
  • Specific characteristics of resistance to gas permeation.
  • Ignore in case of fire.
  • On fire.
  • Measure DFF on a surface.

5. Click Create.

A new scenario is created in the project.

Selecting the Current Scenario

In Fenix+ 3 application, a project contains one or several scenarios. All scenarios, which are included into the project, are displayed in the scenario list in the left part of the application window.

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The current scenario is the scenario that your are working with at the moment. The name of the current scenario is highlighted in the scenario list.

To switch to another scenario, double-click the desired name in the scenario list. This scenario becomes the current one. The scenario browser, as well as the contents of the scene editor workspace, changes automatically.

Editing Scenario Properties

In scenario properties, you can edit scenario name and its description in the project.

You can add any information as a description for a scenario. This description is included to a report.

In industrial projects, you can also change the method of determining the frequency of fire scenario execution and manually enter the required value.

To edit scenario name and description, do the following:

1. In the Scenario list, right click the scenario name and then select Options.
2. In the Title field enter a desired name for the scenario.
3. In the Description field enter a description for the scenario.
4. When editing the properties of an industrial project scenario, if necessary, specify that the frequency of the fire development scenario execution is determined manually and enter the required value. For more details, see Risk Calculation for Industrial Facilities
5. Click Apply to save changes.

Adding and Deleting Floors

To add a floor, right-click the name of the building in the scenario browser and select Add floor or click the button on the control panel.

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A new floor is added to the scenario.

By default, the height of a new floow is equal to 3 meters. If necessary, you can change it. For more information, see Viewing And Editing Floor Properties.

To delete a floor, right-click the name of the building in the scenario browser and then select Delete or click the button on the control panel.

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The selected floor is deleted from the scenario.

Viewing And Editing Floor Properties

To view or edit floor properties, right-click the name of a desired floor in the scenario browser and select Options in the menu that opens.

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The window shown in the image below opens.

In the window Floor Properties, you can change the following parameters:

• Name — the name of the floor.
• Caption - the list of names for buildings of various functional fire hazard classes.

The Caption property determines the frequency of fire occurrence in a building for civil projects, as well as the frequency of fire scenario execution during the year for industrial projects. For more details, see Risk Calculation on Civil Facilities and Risk Calculation on Industrial Facilities.

• Functional Fire Hazard Class of the Building - the property that determines the functional fire hazard class.

If the application does not contain the required building name, it is recommended to select the required functional fire hazard class from the list.

• Level (unit: m) — the lower level of the floor.
• Height (unit: m) — the height of the floor

By default the floor height is 3.0 meters. The level of the ground floor is equal to 0 meters. The level of the floors above is equal to the sum of the level and the height of the floor below.

Floor height refers to the distance measured from the floor level of the floor below to the floor level of the floor above. When working in the Fenix+ 3 application, it is recommended to follow this rule and not consider the distance from the floor level to the ceiling as the floor height.

To view and, if necessary, edit the levels and heights of all floors, right-click on the name of the building and select Floor Settings in the menu that opens.

The window that opens presents a list of all floors for which you can change the name, level and height.

When changing the floor height, the heights of objects located on the floor do not change. Therefore, it is better to set the floor height immediately after its creation.

• Number of People - the property used only to display a total number of people on the floor (including rooms) at a specific moment. This property is for informational purposes only and cannot be changed.

• Evacuation Start Time (unit: s) - the property used to determine evacuation start time of people on the floor. You can edit this property only if the Manual or Manual with Methodology Priority option for setting the evacuation start time is selected. For more information, see the Evacuation Start Time.

If the Evacuation Start Time is set manually or manually with methododology priority, then the evacuation start time of people on any floor can also be set in the Floor Settings window.

• Alarm Delay - the property used to determine the delay time for the evacuation start, associated with the delay in notifying people in case of a fire. For more details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Viewing Room Explication

To view room properties for a floor, do the following:

1. Select the desired scenario.
2. Right-click the name of a desired floor in the scenario browser and select Room explication in the menu that opens.

To view room properties for all floors, right-click the name of the building in the scenario browser and select Rooms explication.

A window appears displaying the characteristics of rooms on this floor.

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The room characteristics of civil and industrial facilities differ.

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To change the characteristics of technical equipment for the desired room of an industrial facility, do the following:

1. Navigate to the Probability of Effective Operation of Technical Equipment tab.
2. Double-click the corresponding cell, select a new value from the list, and click Enter. Changes are saved automatically.

When you change the characteristics of a technical device, the application immediately calculates a new value for the probability of effective operation of this device.

To change the characteristics of several rooms of an industrial facility simultaneously, follow these steps:

1. Select multiple cells using the Ctrl and Shift keys.
2. Right-click on any selected cell and select the Edit option in the context menu.
3. Select a new value from the list and click Enter. Changes are applied automatically to all selected cells.

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The probability of effective activation of the Automatic Fire Alarm System (AFAS) in combination with the Fire Evacuation Alert and Management System (FEAMS), implemented in accordance with standards, is determined as the product of the following numbers: the probability of effective activation of the AFAS and the probability of effective activation of the FEAMS.

If one of the systems is absent or not implemented in accordance with the standards, the joint probability of activation is determined by the probability of activation of the system that is implemented according to the standards.

If both systems are absent or not implemented in accordance with the standards, the joint probability of activation is zero.

Editing a Scenario

To edit a scenario in a project, make it current. For more details, see Selecting the Current Scenario After that make necessary changes to the scenario.

A project may contain several scenarios. If you edit the current scenario and change one of its components, which is also used in another scenario in the same project, a window with a corresponding warning message opens.

To ensure that all subsequent changes apply only to the current scenario, click Yes. A new component is automatically created for the current scenario (different from the one used in other scenarios).

To apply changes to all scenarios, where this component is used, click No. In this case, a new component is not created.

To save changes, click on the control panel.

In Fenix+ 3 application, you can configure application settings so that changes you make to a scenario are autosaved at specific time intervals. For more information, see General Settings.

Undoing And Redoing Actions

For convenience, Fenix+ 3 application allows you to undo and redo actions you perform in the scene editor and properties table. This feature applies to any actions related to the creation and deletion of objects, as well as changing the location, shape and properties of objects on the scene.

While working on a project, the application saves information about the last 10 actions. You can undo not only the last action but also several actions within the saved work history.

To undo the last action, click the button.

To redo the action, click the button.

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Hiding And Displaying Scenario Objects

Fenix+ 3 application allows you to hide objects on the scene and display only those that are required for your work.

By default all scenario objects are displayed. If necessary, you can hide certain objects, groups of objects (for example, stairways) and floors with all the objects located on them.

Hidden objects are not deleted from the scenario. They are not displayed on the scene.

To hide a certain object, find it in the scenario browser and clear the checkbox next to its name or right-click the name of the objects and select Hide. The selected object is no longer displayed on the scene.

To select multiple objects, use the Ctrl key.

To display a hidden object, find it in the scenario browser and check the checkbox next to its name or right-click the name of the object and select Show. The selected object is displayed on the scene again.

To hide a group of objects of a specific type, in the scenario browser switch to the Component tab, right-click the name of a desired group and select Hide. As a result, the selected group is not displayed on the scene.

To display a hidden group of objects, find this group in the scenario browser on the Component tab, right-click its name and select Show. The selected group is displayed on the scene again.

To hide a floor with all the objects, find this floor in the scenario browser and clear the checkbox next to its name or right-click its name and select Hide. The selected floor with its objects is not displayed on the scene.

To display a hidden floor with all the objects, find this floor in the scenario browser and select the checkbox next to its name or right-click its name and select Show. The selected floor with its objects is displayed on the scene again.

To hide all objects on the scene, right-click the name of the building in the scenario browser and select Hide. To display all hidden objects again, right-click the name of the building and select Show.

Exporting a Scenario To FDS Source File

Sometimes, before running a fire dynamics simulation you may need to use FDS functionality, which is not available in Fenix+ 3 application. For this, you need to export a desired scenario to the FDS source data file and make necessary changes to it. After that, you can run a fire dynamics simulation using third-party software.

The FDS source data file does not contain information about the evacuation component of the scenario.

To perform export successfully, the scenario must contain registering devices, the fire source and the calculation area. Otherwise, the export will fail.

To export a scenario to the FDS source data file, do the following:

1. Open a desired project. For more information, see Opening a Previously Created Project.
2. Right-click the desired scenario name in the list and in the menu that opens, select Export to FDS.

3. In the dialog box that opens, specify a destination folder in which you want to store the FDS source data file, and click OK.

By default, the application prompts to save the FDS file to the folder where fire dinamics simulation results are stored. For more information, see Project Directory Structure.

When exporting the scenario to the FDS source data file, you cannot change the name of the generated file. By default, the name of the generated file is the same as the name of the scenario.

The FDS source data file is created.

The application does not allow you to export the scenario to the selected folder again. If it is necessary to repeat the export of the scenario to an FDS source data file, change the destination folder where the resulting file will be saved.

Deleting a Scenario

If the scenario was created by mistake or you do not need it anymore, you can delete it.

After you delete the scenario, the project stores information about all its components. For more information, see Creating a New Scenario.

To delete the scenario, do the following:

1. Click the name of a desired scenario in the scenario list and select Delete.
2. In the window that opens, confirm the deletion.

Duplication of a Scenario

To create a copy of a scenario in a project, make it current. For more details, see Selecting the Current Scenario. Or you can click the button.

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An exact copy of the selected scenario is created in the project.

Adding and Removing Buildings

To add a building, click the button on the control panel.

A new building appears in the scenario.

You can only add buildings in projects for calculating safe fire distances. This feature is not available when working with projects for calculating fire risk.

To remove a building, select the desired builing in the scenario browser and click the button on the control panel.

The selected building is removed from the scenario.

Configuring Building Properties

To configure building properties, do the following:

1. Select a scenario.
2. Right-click the name of the desired building in the scenario browser and select Properties .
3. The window that opens displays the building properties for this scenario. Make the required changes if necessary.
4. To save changes, click Apply. Changes are applied only for the current scenario.

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You can set building properties at any stage of working on the project.

The building properties specified in the scenario of a civil project directly affect the evacuation start time for people, the fire probability in the building, and, consequently, the fire risk in this scenario.

The building properties specified in the scenario of an industrial project affect the frequency of fire scenario execution throughout the year and the severity of potential risk.

If the industrial project contains several scenarios, then the building properties in all scenarios are the same.

The building properties specified in the scenario of a universal project affect the evacuation time of people from the building.

Below is a brief description of the building properties for civil, industrial, and universal projects.

Building properties for a civil project

Name. This parameter is used to specify the name of the building in the project.

Caption. This parameter is used to specify the caption of the building.

The Caption parameter determines the frequency of fire occurrence in the building. For more details, see Risk Calculation on Civil Facilities

Each building caption corresponds to a class of functional fire hazard, which automatically appears in the field of the same name after the building capture is selected.

Class of functional fire hazard of the building. This property determines the class of functional fire hazard of the building.

Automatic Fire Extinguishing Systems (AFES). Possible values:

• No information;
• Not required;
• Powder;
• Gas;
• Aerosol;
• Water;
• Foam;
• Effectiveness confirmed;
• Does not meet standards;
• Absent.

Automatic Fire Alarm Systems (AFAS). Possible values:

• No information;
• Not required;
• Installed according to standards;
• Effectiveness confirmed;
• Does not meet standards;
• Absent.

Alarm and Evacuation Control Systems (AECS). Possible values:

• No information;
• Not required;
• Type 1;
• Type 2;
• Type 3;
• Type 4;
• Type 5;
• Effectiveness confirmed;
• Does not meet standards;
• Absent.

Smoke Control Systems. Possible values:

• No information;
• Not required;
• Installed according to standards;
• Effectiveness confirmed;
• Does not meet standards;
• Absent.

People Schedule. Determines the time people spend in the building during the day.

For industrial facilities, set the Automatic Fire Extinguishing Systems (AFES), Automatic Fire Alarm Systems (AFAS), Alarm and Evacuation Control Systems (AECS) and Smoke Control Systems properties when specifying the room properties while working on project. For details, see Room.

Evacuation start time. Determines the evacuation start time of people from the building. For details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Alarm delay. Determines the delay time for the evacuation start, associated with the delay in notifying people in case of a fire. For more details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Building properties for an industrial project

Name. This parameter is used to specify the name of the building in the project.

Caption. This parameter is used to specify the captopn of the building.

The Caption parameter determines the frequency of fire occurrence in the building during the year. For more details, see Risk Calculation on Industrial Facilities.

The building has emergency exits. Determines whether the building has emergency exits, which affects the probability of evacuation from the building.

Evacuation start time. Determines the evacuation start time of people from the building. For details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Alarm delay. Determines the delay time for the evacuation start, associated with the delay in notifying people in case of a fire. For more details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Building properties for an universal project

Name. This parameter is used to specify the name of the building in the project.

Evacuation start time. Determines the evacuation start time of people from the building. For details, see Evacuation Start Time.

Master Plan

To view the builing location, select Master Plan in the scenario browser.

This feature is not available in risk calculation projects.

To adjust the building location, do the following:

1. Right-click the master plan in the scenario browser and import a floor background image (underlay). For information, see Importing a Floor Background Image.
2. In the scenario browser, expand the Master Plan option and select the desired building.
3. Using the Selector tool, change the position of one building’s thumbnail relative to another. When changing the position of the building thumbnail, use the editing handles and focus on the floor background image.

The building thumbnail consists of a set of polygons, the number of which corresponds to the number of its floors on which material objects are placed. The contour of each polygon coincides with the contour of all objects on the floor. The thumbnail does not display all the details of the building.

4. Using the Rotate tool, rotate the building thumbnails. For details, see Rotating and Flipping Objects.

Fire Sources Settings

To calculate fire safety distances between buildings, it is necessary to specify the location of the fire source in one of the buildings. The fire source can be any object on the scene (solid, wall, floor, platform) for which the Material property is defined. The exception is objects made of non-combustible materials. For details, see Materials Editor. Such objects cannot be the source of a fire.

To specify the location of the fire source in one of the buildings, select the desired object on the scene using the Pointer tool and in the object properties, check the On Fire checkbox.

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The selected object is set as the fire source for the current scenario.