After the concept phase of the project, it became clear that we would have to create simulations within STAR Design and STAR CCM so that the results could be used to program the responses of the microcontrollers as the sensors detected the intensity of the smoke and relayed this to the fans.

It is possible to import Solidworks files as .t_t files into Star Design. This means we can use the actual test rig design model for simulation. Simulations in Star Design are used to give a general idea of flow characteristics for effective fan placement.

After it has been found that a certain arrangement should remove the hazards effectively we then move onto a more rigorous simulation within star CCM. Here it is now possible to give very specific continuum behaviour, initial conditions, inlet and outlet properties and its solver algorithms are far more complete and complex than those in Star Design.

We hope to be able to use the simulations to pinpoint positions where fans should be placed and what rpm these fans should run at. In addition we can compare the simulation of the test rig, which is 0.5m cubed, to a life size room of the same proportions and thus whether the tested results will actually be of adequate similarity to convert to the full sized office environment. More details of the challenges faced and accuracy of the simulation is found in section 2.2 of the Technical Report.

Inlet Flow