The Centre of Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis

About

FSEG is a world leader in Computational Fire Engineering. From the Airbus A380 superjumbo, to the new aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy; from the Sydney and Beijing Olympics to the World Trade Center evacuation, the group and their advanced fire and evacuation/pedestrian dynamics modelling tools, SMARTFIRE and EXODUS, have solved some of the world's toughest fire and safety engineering problems.

The 30-strong multi-disciplinary team of mathematicians, physicists, behavioural psychologists, fire safety engineers and computer scientists has been pushing back the frontiers in this fast-growing discipline for twenty years, undertaking a unique combination of leading edge research, large scale human factors trials, and practical real world consultancy. This expertise has been recognised through awards including The Queen's Anniversary Prize. Team members also contribute to formal Inquires, such as those for the Paddington Rail Crash and the Swiss Air MD11 crash; to international standards committees, including IMO and ISO, and to several UK Government committees concerned with homeland security and civil defence, including SAPER.

FSEG work is supported through research grants from the UK EPSRC, the EU and UK and overseas governments. The group also undertakes research and consultancy for industry with clients ranging from international blue-chip companies to local SMEs.

Group Awards & Achievements

2007:

• FSEG research through the EU project FIRE EXIT is used to frame new guide lines for passenger ship evacuation analysis in IMO FP51.

2003:

• European IST prize winner, awarded by European Council of Applied Sciences, Technology and Engineering (Euro-CASE).
• Paper co-authored by FSEG staff is awarded the Hodgson Prize by the Royal Aeronautical Journal for the best published paper in 2002.

2002:

• Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.
• Communications & IT in Shipping Award for Innovation in IT for Ship Operation and Safety.
• RINA/Lloyds Register Award for Ship Safety.

2001:

• The UK MOD made the following announcement after analysing the results of an independent survey they commissioned on available evacuation models: "...maritimeEXODUS was selected as the escape tool that most closely meets the needs of the MOD for the development of warship escape design guidance and assessment."
• British Computer Society Award for IT and Gold Medal.

Selected Publications

• Modelling Occupant Interaction with Fire Conditions using the buildingEXODUS Evacuation Model, Fire Safety Journal, 36, 2001.
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• Examining the Effect of Exit Separation on Aircraft Evacuation Performance during 90-Second Certification Trials using Evacuation Modelling Techniques. Aeronautical Journal, 2002.
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• Representing the Influence of Signage on Evacuation Behaviour within an Evacuation Model. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Vol 16, No1, 2006.
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• The Impact of the passenger response time distribution on ship evacuation performance. Royal Institute of Naval Architects, Journal of Maritime Engineering. Vol 148, Part A1, 2006.
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• CFD Fire Simulation of the Swissair Flight 111 In-Flight Fire - Part 2: Prediction of the fire flow within the Cockpit and Surrounding Area. Aeronautical Journal. Vol 110, 2006.
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• A Proposed Methodology for the Use of Computer Simulation to Enhance Aircraft Evacuation. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Journal of Aircraft, Vol 43, 2006.
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• The Introduction of Social Adaptation within Evacuation Modelling, Fire and Materials, Vol 30, 2006.
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• Predicting Toxic Gas Concentrations Resulting from Enclosure Fires using Local Equivalence Ratio Concept Linked to Fire Field Models, Fire and Materials, 2006.
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To learn more about our team and research visit our group website