Public defence in building technology, MSc Soroush Rashidzadeh

Title of the thesis: Numerical Modelling of Spectral and Turbulence Effects on Gas-Phase Radiative Heat Transfer in Fires

Thesis defender: Soroush Rashidzadeh
Opponent: Prof. Jean-Louis Consalvi, Aix-Marseille University, France
Custos: Prof. Simo Hostikka, Aalto University School of Engineering

Fires release large amounts of heat in the form of radiation, which strongly influences how flames spread, how structures heat up, and how people and materials are exposed to fire. Accurately predicting this radiative heat transfer is essential for improving fire safety design, emergency response planning, and computational fire simulations. However, current fire modeling tools rely on simplified methods that do not fully capture how radiation behaves in hot, turbulent flames.

The purpose of this doctoral research was to develop more accurate and physically realistic methods for modeling how radiation is emitted and absorbed in fire environments. The research produced new advanced radiation models that were tested against highly accurate reference calculations and experimental fire data. These models were then implemented into the widely used Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), a computational tool applied internationally in fire safety engineering and research. The results showed that the new methods provide more reliable predictions of radiative heat transfer than the traditional simplified approaches, especially in situations where the fire contains different temperature zones and multiple length scales.

The findings of this research can be applied in fire safety engineering, performance-based building design, and the analysis of large fires such as pool fires and industrial accidents. Improved radiation modeling can lead to more accurate estimates of heat exposure, better assessment of fire hazards, and ultimately safer buildings and infrastructure.

In conclusion, this doctoral research advances the scientific foundation of fire modeling by introducing new methods that bridge the gap between detailed physical theory and practical engineering simulations. The results contribute to more trustworthy computational tools for studying fires and support the development of safer fire protection strategies in the future.

Keywords: Radiative heat transfer, spectral modeling, turbulence radiation interaction

Thesis available for public display 7 days prior to the defence at Aalto University's public display page. 

Contact information: soroush.rashidzadeh@aalto.fi