Visualization of Hazardous Substance Emission Zones During a Fire at an Industrial Enterprise Using Cellular Automaton Method

• Published in: Fire (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 8; no. 7; p. 250
• Main Authors: Matveev, Yuri, Abu-Abed, Fares, Chernishev, Leonid, Zhironkin, Sergey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2025
• Subjects: 20th century; Accuracy; Algorithms; Automation; Bayesian analysis; Cellular automata; cellular automation; Climatic conditions; Combustion; Combustion products; Computer applications; danger zone; Diffusion rate; Emissions (Pollution); Environmental protection; Evacuations & rescues; fire; Fires; Forecasting; Gauss equation; Gaussian model; Hazardous materials; Hazardous substances; Industry; Markov chains; Mathematical models; Methods; Outdoor air quality; Pollutants; Pollution dispersion; Prediction models; Probability theory; Research methods; Russia; Safety and security measures; Shortest-path problems; Simulation; Simulation models; Software; software and algorithmic support; Toxic substances; Visualization; Visualization (Computers); Workshops; Russia
• ISSN: 2571-6255; 2571-6255
• DOI: 10.3390/fire8070250

This article discusses and compares approaches to the visualization of the danger zone formed as a result of spreading toxic substances during a fire at an industrial enterprise, to create predictive models and scenarios for evacuation and environmental protection measures. The purpose of this study is to analyze the features and conditions for the application of algorithms for predicting the spread of a danger zone, based on the Gauss equation and the probabilistic algorithm of a cellular automaton. The research is also aimed at the analysis of the consequences of a fire at an industrial enterprise, taking into account natural and climatic conditions, the development of the area, and the scale of the fire. The subject of this study is the development of software and algorithmic support for the visualization of the danger zone and analysis of the consequences of a fire, which can be confirmed by comparing a computational experiment and actual measurements of toxic substance concentrations. The main research methods include a Gaussian model and probabilistic, frontal, and empirical cellular automation. The results of the study represent the development of algorithms for a cellular automation model for the visual forecasting of a dangerous zone. They are characterized by taking into consideration the rules for filling the dispersion ellipse, as well as determining the effects of interaction with obstacles, which allows for a more accurate mathematical description of the spread of a cloud of toxic combustion products in densely built-up areas. Since the main problems of the cellular automation approach to modeling the dispersion of pollutants are the problems of speed and numerical diffusion, in this article the frontal cellular automation algorithm with a 16-point neighborhood pattern is used, which takes into account the features of the calculation scheme for finding the shortest path. Software and algorithmic support for an integrated system for the visualization and analysis of fire consequences at an industrial enterprise has been developed; the efficiency of the system has been confirmed by computational analysis and actual measurement. It has been shown that the future development of the visualization of dangerous zones during fires is associated with the integration of the Bayesian approach and stochastic forecasting algorithms based on Markov chains into the simulation model of a dangerous zone for the efficient assessment of uncertainties associated with complex atmospheric processes.