Simulation of Fire Spreading in Underground Mine Based on Cellular Automata and Particle System

To simulate tunnel environment in an underground mine during a fire disaster, a new computer simulation method based on cellular automata and particle system theory is proposed. Considering special environment in an underground mine's tunnel system, a cellular automata model, which neighborhood radius is variable to simulate flame spreading is employed; simultaneously a smog model based on particle system using burning cells as launchers of smog particles to describe smog diffusion is introduced. The whole system runs based on a same clock, time, space, and behaviors of flame and smog are combined together to obtain a better visual result. Accordingly, it can not only produce a sense of reality about tendency of fire spreading and motion of smog, but also attain a large amount of information about real tunnel environment, all of which can provide a basis for fire prevention and control and also provide a decision-making support for workers evacuation.