Simulation of a fire in a gallery of an archaeological cave (Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, France)

摘要

Numerical Simulation of fires in closed areas has been widely used for industrial of architectural applications. Here we propose to simulate fires in an archaeological cave, in order to reproduce the conditions of the realisation of the fires by Palaeolithic men and women. We use the FDS code (Fire Dynamics Simulator) developed by the NIST in the United States. FDS simulations have first been validated on experiments we made in an underground monitored quarry. Temperatures values and CO rates have been successfully compared to simulated ones. Then, FDS simulations have been achieved in a gallery whose morphology was similar to the Megaceros Gallery of the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave. The first results describe the zones where it was possible to stay without being endangered. The further archaeological objectives of the simulation will be collecting elements about the function of the fires.