Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Fire

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Comparative analysis of fire evacuation decision-making in immersive vs. non-immersive virtual reality environments
    (Elsevier B V, 2025-11-01) Zhang Y; Paes D; Feng Z; Scorgie D; He P; Lovreglio R
    Understanding emergency behavior is crucial for designing safer, resilient infrastructure. Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) realistically simulates emergencies but is resource-intensive, so systematic comparisons with non-immersive VR remain scarce. To address this gap, a multifactorial VR fire-evacuation experiment was conducted in which participants navigated a room with three exits under varied conditions (e.g., social influence, smoke presence, exit distance, exit familiarity). Results indicated no significant difference in overall decision-making between immersive and non-immersive VR. Nevertheless, immersion modulated key factors: in immersive VR, participants preferred nearer exits, were more susceptible to social influence, and experienced stronger effects of smoke and exit familiarity. Smoke also reduced the influence of exit distance. Personal factors (e.g., prior VR experience, age, gender) shaped perceptions and emotions; heightened negative emotions and perceived risk were associated with less rational (i.e., suboptimal) choices, particularly in immersive VR. These insights inform VR safety training, guiding simulations that more faithfully replicate real emergencies.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    GPU accelerated particle methods for simulating and rendering fire and water effects : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Lyes, Timothy
    The simulation of complex natural phenomena such as fire and water is a complicated problem and with the surge in popularity of video games and other interactive media, it has become an area of interest in computer graphics to be able to simulate these phenomena in real-time. The challenge exists not only to simulate as accurately as possible for the best degree of visual realism, but also to use a method which allows for this real-time interaction. In this thesis, the use of particle systems as a method for simulating fire and water effects is explored, as well as the rendering methods used to visualize them. Particle systems are well suited to this type of problem as they can be parallelized and provide many methods of behavioural customization in order to produce a wide range of different effects. Realistic looking results can be achieved when a sufficient number of particles are able to be simulated within an adequate time frame. It can be shown that particle system methods such as Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and Velocity-Vortex methods are able to simulate these phenomena well. These methods are implemented using NVIDIA CUDA to parallelize the governing algorithms on the graphics processor, and with the use of spatial grid division techniques to reduce the computational complexity, they are able to run at real-time interactive rates. Additionally, when utilizing point-based approaches for rendering fire, and a surface generation approach using the Marching Cubes algorithm for rendering water, it can be shown that these particle systems are able to be rendered with realistic-looking visualizations while maintaining interactivity. Combining both the computational aspects of the particle system and the rendering aspects directly on the graphics device produces good quality rendered fire and water effects at speeds fast enough to be used with interactive media applications.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Dynamics of plant processes and populations in semi-arid Australia and the influences of drought, grazing and fire : a thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Science of Massey University
    (Massey University, 2010) Hodgkinson, K. C. (Ken C.)
    The experimental, analytical and integrative research achievements of the author, relating to the study of plant functioning and dynamics of plant populations and communities in semi-arid landscapes of eastern Australia and the responses to the stresses of drought, fire and grazing, are described. These achievements occurred during a period when scientific knowledge on the functioning and dysfunctioning of ecological communities in arid and semi-arid pastoral lands were required for the development of new managements that sustained natural resources in these water-limited environments. The research described addresses the principle goals of the author, namely to (i) elucidate physiological and demographic responses to climate variability and interactions with the stresses of grazing and fire, and (ii) to use the knowledge to develop new grazing and fire managements for sustaining pastoral businesses and the natural resources on which they depend, in semi-arid pastoral Australia. In this thesis, the research achievements of the author, the consequent publications, and the recognition of this research, are summarised in the Preface (Section 1). Following the author's curriculum vitae (Section 2), and full list of publications (Section 3 ), a detailed description of the author's research is given in Section 4, which comprises 40 selected publications in refereed journals and books, totalling some 482 pages. These selected publications address the research theme defined by the thesis title Dynamics of plant processes and populations in semi-arid Australia and the influences of drought, grazing and fire, and cover the period 1970-2002, during the candidates' research programs with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation at Deniliquin and Canberra, Australia.