A computational analysis of the airflow in a twin-track subway tunnel with a sliding-curtain to improve ventilation performance

A computational model of an actual Seoul subway tunnel was analyzed in this study. The computational model was comprised of one natural ventilation shaft, two mechanical ventilation shafts, one mechanical air supply, a twin-track tunnel and a train. The natural ventilation shaft discharges and supplies air due to the train’s movement. The mechanical ventilation shaft and the mechanical air supply discharges and supplies, respectively, the airflow from the axial flow fans in the middle of the ducts of the shafts. A sliding-curtain was installed in the tunnel. The objective of this study was to numerically investigate train-induced airflow in the twin-track subway tunnel with natural and mechanical ventilation shafts and an installed curtain. The numerical analysis characterized the aerodynamic behavior and performance of the ventilation system by solving three-dimensional turbulent Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. ANSYS CFX software was used for the computations. The airflow velocity from the computational results was validated by experimental results. Understanding the flow pattern of the train-induced airflow in the tunnel is necessary to improve ventilation performance. The ventilation and aerodynamic characteristics in the tunnel, including train-induced airflow, were investigated by analyzing the volume flowrate at the exits of the ventilation shafts and the velocity in the tunnel. The computational results were compared to cases with and without a curtain installed in the twin-track tunnel. As the train passed the mechanical ventilation shafts, the quantity of discharged-air in the ventilation shafts decreased rapidly. The flowrate at the exits of the ventilation shafts was gradually recovered with time, after the train passed the ventilation shafts. The airflow at the natural shaft and mechanical ventilation shaft 2, which was closest to the curtain, was increased. The computational results showed that the installed curtain can improve ventilation performance in the tunnel.