Study of smoke movement characteristics in tunnel fires in high-altitude areas

Understanding smoke temperature distributions and transport characteristics is of great importance to control and exhaust thermal-driven smoke. However, previous studies have focused on this problem in plain areas, whereas ambient pressure decreases as elevation increases. This study investigates the influence of ambient pressure on the hot gas temperature distribution and movement characteristics in a tunnel fire. A series of numerical simulations are carried out in a vehicle tunnel with various heat release rates (HRRs) and ambient pressures. The results show that the maximum temperature and longitudinal temperature distribution under the tunnel ceiling increase with decreasing ambient pressure due to less heat loss caused by lower air density. In addition, the vertical temperatures of the smoke are slightly higher under lower ambient pressure, and this phenomenon makes the smoke spread slightly faster while the smoke layer thickness remains nearly the same under different ambient pressures. The results can provide a reference for tunnel lining design and ventilation arrangements in high-altitude areas.     

Effects of passenger blockage on smoke flow properties in longitudinally ventilated tunnel fires

This paper investigates the effects of passenger blockage on smoke flow properties in longitudinally ventilated tunnel fires. A series of numerical simulations were conducted in a 1/5 small-scale tunnel with the different heat release rates (50-100 kW), longitudinal ventilation velocities (0.5-1 m/s), passenger blockage lengths (2-6 m), and ratios (0.17-0.267). The typical smoke flow properties in different tunnel fire scenarios are analyzed, and the results show that under the same heat release rate and longitudinal ventilation velocity, the smoke back-layering length, maximum smoke temperature, and downstream smoke layer height decrease with increasing passenger blockage length or ratio. The Li correlations can well predict the smoke back-layering length and maximum smoke temperature in tunnel fire scenarios without the passenger blockage. When the passenger blockage exists, the modified local ventilation velocity that takes the blockage length and ratio into account has been proposed to correct the Li correlations. The smoke back-layering length and maximum smoke temperature with the different blockage lengths and ratios can be predicted by the modified correlations, which are shown to well reproduce the simulation results.     

Experimental investigation on smoke spread characteristics and smoke layer height in tunnels

A series of experiments were carried out in a model‐scale tunnel with dimension of 6.0 m × 1.0 m × 0.7 m to investigate the smoke spread behaviors and the typical smoke layer height. Alcohol was employed as fuel, and the heat release rate was set to be 9.5, 18.4, 30.1, and 63.5 kW, respectively. The temperature profile in the tunnel was measured, and the buoyant flow stratification conditions were visualized by a laser sheet. The experiment results show that the N percentage rule would greatly influence by subjective factors. As the N (10, 20, 30) value increases, the smoke layer height also increases. The results calculated by the buoyancy frequency method were more accurate. Fan's prediction method (Fan WC, Wang QG, Jiang FH. Concise Guide of Fire Science. He Fei: University of Science and Technology of China Press; 1995.161 p.) does not accurately evaluate the smoke layer thickness in tunnel fire. An enhanced empirical formula for predicting the smoke layer thickness in the one‐dimensional horizontal spread stage was proposed. It is shown that the empirical formula could well predict the smoke layer thickness by comparing with the experimental data of previous studies.     

Experimental study of the combustion characteristics of methanol‐gasoline blends pool fires in a full‐scale tunnel

The combustion characteristics of methanol‐gasoline blends pool fires were studied in a series of full‐scale tunnel experiments conducted with different methanol and gasoline blends. The parameters were measured including the mass loss rate, the pool surface temperature, the fire plume centerline temperature, the ceiling temperature, the smoke layer temperature profile, the flame height, and the smoke layer interface height. The gasoline components were analyzed by GC‐MS. The effects of azeotropism on the combustion characteristics of the different blends were discussed. On the basis of the results of the fire plume centerline temperature, the ceiling temperature, and the flame height, it shows that the tunnel fire regime gradually switches from fuel controlled to ventilation controlled with increasing gasoline fractions in the blends. The fire plume can be divided into 3 regions by the fire plume centerline temperature for the different blends. The N‐percentage rule to determine the smoke layer interface height is found to be applicable for tunnel fires with different blends for N = 26.     

Study on the smoke back‐layering and critical ventilation in the road tunnel fire at high altitude

A series of numerical simulations were conducted in order to investigate the characteristics of smoke back‐layering and critical ventilation in the road tunnel at high altitude with reduced ambient atmospheric pressures. The results indicated that the smoke back‐layering length decreases with the reduction of ambient pressure. Meanwhile, the dimensionless critical longitudinal ventilation velocity decreases with one‐third power of the factor of ambient pressure at high altitude. By modifying the traditional dimensionless fire heat release rate with ambient pressure, new models were deduced to predict the smoke back‐layering length and critical ventilation velocity in the road tunnel at high altitude.     

Numerical analysis of smoke flow under the effect of longitudinal airflow in a tunnel fire

This study investigated the influence of the longitudinal airflow on the smoke propagation in a tunnel by large-eddy simulation, which is now widely applied to study the turbulent flow. The smoke movement characteristics were studied in detail, with varying the longitudinal airflow in the tunnel. Six fire scenarios have been simulated with Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and the results of the longitudinal distribution of CO concentration, temperature distribution, interface height, stratification, and the efficiency of smoke extraction in the tunnel have been analyzed to evaluate the different fire cases. FDS predicted a CO concentration distribution compared to calculated values using the Hu model. Furthermore, the predicted maximum smoke temperatures are compared to those given by the Kurioka model. A reasonably good agreement has been obtained for both models. The obtained results showed that the increase of the forced airflow velocity has for results a loss of stratification and significant decrease in the efficiency of extraction.     

Experimental study on the effect of lateral concentrated smoke extraction on smoke stratification in the longitudinal ventilated tunnel

Smoke is the main cause of death in tunnel fires. It is one of the important measures to maintain smoke stratification in the early stage of tunnel fire. This article focused on experimentally studying the combined effect of lateral concentrated smoke extraction and longitudinal ventilation on the smoke stratification, which never be revealed before. The velocity of the smoke layer and air layer, vertical temperature distribution, and the flow patterns of the smoke were measured. It was found that the longitudinal ventilation and lateral concentrated smoke extraction would affect the flow of the smoke and change the shear velocity between the smoke layer and air layer, then, the patterns of the smoke layer will be affected. And the flow patterns with Froude (Fr) number can be classified into three categories: (a)Fr < 0.6 , with stable smoke stratification; (b) 0.6 < Fr < 0.85 , with a stable smoke stratification but the blurring interface; and (c) Fr > 0.85 , the smoke layer is completely unstable. The result can provide a reference for ventilation design of immersed tube tunnels.     

Influence of longitudinal fire location on smoke characteristics under the tunnel ceiling

The critical ventilation velocity is almost the most well‐investigated fire phenomenon in the tunnel fire research field whereas previous studies have always investigated it when the fire source is distant from the downstream tunnel exit. Fortunately, a recent study provided a set of data on the critical ventilation velocity for tunnel fires occurring near tunnel exits by small‐scaled experiments, nevertheless, with a lack of further analysis. To demonstrate the relationship of the critical ventilation velocity and the distance between the fire and tunnel exit more explicitly and detailedly, a quantitative and graphical study was carried out and a correlation was presented in this paper. Inspired by this, a set of small‐scaled experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of different longitudinal fire locations on maximum smoke temperature under the tunnel ceiling. Results show that unlike the critical ventilation velocity, the maximum smoke temperature was not obviously affected by longitudinal fire location. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

隧道内液化天然气管道泄漏火灾温度场的数值模拟

以某实际液化天然气（LNG）输运工程为例,采用计算流体动力学方法,建立隧道内LNG管道泄漏火灾的数学模型,分别以3种不同的泄漏情况对LNG泄漏火灾流场进行了数值模拟计算,得到了3种不同泄漏强度的LNG火灾温度场的实时分布情况,并分别对其火灾温度场随时间的变化及危险性进行了分析。结果表明：泄漏强度最小的情况下,火灾发生后隧道温度升幅不大,温度变化幅度平缓,危险性相对较小;泄漏强度居中的情况下,火灾发生后隧道内温度变化幅度较大,变化趋势较为剧烈,危险性显著增加;泄漏强度最大的情况下,火灾发生后隧道内温度是3种情况中最高的,且隧道内会出现烟气堆积的情况,十分危险,应着力避免此类事故的发生。     

Influence of multisource fire on temperature distribution and natural smoke exhaust effect in urban tunnels with a shaft

The combustion characteristics of multisource fire and single-source fire are quite different, and there is little research on the influence of multisource fire on the natural smoke extraction effect of shaft in urban tunnels. Therefore, in this article, the method of numerical simulation was used to study the influence of fire power and distance between two fire sources on the natural smoke extraction effect of shaft and the temperature distribution in tunnel in the case of multisource fire. Typical characteristics of smoke are analyzed, such as mass flow rate, temperature distribution, velocity vector, and CO concentration. The simulation results show that when there is a certain distance between the fire sources, the two flames are inclined and close to each other. The smoke temperature under the ceiling is higher under multiple fire sources than that under single fire source. In addition, when one of the fire sources is located at the downstream of the shaft, the smoke emission in the shaft is relatively high. As the distance between fire sources continues to increase, the smoke exhaust rate basically remains stable, and an empirical relationship between smoke exhaust rate and fire source location is established.     

Experimental investigation on fire smoke bifurcation flow in longitudinal ventilated tunnels

Investigation of smoke bifurcation flow has been receiving more attentions, however, delicate quantitative analyses on different regions of the bifurcation flow have rarely been addressed. In this study, a series of small-scale experiments were conducted to investigate smoke bifurcation flow in longitudinal ventilated tunnels. Results show that when longitudinal ventilation velocity increases to a certain value, the smoke bifurcation phenomenon emerges, and a low-temperature region forms in the center of the tunnel. Similar to the natural conditions, smoke development under relatively strong ventilation can also be subdivided into four regions. With the increase of ventilation velocity, the ceiling impact region, side wall impact region, and convergence region of two smoke streams move further downstream, indicating that the bifurcation phenomenon becomes more evident. A simple model is proposed based on theoretical analysis and experimental phenomenon to predict two characteristic lengths of smoke bifurcation flow: the offset distance of ceiling impact region and the length of low-temperature region. Both characteristic lengths increase with ventilation velocity and can be well correlated with the dimensionless ventilation velocity defined in Equation (2) ( V^′ ). The results of this work could provide references for both tunnel ventilation designers and fire science researchers.     

A numerical study on the effects of naturally ventilated shaft and fire locations in urban tunnels

In more and more tunnels, natural ventilation mode with vertical shafts has been gradually employed. However, there are few studies investigating the influences of fire and shaft positions on natural ventilation performance currently. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of the transverse distance from fire source to tunnel sidewall, the longitudinal distance from fire source to shaft, and the transverse distance from shaft to sidewall on natural ventilation effectiveness in a tunnel fire by using Fire Dynamics Simulator. The typical characteristic parameters of smoke, such as mass flow rate, temperature distribution, and velocity vector were analyzed; besides, the phenomenon of plug‐holing was discussed. The results have shown that the mass flow rate of gas exhausted by the shaft decreases slightly with the increase of longitudinal distance from fire source to shaft. When the longitudinal distance from fire source to shaft is constant, changing the transverse distance from shaft to sidewall will have a more obvious effect on the effectiveness of exhausting smoke than changing the transverse distance from fire source to sidewall; in addition, the phenomenon of plug‐holing is more serious when the shaft is close to the sidewall.     

Critical ventilation velocity under the blockage of different metro train in a long metro tunnel

To address the effect of metro train blockage on the critical ventilation velocity in a long tunnel, a series of scenarios were conducted numerically through this study, including different fire sizes (5-10 MW), metro train lengths (80-120 m), and blockage ratios (φ, 0.50, and 0.57). It is known from the numerical results that the metro train length shows a limited effect on the critical ventilation velocity, which is because the longitudinal ventilation has become stable before reaching the fire source to prevent smoke back-layering, and increasing the metro train length only increases the distance of stabilizing the longitudinal ventilation. The blockage ratio shows an obvious influence on the critical ventilation velocity, which is because the presence of the metro train can obviously reduce the flow cross-sectional area of the tunnel. An empirical model is developed as well, while it is known that the critical ventilation velocity increases with the one-third power of dimensionless heat release rate and (1-φ). The research outcomes of this study provide a technical guide for the design of the metro tunnel and the relevant emergency management of fire rescue under fire conditions.     

Study on the influence of air supply and smoke exhaust on full transverse exhaust of long highway tunnel

This study investigated the efficacy of the full transverse exhaust method for smoke extraction in tunnel fires. It examines factors such as the number and layout of air supply and exhaust outlets, analyzing their impact on smoke spread, tunnel temperature, visibility, and airflow. The results demonstrate that the full transverse exhaust method effectively controls smoke emissions in raised highway tunnels. It limits smoke spread, reduces tunnel temperature, and effectively controls the fire-affected area. The number and layout of outlets significantly influence smoke dispersion, with fewer exhaust outlets providing better smoke control and optimizing the tunnel environment. However, insufficient outlets disrupt gas flow stability. The position of exhaust outlets affects smoke distribution, and caution is advised to prevent directing fresh air flow toward the fire. Opening an equal number of exhaust outlets on one side of the fire source yields superior smoke extraction results, reducing tunnel ceiling temperatures and minimizing risks to personnel and structures. Though stabilization may take longer, this configuration proves advantageous. The study offers valuable insights and practical guidelines for implementing the full transverse smoke control method in real-world scenarios.     

Smoke characteristics of coal-lined tunnel fires

Characteristics of smoke particulates generated from a coal fire in a ventilated model tunnel were investigated by laser optical transmission and by electron microscopy. Average particle diameter and mass concentration of the smoke were determined as a function of the temperature and stoichimoetry of the coal tunnel fire. Smoke particle sizes ranged from 0.2 to 0.9 μm, with larger particle sizes associated with higher smoke concentrations. These coal smoke data are relevant to several aspects of underground mine safety including the development and location of smoke detection instruments, the understanding of the fire (toxic fume) hazard, and the development of new fire protection and control techniques.     

CFD analysis of smoke backlayering dispersion in tunnel fires with longitudinal ventilation

In a longitudinally ventilated tunnel fire, the backlayering flow propagated in the opposite direction to the air current is the most fatal contaminations to users which are blocked upstream of the fire. In the present paper, numerical simulations were conducted using Fire Dynamic Simulator, which is based on large eddy simulations to estimate the backlayering arrival time in a longitudinally ventilated tunnel fire. The effect of a vehicle obstruction on the backlayering arrival time will be also investigated. For this, a vehicle model occupying about 31% of the tunnel cross section is simulated upstream of the fire source with its location relative to the tunnel floor is varied. The numerical investigation shows that the inertia and the buoyancy forces produced by ventilation and fire, respectively, affect the backlayering spread. The backlayering arrival time increases with the longitudinal ventilation velocity while it decreases with the fire heat release rate. When a vehicle obstruction existed within the tunnel, the numerical results show an increase of backlayering arrival time. This increase is significantly more important with the fire distance when the vehicle obstruction approaches the tunnel floor. Two correlations are developed, with and without obstruction in the tunnel, to predict the backlayering arrival time against the distance to fire. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Smoke characteristics of tunnel wood fires

Characteristics of smoke particulates generated from a wood fire in a ventilated model tunnel were investigated using an in situ optical and a grid sampling technique. Volume-to-surface mean diameter and mass concentration of the smoke particles, and the transmission, optical density per unit length and particulate optical density of the smokeladen exhaust gas were obtained as a function of the burning process in the tunnel. It was found that high concentration of smoke (～1 mg l^?1) were rapidly generated as the fire changed from oxygen-rich to fuel-rich burning, resulting in fast obscuration of the passageway. The simultaneous generationof large amounts of smoke and high temperature carbon monoxide (～8%) coupled with low transmission (～1% though 0.5 m) represents and extremely hazardous situation in such a fire environment. Present measurements and others from current smoke testing chambers are compared and discussed.     

固体推进剂燃烧诱发热烟气运动的大涡模拟

利用空间火蔓延与烟气运动的大涡模拟方法,探讨了固体推进剂燃烧时在舱室内形成的火蔓延和烟气的运动,计算出室内烟气温度、墙壁温度与地面热流密度随时间的变化,与试验结果相符合.计算结果表明,固体推进剂火灾初期室内的气体受到热烟气的挤压像受到活塞的推挤一样流出门口;顶棚温度出现位于靠近火源和通风口连接通道所处的垂直截面附近的局...     

错流微滤制备动态膜过程中细微颗粒沉积机理

以煤基炭膜为基膜,以ZrO₂为涂膜颗粒,在实验研究的基础上对错流微滤过程中沉积颗粒进行受力分析,分别建立径向颗粒的可能沉积临界粒径模型、轴向上颗粒的可能移动临界粒径模型和圆周方向的颗粒可能滚动临界粒径模型。并以温度、错流速率、渗透通量为主要影响参数,分别对3种临界粒径模型进行模拟研究,探讨颗粒沉积机理。结果表明,压力增大(渗透通量提高)、温度降低以及错流速度降低,都可增大动态膜层厚度;由于净重力的影响,在水平膜管内圆周方向动态膜膜层厚度分布不均匀通过增加错流速率可明显减小此种差异;模拟结果与实验结果的一致性证实了所建模型的可靠性。     

Study the heat dissipation performance of lithium-ion battery liquid cooling system based on flat heat pipe

This paper improves the thermal management system of lithium-ion battery through the high thermal conductivity flat heat pipe, and attempts to improve its performance. The adoption of flat heat pipes reduces the problem of poor heat dissipation in the direction of the coolant flow when the liquid cooling plate is used alone, and increases the heat conduction in the longitudinal direction of the battery. A three-dimensional simulation model is established to study the influence of the number and width of flat heat pipes on the maximum temperature rise and temperature difference of lithium-ion batteries at a certain discharge rate. It is found that after adding flat heat pipes, the maximum temperature rise and temperature difference of the battery decreased. The heat dissipation performance reaches the best when the flat heat pipe number is 11 and the maximum temperature difference can be controlled below 5°C at 3 C discharge rate with 11 flat heat pipes.