Characteristics of smoke extraction by natural ventilation during a fire in a shallow urban road tunnel with roof openings

The characteristics of the spread of smoke were investigated for a fire occurring in a shallow urban road tunnel with roof openings in its ceiling. In this type of tunnel, the smoke produced by a fire is ventilated through the openings in the ceiling given the natural buoyancy of hot smoke. A fire experiment was conducted using a 1/12 scale model tunnel to ascertain whether natural ventilation via the roof openings was sufficient to maintain a safe evacuation environment for tunnel users. The distance from the fire to the tip position of the spreading smoke and the thickness of smoke layers along the ceiling were investigated by changing the heat release rate and using two types of median structure as experimental parameters. The two types of median structure dividing the tunnel into two road tubes were pillars and walls. It was clarified that the smoke spreading distance was constant and independent of the heat release rate of the fire under our experimental conditions. Moreover, it was confirmed that the thickness of the smoke layers in the tunnel thinned out quickly due to the natural ventilation.     

Experimental studies on fire-induced buoyant smoke temperature distribution along tunnel ceiling

Twelve tests were conducted to study the distribution of smoke temperature along the tunnel ceiling in the one-dimensional spreading phase, two tests in a large-scale tunnel and the other ten in full scale vehicular tunnels. The fire size and the height above the floor, the tunnel section geometry and longitudinal ventilation velocity varied in these tests. Experimental results showed that when the fire size was larger, the smoke temperature below the ceiling was higher, but it decayed faster while traveling down the tunnel. The longitudinal ventilation velocity seemed to take much influence on the smoke temperature decay speed downstream. A “barrier effect” was shown for the smoke temperature distribution of the upstream back layering. The smoke temperatures measured were higher upstream than downstream before the “barrier”, and were much lower and decreased faster along the tunnel ceiling after the “barrier”. The temperature and the traveling velocity of the upstream smoke flow decreased largely when the longitudinal ventilation velocity increased a bit. The dimensionless excess smoke temperature distributions along the tunnel ceiling in all tests fell into good exponential decay. But the decay speed along the tunnel seemed to be much larger in the large-scale tunnel than that in full-scale tunnels. The measured data on ceiling jet temperature decay along the tunnel was compared with predictions of Delichatsios's model, a model built based on small-scale tests, with hydraulic diameter introduced. Results showed that Delichatsisos’ model over estimated the decay speed of ceiling jet temperature for the downstream flow. However, good agreement was achieved between the measured data and the model predictions for the upstream back layering. All the experimental data presented in this paper can be further applied for verification of numerical models, bench-scale results and building new models on ceiling jet temperature distribution.     

Gas temperatures in heavy goods vehicle fires in tunnels

Large-scale fire tests were carried out with heavy goods vehicle (HGV) cargos in the Runehamar tunnel in Norway. The tunnel is a decommissioned, two-way-asphalted road tunnel that is 1600 m long, 6 m high and 9 m wide, with a slope varying between 0.5% uphill and 1% downhill. In total four tests were performed with fire in an HGV set-up and a longitudinal ventilation flow of approximately 3 m/s. In three tests, mixtures of different cellulose and plastic materials were used; in the fourth test a commodity consisting of furniture and fixtures was used. In all tests the mass ratio was approximately 82% cellulose and 18% plastic. A polyester tarpaulin covered the cargo.One purpose of the large-scale tests was to obtain new relevant gas temperature-time data from large-scale HGV fires in tunnels. There is presently a lack of such information for road tunnels. The maximum heat release rates produced by the four different fire loads varied between 66 and 202 MW resulting in maximum gas temperatures at the ceiling ranging between 1281 and 1365 °C. A comparison with literature values shows that the gas temperatures obtained here are uniformly higher than those obtained in other similar large-scale test series conducted using solid materials. A mathematical correlation of a temperature–time curve is given and this is the best representation of the measured temperature and a combination of frequently used temperature curves for tunnels (the HC curve and the RWS curve).     

Modeling for predicting the temperature distribution of smoke during a fire in an underground road tunnel with vertical shafts

In this study, fire experiments using a 1:20 model-scale tunnel were conducted to investigate the performance of natural ventilation in an underground road tunnel with six vertical shafts. The experimental parameters were the heat release rate of a fire source and the height of the shafts, and nine experiments were conducted in total. Furthermore, simple models were developed for predicting the temperature distribution of the smoke flowing under the tunnel ceiling. The following results were obtained: (1) In the experiments, the form of the smoke exhausted from the shaft became plug-holing when the shaft height was 1.0H_t, and became boundary layer separation when the height was 0.24H_t. (2) The average efficiency of heat exhaust was 0.16 when the form was plug-holing, and was 0.12 when the form was boundary layer separation. (3) When the form was plug-holing, the ratio of entrainment of fresh air became almost constant regardless of Ri. On the other hand, when the form was boundary layer separation, the ratio of entrainment of fresh air was smaller than that under the condition of plug-holing. (4) The temperature distribution under the tunnel ceiling predicted by the models agreed with that measured by the fire experiments in all cases.     

Upgrading the Arlberg tunnel to current safety standards

Austrian road tunnels within the Trans-European Road Network (TERN) must fulfil the requirements of the Directive 2004/54/EC (European Commission, 2004) not later than April 2019. This regulation has to be applied to all tunnels in the TERN with a length of more than 500 m, whether they are in operation, under construction or at design stage, and aims at ensuring a minimum level of safety for road users. One of the main features of this directive is the requirement for providing an egress possibility to a safe environment every 500 m throughout the whole tunnel.The Arlberg road tunnel has a length of some 15.5 km and is in operation for more than 35 years. It is a single tube tunnel operated with bi-directional traffic, but carries a quite low traffic volume. Hence, the construction of a second tube is not really cost effective. Currently the tunnel is equipped with a transversal ventilation system with remotely controlled smoke extraction dampers providing smoke extraction every 100 m. The maximum distance between egress possibilities to a save environment is some 1500 m. Due to the high costs of a construction of a second tube or a parallel running escape gallery, a novel solution was found. The existing fresh air duct will be used as safe escape way between the existing egress possibilities. This solution has big impacts on the ventilation system and on the requirements for thermal structure protection of the new egress ways, i.e. the fresh air duct. In order to overcome this problem, massive changes in the ventilation design have to be performed, accompanied by the installation of a high-pressure water-mist system for structure protection.     

Maximum temperature of smoke beneath ceiling in tunnel fire with vertical shafts

To assess the impact of heat smoke in tunnel with vertical shafts, the maximum temperature of smoke beneath ceiling is researched theoretically and experimentally in this paper. A theoretical prediction model for maximum temperature of smoke beneath ceiling is built using dimensional analysis. A numerical model is built and calibrated with the full-scale experiment data. The calibrated numerical model is used to simulate the maximum temperature of smoke under different conditions with different shaft geometry. At last, the proposed theoretical model was formulated and compared with Kurioka model, experimental data and simulation data. The results show that the proposed theoretical model can give a better prediction for the tendency. It can be used to predict the maximum temperature of smoke beneath ceiling of tunnel with vertical shafts by taking the shaft geometry and arrangements effect into account.     

Studies on buoyancy driven two-directional smoke flow layering length with combination of point extraction and longitudinal ventilation in tunnel fires

This paper investigates the buoyancy-driven smoke flow layering length (both upstream and downstream) beneath the ceiling with combination of point extraction and longitudinal ventilation in tunnel fires. A theoretical model is developed based on previous back-laying model with only longitudinal ventilation, with modified actual heat release rate, as well as modified upstream and downstream opposing longitudinal air flow velocities by the induced flow velocity due to point extraction. Experiments are carried out in a reduced scale model tunnel with dimensionless of 72 m×1.5 m×1.3 m. A LPG porous gas burner is used as fire source. The smoke flow layering length both upstream and downstream are identified based on temperature profiles measured along the ceiling, for different experiment conditions. CFD simulations with FDS are also performed for the same scenarios. Results show that with combination of point extraction and longitudinal ventilation, the smoke flow layering length is not symmetric where it is longer downstream than that upstream. The upstream smoke layering length decreases, while the downstream layering length increases with increase in longitudinal ventilation velocity; and they both decrease with increase in point extraction velocity. The predictions by the proposed theoretical model agree well with the measurements and simulation results.     

Simulation of fire scenarios due to different vehicle types with and without traffic in a bi-directional road tunnel

This paper presents findings obtained by CFD modelling for simulating the effects of fire due to different vehicle types in a bi-directional road tunnel. Four different burning vehicles placed in the centre of the driving lane at tunnel middle length were considered. Peaks of the heat release rate (HRR) of: 8, 30, 50, and 100 MW were simulated for the two cars, the bus, the heavy goods vehicle (HGV), and the petrol tanker, respectively. The fire effects on tunnel structure and on environmental conditions along people evacuation path were especially evaluated. The effects of the traffic jam, in contrast with the isolated vehicles, on temperatures, radiant heat flux, visibility distance, and toxic gases concentrations, were also investigated. The worst scenario was identified to be that pertaining to the petrol tanker and more critical conditions were also found when the tunnel was full of vehicles. The maximum gas temperatures reached in the presence of traffic at the side wall (and at the tunnel ceiling reported in brackets) were found to be: 360 °C (170 °C) for the two cars; 740 °C (465 °C) for the bus; 835 °C (735 °C) for the HGV and 1305 °C (1145 °C) for the petrol tanker, respectively. The presence of the traffic, in contrast with the isolated vehicle, involved an increase in the maximum temperatures equal to 16–17% for the two cars, and contained in the range 12–29% with percentages increasing starting from the tanker, to the HGV and to the bus. In other words when the maximum temperatures produced by the isolated vehicle are very high (e.g. for the tanker), the presence of the traffic had a minor effect. With reference to environmental conditions along the evacuation path, the results showed that in the case of petrol tanker fire the emergency ventilation ensures a tenable level of temperature, radiant heat flux, and toxic gases concentrations up to 5 min from the fire starting. This time increases up to 6.5 min for the HGV and 8 min for the bus. This means that the tunnel users in order to be safe in all scenarios should leave the tunnel within 5 min after the fire starting. Toxic gases concentrations, however, were found to be below the limit values in all cases and also in the presence of traffic. In the light of the aforementioned results, tunnel occupants should be promptly informed of the fire risk and guided to the exit portals. This might be done by equipping the tunnel with illuminated emergency signs located along the tunnel length and by installing traffic lights before the entrances so that the tunnel can be closed in case of emergency. By activating the traffic lights at the portals and the emergency signs (more especially those at the ceiling) at the same time as the emergency ventilation is activated, safer conditions for the people evacuation are expected.     

Full-scale experiment and CFD simulation on smoke movement and smoke control in a metro tunnel with one opening portal

Three full-scale model experiments were conducted in a unidirectional tube, which is a part of a metro tunnel with one end connected to an underground metro station and the other end opened to outside in Chongqing, PR China. Three fire HRRs, 1.35 MW, 3 MW and 3.8 MW were produced by pool fires with different oil pan sizes in the experiments. Temperature distributions under the tunnel ceiling along the longitudinal direction were measured. At the same time, CFD simulations were conducted under the same boundary conditions with the experiments by FDS 5.5. In addition, more FDS simulation cases were conducted after the FDS simulation results agreed with the experimental results. The simulation results show that the smoke temperature and the decay rate of the temperature distribution under the tunnel ceiling along the longitudinal direction increase as HRR increases. The smoke exhausts effectively from the tunnel under mechanical ventilation system, whether the emergency vent is activated as a smoke exhaust or an air supply vent. The operation mode of the mechanical ventilation system depends on the evacuation route.     

火灾工况下公路隧道竖井通风模式试验研究

为了建立火灾工况下有效的竖井通风模式,通过大比例火灾模型试验,对不同通风模式下,主隧道、风道及竖井内温度场的传播分布、烟流蔓延扩散规律进行了研究。试验模型隧道长100 m,内径1.8 m,设有直径1 m的送风竖井、排风竖井各一座。火源采用燃烧床盛放油料模拟,试验中设定了A、B、C三个火灾规模用以模拟实际隧道火灾场景,考虑了三个火灾位置:火灾位置I、II和III。试验结果表明随着通风风速、火灾规模、火灾位置的不同,隧道、通风道及竖井内温度场分布及烟流流动差异很大,而且随着时间的推移,其分布发生显著变化。这表明当隧道中发生火灾时,应根据火灾点与竖井的相对位置分阶段,实施不同的通风模式。基于试验结果,建议了秦岭隧道火灾时的有效通风模式。     

纵向通风与竖井自然排烟下隧道火灾烟气特性实验研究

中国逐渐发展成为世界上隧道和地下工程最多的国 家,其长隧道数量和长度跻身世界前列。据统计,火灾中85%的 人员死亡是由热烟气造成的,目前隧道中采用较为广泛的排烟系 统有纵向排烟系统、集中排烟系统和横向排烟系统,而针对长隧道 来说,我国广泛采用的是竖井式纵向通风,因此,研究纵向通风与 竖井排烟综合效应下隧道火灾烟气流动特性及温度分布规律具有 重要意义。本文建立了1：10 缩尺寸竖井隧道模型,主隧道长度 16.5 m,宽度1.3 m,高度0.65 m;竖井通过排烟横通道与主隧道 连接,排烟横通道设置在主隧道侧面中部,尺寸为1.2 m 长、0.6 m 宽、0.4 m 高;竖井横截面为半径0.6 m 的1/4 圆,高4.6 m。在 竖井隧道模型中开展了一系列油池火实验,选取2 种方形燃烧池 （20 cm×20 cm、23 cm×23 cm）作为火源,设置2 个纵向火源位置 （位置A：火源中心线与排烟横通道中心线距离0.375 m;位置B： 火源中心线与排烟横通道中心线距离1.375 m）,7 种纵向通风风 速（0,0.18,0.27,0.35,0.44,0.52,0.69 m/s）,定量分析不同工 况下温度分布及烟气逆流长度。研究结果表明：当无纵向通风时, 火焰与隧道地板垂直,且呈轴对称形态;当有纵向通风时,火焰向 下游偏移,且纵向通风风速越大,火焰向下游偏移越明显;当纵向 通风风速为0 m/s 时,由于竖井的存在,火源上、下游两侧烟气温 度分布并非对称,火源下游（竖井侧）烟气温度下降速度较快,与单 洞隧道烟气温度分布明显不同;随纵向通风风速增加,烟气逆流长 度和烟气温度减小,而最大温度偏移距离整体呈增加趋势;当无量 纲纵向通风风速v′＜0.19 时,主隧道最大温升△Tmax 与Q2/3/ Hef 5/3 呈正比,而当无量纲纵向通风风速v′＞0.19 时,主隧道最大 温升△Tmax 与Q? /(vb1/3Hef 5/3)呈正比,但常数系数均小于Li 等预 测模型中的常数系数;竖井隧道内无量纲纵向烟气温度分布符合 Fan 和Ji 等建立的纵向温度衰减模型,衰减系数k′在1.36~1.63 范围内变化,但其值明显大于单洞隧道纵向温度衰减系数k′;另 外,当火源位于位置A 时,最大烟气温度低于火源位于位置B 时 的最大烟气温度,无量纲纵向烟气温度衰减速度慢于火源位于位 置B 时衰减速度。     

On the maximum smoke temperature under the ceiling in tunnel fires

Maximum smoke temperature under the ceiling in a tunnel fire was studied experimentally and numerically. Full-scale burning tests in two vehicular tunnels of length 3.27 and 1.032 km with and without operating the longitudinal ventilation system were carried out. Smoke temperatures at selected positions under the ceiling were measured under different longitudinal ventilation velocities. Two different pool fires of 1.6 and 3 MW were set up. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations with Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) version 3.10 were carried out on those scenarios. CFD predicted smoke temperatures were firstly verified by comparing with the measured values at those selected positions, and then compared with the calculated values using the empirical equation due to Kurioka et al. Fairly good agreement was achieved, though the slope of the tunnel was not considered in this empirical equation.     

Numerical 3D simulation of a longitudinal ventilation system: Memorial Tunnel case

In this work, a numerical 3D simulation of a longitudinal ventilation system (LVS) is developed to analyze the fire behaviour inside a road tunnel. The numerical modelling reproduces the Memorial Tunnel, a two-lane, 853 m long road tunnel, used for experimental purposes. On this tunnel, 98 full-scale fire ventilation tests with different ventilation systems were conducted, constituting the first significant experimental approach to analyze fire incidents inside road tunnels. A total number of 24 reversible jet fans were installed in groups of three, nearly equally spaced over the length of the tunnel, and cantilevered from the ceiling of the tunnel.

The validation of a numerical model is developed in the present paper. For that purpose, the behaviour of the smoke generated during a fire incident inside a road tunnel is predicted and compared with previous experimental data collected in the Memorial Tunnel Project. The smoke evolution and the performance of the LVS is simulated with a commercial code, FLUENT, which allows 3D unsteady simulations of the Navier–Stokes equations for multispecies mixtures of gases. A sufficient mesh density was introduced for the spatial discretization in order to obtain accurate results in a reasonable CPU time. Hence, typical ratios between total number of cells and the overall tunnel length were employed in the modelling. As a result, good agreement was achieved in all the tested cases, defining an accurate methodology to predict the performance of a LVS in case of fire inside a tunnel.     

Numerical studies on evaluation of smoke control system of underground metro rail transport system in India having jet injection system: A case study

The rail based urban transport system is being developed for national capital of India, New Delhi. The smoke control using ventilation in case of fire inside the tunnel, similar to Delhi Metro corridor has been investigated using computational fluid dynamics technique. A section of tunnel having dimensions 400 m long, 5.5 m wide and 6 m high is considered for simulation. The analysis has been carried out by assuming a variable fire source with a peak heat release rate (HRR) of 16 MW, located at the center of the tunnel. Ventilation ducts are located in the ceiling near the tunnel portals and are inclined at 10 degrees to the plane of the ceiling through which fans discharge air. The influence of the fire HRR curve slope on the smoke flow dynamics in a realistic tunnel model fitted with jet injection type longitudinal ventilation system has been investigated. In case of fire two cases are studied: (1) fans activated immediately after detection, (2) fans activated at delayed times to take into account the response time for the fans to achieve its maximum speed. The velocity of supply and exhaust fans necessary to remove smoke in 30 s from the upstream direction is determined. The velocities of fan required to produce desired critical velocity in the longitudinal direction for different HRR of fire is predicted.     

高海拔隧道全尺寸火灾烟气及温度场特征试验研究

通过对海拔为4100m的高海拔隧道进行全尺寸火灾试验,揭示高海拔隧道火灾烟气下沉及温度场变化特征。试验采用三种不同尺寸火源(0.8m2、1.0m2、2.0m2),对隧道火灾烟气蔓延特征、火区最高温度、隧道拱顶纵向温度分布进行研究。试验研究结果表明：隧道火灾试验初期及燃烧稳定阶段,火源附近隧道上层烟气与下层冷空气分界明显,火灾后期烟气下沉严重;较小风速有利于高海拔隧道小规模火灾烟气逆流层纵向和垂向蔓延的控制。隧道火灾温度场研究表明：隧道火灾温升速率随火源热释放率增大而增加;火源附近20m范围内温度衰减速率较快,远火源区域隧道拱顶纵向温度衰减较慢,趋于平缓;通过对火源上方拱顶烟气温度分析,发现隧道火灾探测采用差温报警模式较定温报警模式更加有效,并得出10℃/min的温升速率可基本满足高海拔隧道小规模火灾的初期报警;隧道拱顶纵向温度分布规律导致火源远场烟气下沉严重而近火源区域烟气层化较好的特征。高海拔隧道火灾温度分布特性试验研究,可为高海拔隧道火灾动力特性研究提供依据,为高海拔隧道人员疏散逃生提供指导及建议。     

The effect of fuel area size on behavior of fires in a reduced-scale single-track railway tunnel

A set of experiments was carried out in a 1/9 reduced-scale single-track railway tunnel to investigate the effect of fuel area size on the temperature distribution and behavior of fires in a tunnel with natural ventilation. Methanol pool fires with four different fuel areas 0.6 × 0.3 m² (1 pan), 1.2 × 0.3 m² (2 pans), 2.4 × 0.3 m² (4 pans) and 3.6 × 0.3 m² (6 pans), were used in these experiments. Data were collected on temperatures, radiative heat flux and mass loss rates. The temperature distribution and smoke layer in the tunnel, along with overflow dimensions and radiant heat at the tunnel entrance were analyzed. The results show that as the fuel area enlarges, the fire gradually becomes ventilation-controlled and the ceiling temperature over the center of fire source declines. Burning at the central region of fire source is depressed due to lack of oxygen. This makes the temperature distribution along the tunnel ceiling change from a typical inverted V-shape to an M-shape. As observed in the experiments, a jet flame appeared at tunnel entrances and both the size and temperature of the flame increased with the enlargement of fuel area leading to a great threat to firefighters and evacuees in actual tunnel fires.     

The maximum temperature of buoyancy-driven smoke flow beneath the ceiling in tunnel fires

In order to detect a fire and provide adequate fire protection to a tunnel structure, the maximum gas temperature beneath the ceiling to which the structure is exposed needs to be estimated. Theoretical analysis of maximum gas temperature beneath a tunnel ceiling based on a plume theory is given. The heat release rate, longitudinal ventilation velocity and tunnel geometry are taken into account. Two series of model-scale experimental tests were also carried out. The results of both analysis and experiments show that the maximum excess gas temperature beneath the ceiling can be divided into two regions. When the dimensionless ventilation velocity is greater than 0.19, the maximum excess gas temperature beneath the tunnel ceiling increases linearly with the heat release rate and decreases linearly with the longitudinal ventilation velocity. When the dimensionless ventilation velocity is less than 0.19, the maximum excess gas temperature beneath the ceiling varies as the two-thirds power of the dimensionless heat release rate, independent of the longitudinal ventilation velocity. In both regions, the maximum excess gas temperature varies as the −5/3 power of the vertical distance between the fire source bottom and tunnel ceiling. The investigation presented here considers only the cases when the continuous flame region is lower than the ceiling height.     

上盖物业地下车辆段烟气运动研究

为了研究上盖物业地下车辆段夹层中烟气运动特性,搭建1：50 缩尺模型实验台,并将实验结果与FDS 全尺寸模拟结果进行比较。在确定的火源功率下,在混合通风系统中设置5 种不同的风速,并与自然通风进行对比。结果表明：相较于自然通风系统,混合通风系统可以更好地对烟气进行控制;1.4 m/s 的风速可以形成稳定的烟气层;在自然通风和混合通风系统中,夹层CO 体积分数始终低于0.06%,但是在自然通风系统中CO 会在夹层顶棚处聚集,不利于人员疏散。     

Smoke spreading characteristics during a fire in a shallow urban road tunnel with roof openings under a longitudinal external wind blowing

A series of fire experiments was conducted using a 1:12 scale model of a shallow urban road tunnel with roof openings to clarify the flow structure of smoke and fresh air during a fire with a longitudinal external wind blowing above the roof openings. The model tunnel consisted of two road tubes separated by a pillar-type median structure. Five fire test cases were conducted by changing the heat release rate as the experimental parameter. When the smoke produced by a fire in the tunnel tube was exhausted by natural ventilation through the roof openings of the tunnel tube, fresh air was sucked in from the roof openings of the opposite tunnel tube. The flow of exhausted smoke and sucked-in fresh air created a complex three-dimensional flow structure inside the tunnel tubes. Stratified smoke that had formed under the ceiling of the tunnel tube was disturbed by the flow of sucked-in fresh air and was diffused on the upstream side of the fire. Compared to the condition without a longitudinal external wind, when a longitudinal external wind blew over the tunnel with the pillar median structure, the smoke spreading distance on the upstream side was longer than that without the external wind due to the diffusion of smoke. On the other hand, the smoke spreading distance on the downstream side of the fire was shorter than that without the external wind due to the improved smoke extraction performance by the Venturi effect of the longitudinal external wind. Furthermore, the smoke spreading distance on the downstream side was nearly constant and independent of the heat release rate of the fire, within the scope of our experimental conditions.