Study on the smoke evolution mechanism of a subway tunnel with a multi-door carriage fire under longitudinal ventilation

This paper has analyzed the longitudinal ventilation on the effect of the efficiency of the smoke evolution mechanism in a metro tunnel of multi-window carriage fires. These were simulated by Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). In the past, analyses of smoke temperature under the tunnel ceiling and smoke overflow characteristics have been conducted. However, longitudinal ventilation has a different impact on temperature than natural ventilation, especially in a subway tunnel with a multi-door carriage fire. Consequently, several simulations were run in a subway tunnel (360-m long, 6.0-m wide, and 4.8-m high). The longitudinal ventilation velocity is set by 0–10 m/s with the heat release rate of 1–10 MW. The results show that there is a linear relationship between the maximum temperature and the longitudinal ventilation velocity. An empirical model considering various longitudinal ventilation velocities was developed to predict the maximum smoke temperature underneath the subway tunnel ceiling. The effects of the longitudinal ventilation velocity, the heat release rate, and the distance of the fire source on the characteristics of longitudinal temperature distribution were analyzed. What's more, smoke overflow characteristics under different longitudinal ventilation velocities have been described. The findings and results can also provide a reference for the fire risk assessment of a metro tunnel of multi-window carriage fires.     

Effect of altitude on vertical temperature distribution and longitudinal smoke layer thickness in long tunnel fires

Based on large eddy simulation, a series of long tunnel fire experiments with different heat release rates (HRRs) and altitudes were carried out. The vertical temperature and thickness of fire smoke are studied. The simulation results show that the higher the altitude, the lower the flame temperature rise, while the change of smoke plume temperature rise is opposite. The movement of smoke in the tunnel can be divided into four regions, and the smoke layer thickness in the longitudinal direction of the tunnel corresponds to the latter three regions. The thickness in Region II increases along the longitudinal direction, the thickness in Region III is a constant value, and the thickness in Region IV increases along the longitudinal direction. Besides, the change of altitude only has an effect on the smoke layer thickness in Region IV. Then, by considering the altitude, HRR, and smoke layer thickness, and using dimensional analysis, an empirical formula for predicting the smoke layer thickness under the influence of altitude in Region IV was established.     

Study on fire smoke flow characteristics in the ventilation network and linkage control system in coal mines

In coal mining, smoke flow from tunnel fires can easily cause a large number of deaths in the ventilation network. But the optimal smoke flow path control methods and automatic control system were lacked. In order to improve the efficiency of fire emergency rescue, the control mechanism and regional linkage control system for fire induced smoke flow in ventilation network was studied. Based on a ventilation system in coal mines, different fire scenarios for smoke flow were analysed using ventilation simulation software (VSS). Smoke flow control methods were simulated under different ventilation modes, a contrastive analysis was conducted for the respective effects and the optimal smoke flow path control methods were confirmed in different fire scenarios. A new type of ventilation facility, regional monitoring sub-stations and remote linkage control platforms were developed for smoke control. A reliability evaluation model for the control system was established by Bayesian network. The failure of the linkage control is 98.9%, the monitoring sub-station is 64.4%, the sub-station communication is 43.9%; thus, a double insurance of the control process must be realised. Since its application, the proposed regional linkage control system has been repeatedly tested through fire drills, and good results have been obtained.     

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.     

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 of the burning behavior of n‐heptane pool fires at high altitude

The same configured calorimeters were built in Hefei (99.8 kPa) and Lhasa (66.5 kPa), respectively. Four sizes of round pans with diameters of 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm were adopted to study the effect of high altitude on the burning behavior of liquid pool fires. Analysis on the burning rate obtained in this study and in the literature at different altitudes indicates that pressure fire modeling performs better than radiation fire modeling in correlating the burning intensity (burning rate per unit area) with pressure and pool diameter for cases under low ambient pressure. The study also shows that heat release rate and combustion efficiency decrease at higher altitude. For medium pool fires, the burning intensity and heat release rate are proportional to D^5/2, thus the combustion efficiency being independent on pool sizes but decreases at higher altitude by a factor approximate to the pressure ratio. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of smoke gases and temperatures during car fire – large‐scale and small‐scale tests and numerical investigations

The hazards for passengers during vehicle fires result from the increasing temperature and the emitted smoke gases. A fire was set on a car to investigate the development of temperature and of gaseous fire products in the passenger compartment. The study was based on a full‐scale test with a reconstructed scene of a serious car fire. The aim of this work was to identify the conditions for self‐rescuing of passengers during a car fire. A dummy, equipped with several thermocouples, was placed on the driver's seat. Also, the smoke gases were continuously collected through a removable probe sensor corresponding to the nose of the dummy in the passenger compartment and analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Additionally, several car components were investigated in the smoke density chamber (smoke emission and smoke gas composition). It was found that the toxic gases already reached hazardous levels by 5 min, while the temperatures at the dummy were at that time less than 80 °C. The toxicity of smoke gases was assessed using the fractional effective dose concept. The various experimentally parameters (temperature and smoke gas composition) were implemented into numerical simulations with fire dynamics simulator. Both the experimental data and the numerical simulations are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study on the heat exhaust coefficient and smoke flow characteristics under lateral smoke exhaust in tunnel fires

The heat exhaust coefficient and smoke flow characteristics under lateral smoke exhaust in tunnel fires were studied in this paper. Through the dimensional analysis, the dimensionless relationship between the heat exhaust coefficient, heat release rate, exhaust vent size, and exhaust velocity was obtained. In addition, this paper also studied the effect of the lateral exhaust vent on the smoke flow field. Results showed that the lateral smoke exhaust caused strong air entrainment on the downstream of the exhaust vent and boundary layer separation on the upstream of the exhaust vent. As the exhaust velocity increased, the degree of air entrainment gradually increased, and the smoke layer near the exhaust vent gradually became thinning and plug‐holing phenomenon occurred; meanwhile, the boundary layer separation would be suppressed or disappear, but the increase of the heat release rate would enhance the boundary layer separation. As the exhaust vent got narrower, the air entrainment downstream of the exhaust vent was reduced, and the boundary layer separation also got weaker.     

高海拔地区消防泵和配套电机的设计选择

以西藏拉萨某沥青库消防设计为例,探讨了环境温度和海拔高度对电机功率的影响,给出了消防泵配套电机容量的选择计算方法。电机容量在考虑规定的备用系数基础上,对高海拔地区需再加上高原修正系数。     

Experimental study on the time‐dependent smoke densities at 39 locations in a multi‐floor building through a digital smoke detector system

The objective of this study was to quantitatively investigate some characteristics of the smoke transportation in multi‐floor buildings. Eight experiments were conducted for worst scenario. The effects of an open window in the burning room on the smoke transportation are also analyzed. The time‐dependent smoke densities at 39 locations in a half‐scale building with an atrium were measured through a digital smoke detector system. The results indicate that the chimney effect plays an important role in the smoke transportation in multi‐floor buildings with atriums. For the effects of the open window, the results suggest that the smoke densities at most locations in the building increase earlier when a window is open but have a smaller peak value than those results in the cases without any outer vents. It is suggested that a building without vertical atrium would be safer than those with long ones. More attention should be paid to those spaces when the fire protection systems are designed for buildings with atriums. The data of the time‐dependent smoke densities at tens of locations in the building are useful for the validation of smoke transportation models. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of water‐mist behaviour in hot air induced by a room fire: Model development,validation and verification

Water‐mists are emerging as an effective agent for the suppression of fires. However, the mechanisms of suppression are complex and the behaviour of individual water droplets in a smoke layer generated by fires must be quantified. This study investigates the behaviour of individual droplets injected from a nozzle into a hot air environment induced by a room fire. A semi‐empirical model has been developed based on the conservation of mass, momentum and energy to evaluate the heat and mass transfer phenomena in an air‐water droplet system. The model has considered the effect of change of momentum of an evaporating droplet. A forward finite difference approach is applied to solve the governing time dependent ordinary differential equations. The droplets are considered to be ‘lumped mass’ and variable thermo‐physical properties of water and air and the change of Reynolds number of the droplets, due to the change of their diameter and velocity are considered. The effect of high evaporation rate on the mass and heat transfer coefficient and the contribution of radiation emanating by a flame and the surrounding boundary walls are also considered in the model which were not taken into account in the previous studies. Experimental data on terminal velocity and adiabatic saturation temperature are used to validate and verify the model. The validation and verification indicate that the proposed model predicted the terminal velocity within 4% of the experimental data and predicted the saturation temperature within 5% of the adiabatic saturation temperature. This semi‐empirical model is also used as a tool to validate a more comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based tool, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). It is found that FDS results agree well with the results of the proposed model. Furthermore, the proposed model can be used to evaluate the temperature, velocity, diameter and other physical properties of a droplet travelling through a layer of hot air. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Reduced‐scale test to assess the effect of fire barriers on the flaming combustion of cored composites: An upholstery‐material case study

Herein, we describe a reduced‐scale test (“Cube” test), measuring the fire performance of specimens including a fire barrier (FB) and a flammable core material, which acts as the main fuel load. The specimen is intended to reproduce a cross‐section of a composite product where heat/mass transfer occurs primarily in a direction perpendicular to the FB. The Cube test procedure and benefits are discussed in this work by adopting residential upholstery furniture as an exemplary study. One flexible polyurethane foam, one polypropylene cover fabric, and 10 commercially available FBs were selected. They were used to compare the fire performance of FBs, measured in terms of peak of heat release rate, in the ASTM E1474‐14 standard test and the newly developed Cube test. Edge effects severely affected the performance of FBs in the ASTM E1474‐14 standard test but not in the Cube test. Furthermore, appropriate test conditions were determined in the Cube test to measure the so‐called “wetting point,” that is, the time and value of heat release rate measured when flammable liquid products were first observed on the bottom of the specimen. The relevance of the “wetting point” in terms of full‐scale fire performance and failure mechanism of FBs is discussed.     

高海拔地区水泥生料悬浮炉分解特性研究

高海拔地区低压低氧的大气条件影响水泥生料在分解炉内的分解过程,探究水泥生料在该条件下的分解特性具有重要意义。通过构建模拟高海拔地区的低压悬浮炉实验系统,研究了压力、温度以及O₂浓度对高海拔条件下水泥生料分解特性的影响。研究结果表明：低压条件下水泥生料的分解符合随机成核和随后生长模型;随着反应压力的逐渐降低,水泥生料的分解速率逐渐增大,反应产物的比表面积以及比孔体积逐渐增大;但低压条件会加剧燃料的不完全燃烧,降低水泥生料的分解率;燃料以及水泥生料的反应速率均会随着反应温度的上升而逐渐增大,但水泥生料的分解率会先升高再降低;燃料的燃尽率以及反应速率随着O₂浓度的增加而增大,进而提高反应物的反应速率。     

Influence of modern plastic furniture on the fire development in fires in homes: large‐scale fire tests in living rooms

About 80% of all fire fatalities in Germany occur because of fires in homes. It has been known for some time that modern materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of synthetic polymers) tend to burn differently from older materials (synonym for materials consisting mostly of fibrous cellulosic substances) and it has been acknowledged that the amount of combustible plastics in homes has increased significantly over the last decades. To investigate the influence of modern furniture and ventilation conditions of fires in homes, a series of four large‐scale tests in two living rooms (LRs) with adjacent rooms (ARs) was performed by BAM and the Frankfurt fire service. Two LRs, one with older furniture and one with modern furniture, were tested twice each. Each test started with the ignition of a paper cushion on an upholstered chair. The influence of modern materials on the fire development was investigated, as well as the influence of the ventilation on the fire development. In all settings, an upholstered chair was the first burning item. Results of the test series show that fires in rooms with modern furniture develop faster than fires in rooms with older furniture. This is true for temperature development in the rooms as well as for smoke production.     

Research on the plume shape under optimal wind environment to prevent the smoke backflow and combustion gains in utility tunnel

The utility tunnels have been applied extensively to run the various pipelines in the urban areas such as the gas pipeline, electrical power cables, and the likes. Contradicting with the rapid development of the utility tunnels is the ambiguity of the fire protection code to which one critical point is whether to ventilate in the fire accident, which is hampered by the effect of wind on the combustion gain. Therefore, this paper combines the plume function with the backlayering length and critical backflow velocity to explore the plume shape, optimize the ventilation environment, and decrease its combustion gain in which shows three key features that include the concavity and convexity characteristics, instability of plume, and the balance feature. Moreover, through their derived five plume shape constraints, we acquire the optimal wind environment. Furthermore, we found that the expected length is 0.12 in optimal condition when the original critical velocity is larger than 0.43, and the other cases are 0.05 for expected length. Meanwhile, the ventilation velocity needs to be increased three to seven times. The study provides new insight into the plume flow under the wind environment and would accelerate the formalization of fire protection design for utility tunnel.     

New approaches to determine the interface height of fire smoke based on a three-layer zone model and its verification in large confined space

Large confined space has high incidence of fires, which seriously threatens the safety of people working there. Understanding the distribution of smoke in such large space is critical to fire development prediction and smoke control. Three improved methods for the stratification interface prediction of fire smoke are developed, including of improved intra-variance, integral ratio and N-percentage methods. In these methods, the interface height is determined by the vertical temperature distribution based on a three-layer smoke zone model, which is an improvement of a two-layer zone model. Thereafter, the three improved methods are applied to several typical fire cases simulated CFD to predict the smoke interface, and their applicability and reliability are verified by comparison of the smoke stratification results with the filed simulation results. Results show that the three improved methods can effectively determine the location of the three-layer zone model's interface, and they have the ability to predict smoke interface for fires with different fire source types and ventilation conditions.     

Modified carbon‐dioxide measurement to predict the heat release rate of fire burning in a compartment based on the three‐zone model

The heat release rate (HRR) of fuels has been described as the single important variable of fuels in fire hazard, and the HRR experimental measurement remains a key issue in fire science. A modified carbon‐dioxide generation (CDG) method, applying a three‐zone smoke model, is developed to predict the HRR of gas, liquid, and solid fuel fires. The three‐zone smoke model with three layers is determined by the vertical thermal stratification, and their physical thermal properties are computed. The application of modified method on typical gas fuel, liquid fuel, and simple solid‐fuel fires is verified. The prediction accuracy is examined quantitatively by the cosine similarity comparison of predicted results with the experimental data. In addition, the ventilation effects on the predicted results are also explored. Results show that the application of three‐zone model improves the HRR prediction accuracy, because it can accurately capture the mixing behavior from the upper layer to the lower layer. The effect of ventilation on modified CDG method is positive as the ventilation enhances the smoke mixing and the smoke distribution in each layer is relatively uniform.     

Extending the range of COSMO‐SAC to high temperatures and high pressures

The range of the predictive Gibbs energy of solvation model, COSMO‐SAC, is extended to large ranges of density, pressure, and temperature for very nonideal mixtures by combining it with an equation of state (EOS) using the Wong‐Sandler mixing rule. The accuracy of isothermal vapor‐liquid equilibria (VLE) calculations based on using the predictive COSMO‐SAC model and separately the correlative NRTL model is compared, each combined with three different forms of the Peng‐Robinson equation of state. All the models considered require the value of the EOS mixing rule binary parameter k_ij. The NRTL model also requires three other parameters obtained from correlation low pressure VLE data. The PRSV + COSMO‐SAC model is showed, with its one adjustable parameter obtained from low temperature data leads good predictions at much higher temperatures and pressures. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1806–1813, 2018