Air flow behavior and gas dispersion in the recirculation ventilation system of a twin-tunnel construction

Forced ventilation and recirculation systems are usually used in the construction of long twin tunnels as they offer large amounts of fresh air economically. However, because of the confluence near the cross-aisle, the fluid behavior and gas concentration are very different than in traditional forced ventilation for a single tunnel. A three-dimensional numerical model was built to study the air flow behavior and hazardous gas dispersion near the cross-aisle of a twin-tunnel construction. Field measurements were also carried out to validate the numerical model. The results show that there is a “dead zone” ahead of the cross-aisle which has a much lower air velocity than in other parts of the twin tunnels and where hazardous gases are more concentrated and uniformly distributed. In the cross-aisle and confluence zone of the air flow-out tunnel, methane tends to gather at the top and hydrogen sulfide tends to gather at the bottom. Increasing the recirculation velocity does not eliminate the “dead zone” near the cross-aisle although it consumes a huge amount of energy. Increasing the air velocity of the duct is an effective method to improve the air quality, but it is also expensive, especially when the air duct is long. When a jet fan was placed ahead of the cross-aisle in this study, the “dead zone” was eliminated completely. With respect to the recirculation ventilation system of twin tunnels, local jet fans offer an effective and economical way to eliminate the “dead zone”.