Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/sem.2021.80.6.701

Effect of tunnel fire: Analysis and remedial measures  

Choubey, Bishwajeet (CCE R&D South, Defence (R&D) Organization)
Dutta, Sekhar C. (Department of Civil Engineering, IIT (ISM))
Kumar, Virendra (Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur)
Publication Information
Structural Engineering and Mechanics / v.80, no.6, 2021 , pp. 701-709 More about this Journal
Abstract
The paper aims at improving the understanding and mitigating the effects of tunnel fires that may breakout due to the burning fuel and/or explosion within the tunnel. This study particularly focuses on the behavior of the commonly used horse shoe geometry of tunnel systems. The problem has been obtained using an adequate well-established program incorporating the Lagrangian approach. A transient-thermo-coupled static structural analysis is carried out. The effects of radiation and convection to the outer walls of the tunnel is studied. The paper also presents the impact of the hazard on the structural integrity of the tunnel. A methodology is proposed to study the tunnel fire using a model which uses equivalent steel sheet to represent the presence of reinforcements to improve the computational efficiency with adequate validation. A parametric study has been carried out and the effect of suitable lining property for mitigating the fire hazard is arrived at. Detailed analysis is done for the threshold limits of the properties of the lining material to check if it is acceptable in all aspects for the integrity of the tunnel. The study may prove useful for developing insights for ensuring tunnel fire safety. To conduct such studies experimentally are tremendously costly but are required to gain confidence. But, scaled models, as well as loading and testing conditions, cannot be studied by many trials experimentally as the cost will shoot up sharply. In this context, the results obtained from such computational studies with a feasible variation of various combinations of parameters may act as a set of guidelines to freeze the adequate combination of various parameters to conduct one or two costly experiments for confidence building.
Keywords
equivalent sheet modelling; fire curves; fire rating; parametric analysis; transient thermal behavior; tunnel fire; tunnel lining;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Borrvall, T. and Riedel, W. (2011), The RHT concrete model in LS-DYNA", 8th European LS-DYNA Users Conference, Strasbourg.
2 Breunese, A.J., Both, C. and Wolsink G.M. (2008), "2008-Efectis-R0695: Fire testing procedure for concrete tunnel linings", Efectis-R0695, 1-25, Nederland.
3 Carvel, R.O., Beard, A.N. and Jowitt, P.W. (2005), "Fire spread between vehicles in tunnels: Effects of tunnel size, longitudinal ventilation and vehicle spacing", Fire Technol., 41(4), 271-304. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-005-4050-y.   DOI
4 Gehandler, J. (2015), "Road tunnel fire safety and risk: A review", Fire Sci. Rev., 4(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40038-015-0006-6.   DOI
5 Grant, G.B., Jagger, S.F. and Lea, C.J. (1998), "Fires in tunnels", Philos. Tran. Roy. Soc. London Ser. A: Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., 356(1748), 2873-2906. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1998.0302.   DOI
6 Ingason, H., Li, Y.Z. and Lonnermark. A. (2015), "Runehamar tunnel fire tests", Fire Saf. J., 71, 134-149. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2014.11.015.   DOI
7 Instruction Technique (2000), Annexee a La Circulaire Interministerielle No 2000-63 Du 25 Aout 2000 Relative a La Securite Dans Les Tunnels Du Reseau Routier Francais, Paris.
8 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (1999), ISO 834: Fire-Resistance Tests-Elements of Building Construction, 1st Edition.
9 Kodur, V.K.R. (2000), "Spalling in high strength concrete exposed to fire: Concerns, causes, critical parameters and cures", Adv. Technol. Struct. Eng., 103, 1-9. http://doi.org/10.1061/40492(2000)180.   DOI
10 Larsson, K. (2006) "Fires in tunnels and their effect on rock- A review", Research Report, 3-69.
11 Maraveas, C. and Vrakas, A.A. (2014), "Design of concrete tunnel linings for fire safety", Struct. Eng. Int., 24(3), 319-329. http://doi.org/10.2749/101686614X13830790993041.   DOI
12 Duddeck, H. (1988), "Guidelines for the design of tunnels", Tunnel. Underg. Space Technol., 3(3) 237-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/0886-7798(88)90050-8.   DOI
13 Carvel, R.O., Beard, A.N., Jowitt, P.W. and Drysdale, D.D. (2005), "Fire size and fire spread in tunnels with longitudinal ventilation systems", J. Fire Sci., 23(6), 485-518. http://doi.org/10.1177/0734904105052578.   DOI
14 Parsonage, N.G. (1966), Thermal Conductivity, Elsevier.
15 Marina, G., Antonov, S. and Nedryshkin, O. (2016), "Research features of tunnel linings with innovations fireproof panels", Procedia Eng., 165, 1651-1657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.906.   DOI
16 Tarada, F. and King, M. (2009), "Structural fire protection of railway tunnels", Railway Engineering Conference, University of Westminster, UK, June.
17 Zhang, H. and Zhao, Y. (2020) "Study on underground utility tunnel fire characteristics under sealing and ventilation conditions", Adv. Civil Eng., 2020, Article ID 9128704. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/9128704.   DOI
18 Baghdadi, M., Dimia, M.S., Guenfoud, M. and Bouchair, A. (2021), "An experimental and numerical analysis of concrete walls exposed to fire", Struct. Eng. Mech., 77(6), 819-830. http://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2021.77.6.819.   DOI
19 Ko, Y.J. (2011), "A study of the heat release rate of tunnel fires and the interaction between suppression and longitudinal air flows in tunnels", Carleton University, Canada.
20 AUTODYN Theory Manual (2005), Revision 4, Concord, Century Dynamics, CA, USA. http://www.oalib.com/references/8522641.
21 Eskesen, S.D., Tengborg, P., Kampmann, J. and Veicherts, T.H. (2004), "Guidelines for tunnelling risk management: international tunnelling association, working group No. 2", Tunnel. Underg. Space Technol., 19(3), 217-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2004.01.001.   DOI
22 El-Mahdy, O.O., Hamdy, G.A. and Hisham, M. (2021), "Efficiency of insulation layers in fire protection of FRP-confined RC columns-numerical study", Struct. Eng. Mech., 77(5), 673-689. http://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2021.77.5.673.   DOI
23 EN 1991-1-2 (2002), Eurocode 1: Actions on Structures-Part 1-2: General Actions-Actions on Structures Exposed to Fire, Brussels.
24 EN 1992-1-2 (2004), Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures-Part 1-2: General Rules-Structural Fire Design, Brussels.
25 Wu, J. and Shen, F. (2016), "Experimental study on the effects of ventilation on smoke movement in tunnel fires", Int. J. Ventil., 15(1), 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733315.2016.1173295.   DOI
26 Madhusudana, C.V. and Madhusudana, C.V. (1996), Thermal Contact Conductance, Vol. 79, Springer-Verlag, New York.
27 Society for Testing, American (2000), ASTM E119: Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, United States.
28 Wu, B. and Li, Y.H. (2009), "Experimental study on fire performance of axially-restrained NSC and HSC columns", Struct. Eng. Mech., 32(5), 635-648. https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2009.32.5.635.   DOI