• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.167-175
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• 2019

To effectively deal with the fire in tunnel which is mostly the vehicle fire, it's more important to suppress the fire at early stage. In urban tunnel, however, accessibility to the scene of fire by the fire fighter is very limited due to severe traffic congestion which causes the difficulty with firefighting activity in timely manner and such a problem would be further worsened in underground road (double-deck tunnel) which has been increasingly extended and deepened. In preparation for the disaster in Korea, the range of life safety facilities for installation is defined based on category of the extension and fire protection referring to risk hazard index which is determined depending on tunnel length and conditions, and particularly to directly deal with the tunnel fire, fire extinguisher, indoor hydrant and sprinkler are designated as the mandatory facilities depending on category. But such fire extinguishing installations are found inappropriate functionally and technically and thus the measure to improve the system needs to be taken. Particularly in a double-deck tunnel which accommodates the traffic in both directions within a single tunnel of which section is divided by intermediate slab, the facility or the system which functions more rapidly and effectively is more than important. This study, thus, is intended to supplement the problems with existing tunnel life safety system (fire extinguishing) and develop the remote-controlled automatic fire extinguishing system which is optimized for a double-deck tunnel. Consequently, the system considering low floor height and extended length as well as indoor hydrant for a wide range of use have been developed together with the performance verification and the process for commercialization before applying to the tunnel is underway now.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2021

To respond to the threat of global warming, countries around the world are promoting the spread of renewable energy and reduction of carbon emissions. In accordance with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal to combat climate change and its impacts, global automakers are pushing for a full transition to electric vehicles within the next 10 years. Electric vehicles can be a useful means for reducing carbon emissions, but in order to reduce carbon generated in the stage of producing electricity for charging, a power generation system using eco-friendly renewable energy is required. In this study, we propose a smart electric mobility operating system integrated with off-grid solar power plants established in Tanzania, Africa. By applying smart monitoring and communication functions based on Arduino-based computing devices, information such as remaining battery capacity, battery status, location, speed, altitude, and road conditions of an electric vehicle or electric motorcycle is monitored. In addition, we present a scenario that communicates with the surrounding independent solar power plant infrastructure to predict the drivable distance and optimize the charging schedule and route to the destination. The feasibility of the proposed system was verified through test runs of electric motorcycles. In considering local environmental characteristics in Tanzania for the operation of the electric mobility system, factors such as eco-friendliness, economic feasibility, ease of operation, and compatibility should be weighed. The smart electric mobility operating system proposed in this study can be an important basis for implementing the SDGs' climate change response.