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Fires in Vehicle Tunnels

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SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering

Abstract

Tunnel fire safety is a complex problem with no clear solution as yet. Current knowledge of vehicle fire behaviour in tunnels has been established on the basis of a relatively small selection of experimental fire tests, each of which is described. The characteristics of vehicle fires in tunnels are highlighted and issues to be considered when defining ‘design fires’ for tunnels are discussed. The mechanisms of fire spread in the tunnel environment are presented. The most common fire protection measures used in tunnels are ventilation systems, passive thermal barriers and, increasingly, water spray systems. Each of these three system types are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK

    Ricky Carvel

  2. SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Boras, Sweden

    Haukur Ingason

Authors
  1. Ricky Carvel
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  2. Haukur Ingason
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aon Fire Protection Engineering, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Morgan J. Hurley P.E., FSFPE (Editor-in-Chief) (Editor-in-Chief)

  2. Hughes Associates, Baltimore, USA

    Daniel Gottuk Ph.D., P.E.

  3. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, USA

    John R. Hall Jr. Ph.D.

  4. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Kazunori Harada Dr. Eng.

  5. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, USA

    Erica Kuligowski Ph.D.

  6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, USA

    Milosh Puchovsky P.E., FSFPE

  7. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

    José Torero Ph.D.

  8. The Fire Safety Institute, Quincy, USA

    John M. Watts Jr. Ph.D., FSFPE

  9. FM Global, Johnston, USA

    Christopher Wieczorek Ph.D.

Nomenclature

CAFS

Compressed Air Foam System

CVV

Critical Ventilation Velocity

FFFS

Fixed Fire Fighting System

HGV

Heavy Goods Vehicle

HRR

Heat Release Rate

MTFVTP

Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Test Program

NFPA

National Fire Protection Association

UPTUN

Upgrading of Existing Tunnels Project

PIARC

World Road Association

SAFE-T

Safe Tunnels Project

SOLIT

Safety Of Life In Tunnels Project

WMS

Water Mist System

Dh

Hydraulic diameter of the tunnel (m)

ΔH c,ox

Heat of combustion for oxygen (13.02 kJ/g)

Lc

Combustion zone length (m)

Lf

Flame length (m)

Q

Heat release rate (kW or MW)

qinc

Incident heat flux (kW/m2)

Tavg

Average gas temperature across a tunnel cross-section (K or °C)

Tcr

Critical ignition temperature (K or °C)

Tg

Gas temperature (K or °C)

Ts

Solid (surface) temperature (K or °C)

Tvap

Vaporization/ pyrolysis temperature (K or °C)

V

Volumetric airflow (m3/s)

εg

Gas emissivity (between 0 and 1)

ηO2

Depleted oxygen level (less than 0.21)

ρ

Density of air (1.2 kg/m3)

σ

Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 × 10−8 W/m2⋅K4)

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Carvel, R., Ingason, H. (2016). Fires in Vehicle Tunnels. In: Hurley, M.J., et al. SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2565-0_88

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2565-0_88

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