Influence of subway train fire locations on the characteristics of smoke movement in a curved tunnel

• Published in: PloS one 2023-01, Vol.18 (1), p.e0279818-e0279818
• Main Authors: Zhou, Dan, Li, Jinzhu, Hu, Tianen, Chen, Tao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Casualties; Chemical reactions; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Engineering and Technology; Finite volume method; Heat; Management; Medicine and Health Sciences; Movement; Navier-Stokes equations; Numerical analysis; Physical Sciences; Propagation; Radiation; Railroad tunnels; Railroads; Research and Analysis Methods; Simulation; Smoke; Smoke - analysis; Spoilers; Subway tunnels; Subways; Tunnels; Turbulence models; Two-equation turbulence model; Velocity; Ventilation; Wind
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279818

Scenario models of a moving subway train can help investigate the influence of different fire locations on smoke propagation characteristics in curved tunnels. To this end, this study adopts the three-dimensional Unsteady Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes equations method and the renormalization group k-ε two-equation turbulence model with buoyancy correction for numerical analysis. The motion of the train is replicated using the slip grid technique. The results indicate that when a fire breaks out on a moving train in tunnels, the piston wind leads the longitudinal movement of the smoke. If a fire erupts in the head or middle car of a moving train, the time of smoke backflow is delayed by 30 s or 17 s, respectively, compared to that for the tail car. The obtained results provide a theoretical basis for reasonably controlling the smoke flow in subway tunnels and reducing casualties in fire accidents.