The influence of tunnel geometry and ventilation on the heat release rate of a fire

It has occasionally been observed that fires in tunnels appear to be significantly more severe than fires in the open air. A literature review has been carried out, comparing heat release data from fires in tunnels with heat release data from similar fires in the open air. A Bayesian methodology has...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire technology 2004, Vol.40 (1), p.5-26
Main Authors: CARVEL, R. O, BEARD, A. N, JOWITT, P. W, DRYSDALE, D. D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Bayesian analysis
Building technical equipments
Buildings
Buildings. Public works
Environmental engineering
Exact sciences and technology
Experiments
Fatalities
Fire behavior of materials and structures
Fire prevention
Fire protection
Fires
Geometry
Heat
Heat transfer
Literature reviews
Tunnels
Tunnels, galleries
Vehicles
Ventilation
Ventilation. Air conditioning
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Summary:It has occasionally been observed that fires in tunnels appear to be significantly more severe than fires in the open air. A literature review has been carried out, comparing heat release data from fires in tunnels with heat release data from similar fires in the open air. A Bayesian methodology has been used to investigate the geometrical factors that have the greatest influence on heat release rate. It is shown that the heat release rate of a fire in a tunnel is influenced primarily by the width of a tunnel; a fire will tend to have a higher heat release rate in a narrow tunnel rather than in a wide tunnel.The observed relationship between heat release rate and tunnel width is presented. Results from a study investigating the variation of heat release rate with ventilation velocity for fires in tunnels are also presented. A method for making realistic estimates of the heat release rates of fires in tunnels, based on these results, is presented. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0015-2684
1572-8099
DOI:10.1023/b:fire.0000003313.97677.c5