A review of tunnel fire research from Edinburgh

Abstract

The University of Edinburgh and its alumni have made significant contributions to knowledge in the field of tunnel fire safety engineering. This paper summarises the situation of tunnel fire safety in the early 1970s, when the department of fire engineering was founded and briefly discusses all the contributions to knowledge in the field, made by Edinburgh and its alumni in the past four decades. Research carried out at Edinburgh has changed the way the tunnel safety industry estimates heat release rates in tunnels, has influenced way design fires are specified and has challenged industry opinion about the use of water sprays in tunnels. This paper is part of a celebration of four decades of fire research at Edinburgh.

Perspectives of big experimental database and artificial intelligence in tunnel fire research

“…By the 1950s, studies on tunnel fire were still limited and mainly focused on construction safety (ANDERSON, 1936), ventilation systems (Ole and Cruthers, 1947), and fire protection systems (Sevcik, 1928). Since then, more and more fire research have been conducted in tunnels of different scales, and new tunnel fire safety codes have been applied to alleviate and limit the threats of toxic gases and smoke (Carvel, 2019). For all these studies, the most important issue is the efficiency of the Fixed Fire Fighting System (FFFS), particularly the ventilation system, that ensures the safety of evacuees.…”

“…Tunnels have played an essential role in modern transportation systems since the mid-20th century, owing to their high utility and flexibility in mountainous areas and their effectiveness in tackling the tight land supply of crowded metropolitan areas. However, as a significant infrastructure hazard, fires in tunnels cause a great deal of economic and social losses each year (Beard and Carvel, 2012;Carvel, 2019;Casey, 2020;Ingason et al, 2015a;Li and Liu, 2020).…”

Thermo-mechanical analysis of fire effects on the structural performance of shield tunnels

“…Fire is an important subject for a wide range of design, operation and maintenance processes of tunnels. Many historical fire incidents have confirmed that, while tunnel fires may not necessarily cause the collapse of a tunnel structure, significant damage can occur to the tunnel lining, and such damage in turn can result in long-term disruption to traffic or rail services leading to major economic losses (Carvel, 2019;Casse and Caroly, 2019;Hua et al, 2021;Ren et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2021a;b). For instance, in 2001 two trucks crashed and this triggered a fire and induced serious structural damage at the Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland (Chen et al, 2013).…”

Determination and Fire Analysis of Gob Characteristics Using CFD

“…The proper management of risk in underground mining, especially coal, is critical to avoid undesirable situations that could lead to tragic accidents, such as fires or explosions [1,2]. Many preventive and corrective measures have been proposed and developed over time [3], but there are still important fatalities in these types of activities [4].…”