Smoke-Control Ventilation Modes in an Underground Station in Korea

Won-Hee Park, 1Dong-Hyeon Kim, 1Yong-Jun Jang, 2Hee-Chul Chang

Korea Railroad Research Institute, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea1; Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea2

Abstract
This study is conducted to determine the optimum smoke-control ventilation mode in
underground stations in Korea. Numerical analysis is performed for the underground platform
where the fire train is stopped. Three smoke-control modes are considered. Distributions of
temperature, smoke and visible range on the platform are analyzed for different smoke different
smoke-control modes. The flow characteristics of smoke and heat on the platform of the
underground station are also studied numerically.
Introduction
When a fire breaks out in an underground station of the subway system as a representative
form of public transportation, massive volumes of toxic gases may be generated due to
incomplete combustion conditions. Damage due to fire may be minimized through the early
detection, control, and extinguishing of fire. Most underground stations in Korea are designed
to have separate floors for concourse and platform, most of which are placed on a lower floor
than the concourse and the bank-type that is separate platforms with the tracks located in the
middle between them. A fire breaking out in the platform is more dangerous because it is on a
relatively lower floor. Moreover, evacuation takes longer time. Smoke detectors are installed in
most underground platforms in Korea to detect fire. Once the detectors detect fire, the smokecontrol ventilation system in the platform and concourse is activated to control smoke; thus
allowing passengers to escape safely from the smoke. For smoke-control during fires in an
underground platform, smoke-control zones are specified and designed to control smoke
through smoke exhaust and air supply according to the fires location. Smoke-control mode
during fires in Korean underground platforms is that the smoke zones operate by exhausting
smoke while other zones in the platform and in the concourse which is the upper floor of the
platform operate by supplying air or stopping any ventilation. The supply and exhaust vents of
underground platform are installed on the ceiling so air supply in areas where smoke from a fire
can spread may disturb the smoke layer growing along the ceiling, causing passengers
evacuating the platforms to inhale smoke.
Studies to minimize damages from underground fires are progressing in many directions. The
most assuring and accurate way of acquiring information is measuring research through real-fire
experiments. However, an experiment using real-fires in currently operating stations or tunnels
possess difficulties such as very huge money, high risks, uncontrollable wide spaces, and
restriction by time. Hasemi et al.[1] discussed thermal behaviors on a underground platform
using the restricted heat release rate of a pool fire, and an experiment to predict the smoke
behavior characteristics by using heated smokes was implemented in the actual underground
station[2,3]. Chang et al.[4] and Park et al.[5] studied on heat and smoke movements obtained
by using numerical analysis in underground stations.
This study analyzed and compared heat, visibility and CO which have a great influence on the
evacuation and lives of passengers.
Description of the underground station and smoke-control ventilation modes
Figure 1 shows skeleton drawing of Suyou Station which is the object of this study. It has a
straight concourse and a platform located on the 1st and 2nd floor underground, respectively.

The dimension of the platform is approximately 20.4m*205m *6m and four sets of stairways are
located at each side platform. Two rooms equipped with ventilation fans are placed at both
edges of the concourse and fans of identical function are installed. As shown in Figure 1, for
convenience the origin was set at the upper-left edge of the platform for Danggogae and the
direction perpendicular to platforms and railroad tracks, the direction parallel to railroad tracks
and the direction of height were set as x, y and z axis, respectively.

z
y
x

Figure 1: Skeleton Drawing of the Suyou Station of Seoul Subway Line 4

The smoke-control zone of the platform of the underground stations is divided four, two on each
side of the track. Table 1 shows the volume flow rate, dimensions, and quantity for vents
installed in the platform by zones. Volume flow rate of supply & extract through ceiling vents is
the same. When a fire breaks out in the platform, or if a train on fire stops at the platform,
smoke is extracted through the vents installed on the ceiling of the platform or through the over
exhaust and under exhaust of the platform track-way (each called OPE and UPE). In normal
times main purposes of the ceiling vents on the platform ceiling, OPEs at the top and UPEs at
the bottom of the platform over the track-way are air conditioning in the platform, exhausting
dusts in the track-way and removing the heat generated by the break of the trains, respectively.
vents

volume flow rate

dimension and quantities

ceiling vent

596 CMM//zone

0.25m 0.4m
(26 ea./zone)

OPE
(over platform exhaust)

298CMM/zone

0.6m 0.7m
(3 ea./zone)

vent in tunnels

2,400CMM/tunnel

4.0m 4.0m
(1 2ea.)

Table 1: Various vents in the platform and tunnels

Figure 2 is displaying the vents installed in the platform. The vent of the tunnel is located on
side wall of the tunnel, 5m apart from each end of the platform. It is assumed that the fire
originated from the floor of the 5th passenger car (y = 100 m). The platform where the fire is
originated from is named platform A, and the platform on the opposite side is named platform B.
The fuel of the fire source is heptane, and the size of fires is set at 15MW, the maximum heat
value which is reached 5 minutes after the initial fire, and the fire growth rate of fire is assumed
using the Power Law Relation [6].

Figure 2: Vents installed in the platform.

To find the optimal smoke-control mode, three cases of smoke-control modes are considered as
Table 2. In case 1, it exhausts on ceiling vents of the smoke zone (the zone left from the
platform A, y<102.5m), but it stops in the no-smoke zone (the zone right from the platform A,
y>102.5m, and the all zones of platform B). In case 2, it exhausts on ceiling vents of the smoke
zone, but it operates as air supply in the other zones in the platform. In case 3, it exhausts in
the smoke zone of platform A for first 2 minutes, and it exhausts on the entire ceiling vents of
the platform until the 4th minute because it is assumed that smoke is spread throughout the
platform. Henceforth, all the vents above the platform stop exhausting and the tunnel
exhaustion starts to operate. OPEs are operating regardless of smoke or no-smoke zone
throughout the entire time.
smoke zone
(platform)

no-smoke zone
(platform)

tunnel

exhaust

air supply

stop

exhaust

stop

stop

before 2 min.

exhaust

stop

stop

2~ 4 min.

exhaust

exhaust

stop

after 4 min.

stop

stop

exhaust

case 1
(present running mode in Korea)
case 2
(present running mode in Korea)
case 3
(switch mode)

Table 2: Emergency mechanical ventilation

Numerical Analysis
The program used for fire numerical simulations is FDS (Fire Dynamic Simulator) V 4.07[6]
developed by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). The general mesh sizes
are x = 0.2 m, y = 0.5 m, and z = 0.2 m, approximately 1 million of them, and figure 3 shows the
grid system for the numerical analysis.

Figure 3: Grid system for numerical calculation

The initial temperature prior to fire is at 20, and only the doors facing the platform are set to
open and all the doors connecting each passenger car remain open. Staircases connected to
the concourse are also set to remain open considering the possible movement of heat and
smoke. Figure 4-6 is contour plane for temperature, CO density and visibility at 1.7 m above the
platform floor (z = 1.7 m) in 420 seconds. Temperature in the passenger car where the fire is
started increases the fastest among the all cases in the fire growing stage in case 1. It has
higher temperature around fire than other cases within 240 seconds in case 1 and heat before it
reaches the maximum heat value.
The temperature rises in the platform B in 240 seconds after the ignition for case 1, and in case
2, heat rapidly transfers to left in the platform A. After 300 seconds where it reaches the
maximum heat value and maintains, it is relatively low distribution of temperature in platform A
but the distribution of temperature of platform B shows an opposite tendency for case 1. The
temperature gap increases by little as time passes. Figure 4 shows the temperature distribution
at 420 seconds. As shown in Figure 4, it scores the highest temperature distribution in case 3
and the lowest in case 2 and the difference of their maximum temperature in case 3 and case 2
is 40. Between 480 and 900 seconds where the analysis ends, it is the highest temperature
distribution for case 3 and the lowest for case 1 in platform A where the burning train is stopped,
but this situation reverses in platform B.

(a) case 1

(b) case 2

(c) case 3
Figure 4: Temperature contours at 1.7m above the platform floor (420 sec.)

Smoke spreads fastest for case 1 in 180 seconds and switch smoke-control mode (case 3) has
better efficiency of smoke-control at the beginning stage than any others. CO distribution
begins to show a significant difference in accordance with smoke-control mode in 240 seconds,
and CO rapidly descends at breathing height (z = 1.7 m) for case 1 and 2. The lowest CO
density distribution is shown up in the left zone of the firing location for case 3 and in the right
zone for case 1, relatively. The left zone in case 3 and right zone in case 1 indicate a little higher
CO density distribution in 360 seconds. Figure 5 shows the platforms CO density distribution in
420 seconds. Smoke (CO) is exhausted through tunnels connected quickly, thus a low density
distribution is shown up the platform. Moreover, for case 1 there is an evidence of the spread of
CO to the platform B. For case 1 the CO is spread out in the left zone of platform A and entire
zones of platform B after 600 seconds. For case 2 a dramatic increase in the CO density on
both ends of platforms is shown.

(a) case 1

(b) case 2

(c) case 3
Figure 5: Carbon monoxide contours at 1.7m above the platform floor (420 sec.)

(a) case 1

(b) case 2

(c) case 3
Figure 6: Visibility contours at 1.7m above the platform floor(420 sec.)
For case 1 the visibility decreases foremost than all cases, and is dramatically decreasing
limited to the around the fire location. But for other cases visibility is gradually decreasing

toward Y. After 210 seconds a decrease in visibility is made on the left zone of platform A for
case 1 and the right zone for case 2, relatively. There is not a significant change in the visibility
within platform B for case 1 and 2. In 240 seconds a good visibility is maintained toward the left
zone of platform A for case 1, but the visibility on right zone of platform A and entire zones of
platform B shows the opposite tendency. In 330 seconds for the all smoke-control modes, the
visibility less than 40 m from the fire location of platform A decreases below 10 m. In platform B
a rapid decrease of the visibility is appeared for case 1. In 390 seconds the visibility decreases
below 10m on the left zone on platform A for case 1, and we have the longest visibility on both
ends of the platform for case 3. Figure 6 shows the distribution of visibility and it shows a
similar visibility on platform A for case 1 and 2. We can see in Figure 6 that visibility on both
ends of the platform is longer that any other cases. Between 450 seconds and 690 seconds,
the shortest visibility is indicated on the both ends of the platform in case 1, and the longest
visibility is maintained and especially, a long visibility is indicated on both ends of the platform
near the tunnel for case 3.
Conclusions
This study has acquired the following results by comparing and analyzing heat, CO and visibility
on 3 types of smoke-control mode.
- When the air supply is operated near smoke zone in the platform, it can disturb and rapidly
drop down the smoke, air supply operation in no-smoke zones must be prohibited at times
of fire on the platform.
- The operation of larger fans in the tunnel can rapidly exhaust heat and smoke through
vents installed in the tunnel.
- It is estimated that the switch smoke-control mode to tunnel exhaust followed by the
exhaust on the platform, must operate when all the passengers complete evacuating from
the platform.
- Operating on switch smoke-control mode might be a more effective on heat and smoke
control compared to cases where the fans on the platform are operated only.
References
[1] Y. Hasemi, et al., Research needs on the fire safety of subway station fire disasters,
regulations, research efforts and recent smoke movement tests in subway stations in
Japan, 6th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea, 1720 March, pp. 797-804 (2004).
[2] W. H. Park, D. H. Kim, Y. J. Jang, Experimental Study of Smoke Behavior in an Under- gro
und Subway Station, 7th World Congress on Railway Research, Montral, Canada, 4-8
June, abstracts pp. 254 (2006).
[3] W. H. Park, H. C. Jang, T. G. Kim, and D. H. Kim, Experimental and Numerical Studies on
Heat/Smoke Behavior due to a Fire on Underground Subway Platform (I) -Experimental
Approach-, Transactions of Korean Institute of Fire Science and Engineering, Vol. 20, No.
3, pp. 9-14 (2006) (Korean).
[4] H. C. Jang, W. H. Park, T. G. Kim, and D. H. Kim, Experimental and Numerical Studies on
Heat/Smoke Behavior due to a Fire on Underground Subway Platform (II) -Numerical
Approach-, Transactions of Korean Institute of Fire Science and Engineering, Vol. 20, No.
3, pp. 15-20 (2006) (Korean).
[5] W. H. Park, D. H. Kim, H. C. Chang, Numerical Predictions of Smoke Movement in a
Subway Station under Ventilation, Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, Vol. 21,
No. 3-4, pp. 304, (2006).
[6] NFPA 92B: Standard for Smoke Management Systems in Malls, Atria, and Large Spaces,
National Fire Protection Association, (2005)
[7] K.B. McGrattan, G.P. Forney, Fire Dynamics Simulator (Version 4.07) - Users Guide, NIST
Special Publication 1019, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg,
MD, (2006).