Concept design of tunnel fire life

safety system and risk assessment

Yunlong Liu
Stephen Grubits & Associates

Overview

Introduction

Concept design example





uni-directional traffic road tunnel

Bi-directional traffic road tunnel
Railway tunnels
Underground railway stations

Quantitative risk assessment

Introduction
Ventilation for normal traffic condition
Ventilation for congested condition
Ventilation for fire emergency condition

1. Uni-directional traffic road tunnel

Herren Tunnel, Lbeck, Germany

Ventilation for normal operating conditions

Longitudinal ventilation with jet

fans

Longitudinal ventilation with Saccardo

nozzle

Jet fans for road tunnel

Ventilation for uni-directional road tunnels

Longitudinal ventilation is a cheap solution for

uni-directional traffic tunnels.
Longitudinal airflow speed remains constant all
the way, but pollution level increase along the
tunnel.

Fire Incident in Road Tunnel

Mechanical Ventilation Fan

Fire
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Exit

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Direction of traffic

Upstream

Downstream

Ventilation critical velocity

Critical Velocity [Bill Kennedy 1996]:

ghQ
Vc = (k g K )
c p AT f
3

Typical road tunnel, Vc= 3m/s

Airport Link
Tunnel:
- 5.7km twin tube
- Jet fan system
- 3 portals
- XP 120m

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Exhaust the smoke with point extraction to

maintain tenable conditions

Means for emergency evacuation

Passenger cross passage doors spaced

at 120 m intervals

Means for emergency evacuation

For a uni-direction traffic road tunnel, use the cross passages

to evacuate to the non-incident tunnel.
Non-incident tunnel to be pressurized to avoid smoke flow in.

Example Longitudinal ventilation

3.6 km long Sydney Lane Cove Road Tunnel

Ventilation System





120 jet fans in tunnel

Zero Portal Emissions & Air Quality Standards vs Traffic Volume
17 exhaust fans (450 & 600kW) and 7 supply fans (380kW)

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

critical velocity to protect the occupants in the

upstream

Long distance road tunnel

Pollutant level & air temperature increases

Air flow speed is constant along the tunnel

For long distance uni-directional traffic road tunnel,

such as more than 4 or 5 km long tunnels,
longitudinal ventilation should be supplemented
with vent shafts or use transverse ventilation scheme

Ventilation for normal operating conditions

ventilation shafts

Longitudinal ventilation plus vent shafts

Example longitudinal ventilation + shaft

, "the Tower of Wind

9.5 km long Trans Tokyo Bay Road Tunnel

Critical velocity to protect the upstream

2. Bi-directional traffic road tunnel

 Longitudinal ventilation along the

prevailing traffic direction

Ventilation for normal operating conditions

Full transverse ventilation

Ventilation for normal operating conditions

Semi transverse ventilation supply

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Exhaust the smoke with point extraction to

maintain tenable conditions
Ensure to reverse the semi-transverse supply
mode to the exhaust mode

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

For longitudinal ventilation design, staged

management:
Stage 1: maintain a smoke layer to allow
evacuation.
Stage 2: Blow the smoke to one direction to
allow fire brigade intervention.

Means for emergency evacuation

Longitudinal egress passage with doors
connected to the vehicular tunnel
Pressurization of egress passage
Fire rated egress passage .

Example transverse ventilation

16.4km Swiss St
Gotthard Road
Tunnel
Bi-directional
traffic
Transverse vent.
4 shafts
XP spacing 250m

Example semi-transverse ventilation

11.6km Mont Blanc
Road Tunnel
Semi transverse vent.
Smoke duct below
road
Egress passage below
road
37 Safety shelters
every 300m

Mont Blanc tunnel

3. Railway Tunnels

Ventilation for normal operating conditions

Longitudinal ventilation is normally used in rail tunnel

ventilation, with Saccardo nozzles and reversible Jet fans

Ventilation for fire emergency

conditions

Design fire is no more than 20 MW

Longitudinal ventilation
Fire suppression normally not used
Evacuation with walkway, cross passage or
egress passage along the tunnel

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Fire in the front of the train

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Fire at the rear of the train

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Fire in the middle of the train

Means for emergency evacuation

Evacuate via cross passages (XP) to the nonincident tunnel (twin-tube tunnel)
Evacuate to the egress passage/service
tunnel (single-tube tunnel)
Evacuate into the safety shelters
Evacuate using the walkway or rail track
Evacuate using stairs to the surface

Example Rail tunnel ventilation

Swiss Lotschberg Base Rail Tunnel: 34km, 2007

Example Rail tunnel ventilation

34 km Lotschberg
Base Rail Tunnel
Another tube
Design fire 20 200MW
No fire suppression
XP spacing 330m

Example Rail tunnel ventilation

51km English Channel Tunnel

Example Rail tunnel ventilation

51 km long English
Channel Tunnel
Twin tubes + 1
Service tunnel
270 cross passages
Spaced at every
375m
Piston relief duct
spacing 250m

4. Underground Railway stations

Rail station ventilation

Open system
Closed system
PSD system
Partial PSD system
Hybrid system (Blend of closed
system/PSD system)

Open system
Ventilation shafts open & station open
Hot air from the tunnel enters the station
Suitable for the cold weather area, such as
New York Subway System.

Station #1

Station #2

Open System

Closed system
Ventilation shafts closed & station open
Air from outside is cooled at the concourse then
enter the tunnel
Was widely used for hot weather area, such as
South East Asia, but its expensive
Station #1

Station #2

Closed System

Platform Screen Door (PSD) system

Platform Screen Doors (PSD) separate the platform
and the tunnel
Rail track semi transverse ventilation
Efficient, widely used in Hongkong, Singapore.

Station #1

Station #2

PSD System

Example Metro Station ventilation

The Terminal 3 LINK Train station in Toronto

Pearson International Airport, Canada

Platform Smoke Control - ECRL

Plenum

Inlets

Exhaust Duct
Ceiling

Concourse Ceiling Exhaust

Concourse

Baffles

Handrail
Stairs
Train
Smoke
Curtains

Platform

Means for emergency evacuation

Design fire
20MW
Stairs
Escalators
Macquarie Park Railway Station, ECRL, Sydney,
NSW

Ventilation for fire emergency conditions

Jet fans
Saccardo nozzles
Impulse fans
Axial fans
Smoke ducts/dampers
Down-stands
Egress/cross passages

5. Risk Assessment

Design Objective
The objective of the fire life safety design is:

To allow the safe evacuation of occupants;

To allow safe access for emergency services
personnel;
To limit the impact of incidents on the assets to
ensure operational continuity;
To avoid and / or limit the consequences of any
adverse environmental impacts.

Design fires
Based on hazard analysis:
Base case reasonable fire scenario
High challenge case sensitivity analysis
Extreme events not for design

Design fires
Base case scenarios design fire scenarios:
Scenarios expected to occur more often than once in
100 years;
Reasonable fire growth rate;
Reasonable peak fire HRR (50MW for road tunnels);
Assuming all fire protection systems working

Design fires
High challenge case sensitivity analysis:

Rarer but more severe fire scenarios;

Return period of 100 ~10,000 years;
Higher growth rate or heat output (100MW);
Fire in a critical location;
Failure of one fire protection system, such as deluge or
smoke control/exhaust;
Traffic congestion, etc

Design fires
Extreme events not for design:

Return period >10,000 years;

Failure of multiple fire protection systems;
Terrorist bomb attacks;
Only used to identify operational response
procedures and preventive measures to mitigate the
associated risks.

Timeline assessment
Time since fire initiation - sec

Time

1200

ASET - Time to critical visibility (s)

1000

RSET - Time required to evacuate (s)

800

600

400

200

Smoke zone: ASET < RSET

0
-100

-50

50

100

150

200

Distance from the fire - m

Distance along the tunnel

250

300

Qualitative risk assessment

Likelihood
Level

Frequency
Descriptor

Frequency

Frequent

More frequently than once a year

Likely

More frequently than once every 3 years

Possible

More frequently than once every 10 years

Unlikely

More frequently than once every 30 years

Rare

More frequently than once every 100 years

Qualitative risk assessment

Severity
Level

IV

Consequences Type
Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

Life safety of
occupants
Fatality or multiple
fatalities,

Level of Safety for Access by

Emergency Services Personnel
Unpredictable collapse of tunnel
structures within 2 hours of fire
incident occurring or life threatening
exposure to radiant heat or fatality
remote from area of the fire

Asset and operational continuity

or severe irreversible
disability (>30%) to one
or more persons
Incapacitation,
or moderate irreversible
disability or impairment
(<30%) to one or more
persons

III

Partial Incapacitation
Objective but reversible
disability requiring
hospitalisation

II

Discomfort or low
visibility

Major widespread damage to tunnel equipment or

local collapse of tunnel structures impacting on infrastructure or
structures above or causing inundation or
tunnel cannot be operated for extended period

Predictable local collapse of tunnel

Extensive tunnel equipment damage or
structures in area of fire within 2 hours
localised collapse of tunnel structures not impacting on
of fire incident occurring or
infrastructure or structures above nor causing inundation
life threatening exposure or fatality in
or
area of the fire
tunnel cannot be operated for a significant period
Exposure to heat exceeding limits of Significant localised damage of many items of tunnel equipment
equipment or
and some tunnel structures requiring repair
Predictable collapse of secondary
steelwork or equipment supports
within 2 hours of fire incident occurring
Exposure to heat and within limits of
equipment

Objective but reversible

disability maybe
requiring hospitalisation
First aid maybe required First aid (minor injury)
(minor injury)

or
tunnel cannot be operated for a short period
Significant localised damage of equipment generally not requiring
major repair or
Tunnel operates at a reduced capacity for a short period

Limited localised minor damage not requiring repair or

Minor effect on tunnel operations

Qualitative risk assessment

Risk Evaluation Matrix based on AS 4360 -2004 and HB 436:2004
Likelihood Consequence
I

II

III

IV

Med

High

High

V High

V High

Med

Med

High

V High

V High

Low

Med

High

High

V High

Low

Low

Med

Med

High

Low

Low

Med

Med

High

Risk Assessment
If the risk level of the trial design is accessed as:
(i)LOW, or
(ii) the risk level is medium and the risk level is
consistent with the Benchmark risk level or
further risk reduction is impractical, or
(iii) the risk level of the trial design is as low as
reasonably practical (ALARP), then the
performance of the trial design is acceptable for
the design fire scenario being analysed.

FDS modelling of fire and smoke

FDS modelling of fire and smoke

Thanks for attention!

Yunlong Liu
Stephen Grubits & Associates
www.yunlong.com.au