Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The Federal Highway Administration conducted research (from 2018 to 2024) into the use of fixed fire fighting systems (FFFS) in highway tunnels. The main objective was to consider the operational integration of highway tunnel emergency ventilation systems (EVS) with installed FFFS. The research was conducted in stages including the following: literature survey, industry workshop, computer modeling, laboratory-scale testing, and final research summary report.

With regard to the objective of FFFS and EVS operational integration, an outcome of this project was a demonstration of the ability of the FFFS to improve ventilation performance (under longitudinal ventilation) through cooling of the combustion products. This demonstration was provided by considering previously conducted full-scale testing, the laboratory-scale testing conducted as part of this project, and computer modeling. Design considerations for a one-dimensional analysis for sizing a longitudinal ventilation system with FFFS included were made and suggested practices for FFFS and EVS integration are provided. This paper summarizes the above findings as well as other findings including a compilation of FFFS test results for fire heat release rate (based on previously conducted research) and the outcomes of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models using Fire Dynamics Simulator (an open source CFD software developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology).

Keywords

infrastructure structures tunnels and underground structures fire sustainability and resilience

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

NFPA 502 Standard for Road Tunnels, Bridges and Other Limited Access Highways. NFPA, Quincy, MA, 2023.

NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems. NFPA, Quincy, MA, 2016.

Fixed Fire Fighting and Emergency Ventilation Systems for Highway Tunnels – Research Report. FHWA-HIF-24-005. Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., 2024.

Fixed Fire Fighting and Emergency Ventilation Systems for Highway Tunnels: Literature Survey and Synthesis. FHWA-HIF-20-016. Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., 2020.

Impact of Fixed Fire Fighting Systems on Road Tunnel Resilience, Ventilation, and Other Systems, Fire Protection Research Foundation, 2017.

Fixed Fire Fighting and Emergency Ventilation Systems for Highway Tunnels – Workshop Report. FHWA-HIF-20-060, 2020.

Fixed Fire Fighting and Emergency Ventilation Systems for Highway Tunnels – Computer Modeling Report. FHWA-HIF-22-021, 2022.

Fixed Fire Fighting and Emergency Ventilation Systems for Highway Tunnels – Laboratory Scale Testing. FHWA-HIF-23-022, 2024.

A First for the US. Tunnelling Journal, No. 59, 2022, pp. 36–38.

10.

SOLIT² Report, Scientific Final Report, SOLIT² Research Consortium. 2012. http://www.solit.info/PDF/SOLIT_EG_Main_EN_v2.1.pdf

11.

SOLIT² Report, Annex 2, Selected Results of Full-Scale Fire Tests, SOLIT² Research Consortium. 2012. http://www.solit.info/PDF/SOLIT_EG_Annex2_EN_v2.1.pdf

12.

Bechtel - Parsons Brinckerhoff. Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Comprehensive Test Report Volume 1. Massachusetts Highway Department, Boston, 1995.

13.

Maevski

Design Fires in Road Tunnels, NCHRP Synthesis 415. National Cooperative Highway Research Program,Washington, D.C., 2011.

14.

Cheong

M. K.

Cheong

W. O.

Leong

K. W.

Lemaire

A. D.

Noordijk

L. M.

Heat Release Rate of Heavy Goods Vehicle Fire in Tunnels with Fixed Water Based Fire-Fighting System. Fire Technology, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2014, pp. 249–266.

15.

Ingason

Y. Z.

Lönnermark

Tunnel Fire Dynamics. Springer, New York, NY, 2015.

16.

PIARC. Fixed Fire Fighting Systems in Road Tunnels: Current Practices and Recommendations. Permanent International Association of Road Congresses, Technical Committee on Road Tunnel Operation, 3.3, World Road Association (PIARC), France, 2016.

17.

Ingason

Appel

Lundström

Water Spray Interaction with Liquid Spill in a Road Tunnel. SP Report 2015: 91. SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2015.

18.

Ingason

Large Scale Fire Tests with Fixed Fire Fighting System in Runehamar Tunnel. SP Report 2014:32. SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2014.

19.

Ingason

Y. Z.

Bobert

Large Scale Fire Tests with Different Types of Fixed Fire Fighting System in the Runehamar Tunnel. SP Report 2016:76. SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, 2016.

20.

Cheong

M. K.

Louis

Lim

L. W.

Thong

Palle

Lemaire

A. D.

Rakovec

Ferad

Heat Release Rates of Heavy Goods Vehicle Trailer in Tunnels with Fixed Water-Based Fire Fighting Systems. Proc., 18th International Symposium on Aerodynamics, Ventilation & Fire in Tunnels, Athens, Greece, 2019, pp. 621–632.

21.

Carlotti

Salizzoni

Pressure Drop Caused by a Fire in a Tunnel. Proc., 17th International Symposium of Aerodynamics Ventilation and Fire in Tunnels, Lyon, France, BHR Group, The Fluid Engineering Centre, Cranfield, UK, 2017, pp. 363–371.

22.

Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas. Subway Environmental Design Handbook. Vol. 2. US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Research and Special Programs Administration, Transit Development Corp., Washington, D.C.; Urban Mass Transportation Administration, Washington, D.C., 2002.

23.

Riess

Weber

Steck

On the Air-Flow Resistance of Tunnel Fires in Longitudinal Ventilation - The Throttling Effect. Proc., 10th Tunnel Safety and Ventilation Conference, Graz, Austria, 2020, p. 10.

24.

Riess

Fixed Fire Fighting Systems and Tunnel Ventilation. Zurich, Switzerland.

25.

Backlayering and changes with Grid Resolution. GitHub. https://github.com/firemodels/fds. Accessed June 21, 2023.