Fire Dynamics in Tunnels
Branddynamik i tunnlar

VBR001F, 7.5 credits

Valid from: Spring 2023
Decided by: Cintia Bertacchi Uvo
Date of establishment: 2016-12-15

General Information

Division: Division of Fire Safety Engineering
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The aim is that the postgraduate student should, after completion of the course, be able to understand physical principles related to fire development, ventilation, and fire dynamics (visibility, gases, temperatures, heat fluxes, flame length, fire spread etc.) in underground structures. The student should also understand the principles for production of toxic species in underground structure fires and their effects on persons exposed to the fire gases and the smoke. Furthermore, the student should be able to derive and apply mathematical methods relevant for the fire development, spread of fire and exposure to occupants present in the underground structure at the time of the fire. The aim of the course is also that the student should be able to understand important aspects of heat flux exposure to underground structures as well as the effects of ventilation conditions on fire development in different scales.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• describe the relevant course of fire development and fire dynamics in underground structures.
• explain typical fires in vehicles and how the fire develops and the effects of ventilation on the process.
• explain and derive engineering relationships for design fires, visibility, flame lengths, critical velocity, backlayering, stratification of smoke, production of smoke and toxic species in the fire gases (tenability).
• explain the Fractional Effective Dose (FED) and Fractional Effective Concentration (FEC) models used to predict incapacitation and what occurs when human body is exposed to it.
• demonstrate understanding in selecting parameters of importance in CFD analysis for tunnels.
• explain scaling methods and techniques.

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• use models and engineering correlations to do a project work that relates to a fire case study in a tunnel
• use methods to analyse a tunnel fire in terms of fire development, fire size and production of combustion products, increased temperature and heat flux
• analyse a tunnel fire, using FED/FEC analysis, and relate the results to environment for survival of people
• independently seek information (papers, articles, reports, manuals, etc) about fire development, effect on humans from combustion products, heat and radiation
• calculate heat exposure to tunnel structure and how it affects the load capacity
• be able to reconstruct a fire scenario and its consequences in a tunnel.

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must adequately consider relevant scientific and ethical aspects related to design of underground structures.

Course Contents

The course is given to postgraduate students at the Division of Fire Safety Engineering and Systems Safety, Lund University, as well as postgraduate students at other universities as well as external participants fulfilling the basic requirements on background education related to the subject. The course includes seminars, lectures and exercises. The literature consists of the book Tunnel Fire Dynamics, written by Haukur Ingason, Ying Zhen Li and Anders Lönnermark 2015. The book covers fully the content of the course and gives necessary background to the problems to solve. This book includes among other things generation of combustion products, heat and radiation, the effects of combustion products, heat and radiation, temperatures, heat release rates etc. Before each seminar the students read specific chapters given in the list below for individual seminars. Between seminars the PhD students (not necessarily required for external participants requiring academic credits) are supposed to work on short assignments, which are presented and discussed shortly on the following seminar. At the end of the course the students are supposed to apply the gained knowledge and analyse a typical case problem e.g. to explain the course of fire development in a tunnel. It is assumed that the student develops a simple model predicting the outcome for the chosen assignment through a project work. At the beginning of the course the project work topic for each student is introduced and selected. This project work will be presented at the final seminar. A short paper (max 2 A4 pages) shall be submitted prior to each seminar containing the author’s refection on the material for the seminar.

Course Literature

Tunnel Fire Dynamics, written by Haukur Ingason, Ying Zhen Li and Anders Lönnermark 2015.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Lectures, seminars, project

Examination Details

Examination formats: Written assignments, seminars given by participants
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Admission requirements: Bachelor in FSE, Civ. Ing. or Masters in engineering or technical science
Assumed prior knowledge: heat transfer, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics
Selection criteria: Fire Safety Engineering experience

Further Information

minimum number of students: 5

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators:

• Haukur Ingason <haukur.ingason@brand.lth.se>
• Nils Johansson <nils.johansson@brand.lth.se>