Experimental study on the effects of branch tunnel ventilation on the smoke movement and temperature characteristics in bifurcated tunnel fires

A series of fire tests were conducted in a bifurcated tunnel model with branch tunnel ventilation. Three fire locations were considered. The characteristics of smoke movement and temperature profile under various fire source location scenarios were analyzed. The results indicate that when the fire source is not at the intersection, the ventilation airflow in the branch tunnel is diverted at the intersection before it is imposed on the fire source, which results in the actual velocity of ventilation air imposed on the fire source being less than the velocity of ventilation air in the branch tunnel. A new parameter, named the diversion coefficient, was introduced for convenient analysis. By substituting the diversion coefficient values into a classic maximum temperature rise prediction model for the single-line tunnel fires, good prediction results were observed. Moreover, a new dimensionless smoke temperature decay model was developed. The applicability of the model was validated using full-scale fire test data from previous research. The dimensionless temperature decay law of smoke was analyzed based on the newly established model. Results show that when the fire is positioned at the intersection, the decay coefficient of the smoke downstream of the fire decreases linearly as the ventilation rate increases, while decay coefficient of the smoke upstream of the fire decreases slowly at first and then increases with the increase of ventilation rate. When the fire source is not at the intersection, the branch tunnel ventilation conditions could be classified into three categories: sub-critical, critical, and super-critical velocity. Changes in the ventilation velocity within the branch tunnel have little influence on temperature decay process of smoke in the main tunnel under critical and sub-critical velocity conditions. However, under super-critical velocity conditions, the smoke temperature decreases rapidly after reaching the intersection. Furthermore, predictive models for the critical velocity of the branch tunnel under various fire locations were established based on theoretical analysis and experimental data. Within a specific range of heat release rate, the critical velocity is proportional to the cube root of the heat release rate. Compared to when the fire is located at the intersection, the critical velocity is reduced significantly when the fire is not in the intersection.