Experimental field study on smoke characteristics and CO concentration of high-altitude tunnel fires induced using gasoline and diesel

Abstract

High-altitude environments exhibit reduced atmospheric pressure, low oxygen density, and low air temperature conditions, which considerably affect tunnel fire characteristics. In this study, small-scale tunnel fire field experiments were performed at high altitudes to investigate the heat release rate (HRR), smoke temperature, and CO concentration of gasoline and diesel pool fires. The results revealed that with the increase in altitude, the HRR declined but the combustion duration increased. Furthermore, the maximum ceiling temperature decreased with the increase in altitude. The longitudinal ceiling temperature declined slowly in the high-altitude tunnel. By contrast, the smoke temperature spread rapidly among the cross-section in the high-altitude tunnel. The ceiling CO concentration behaviors for gasoline and diesel pool fires were categorized into four and three stages, respectively. Furthermore, the steady ceiling CO concentration and the maximum ceiling CO concentration decreased slightly with the increase in the altitude for gasoline pool fires, whereas the differences were greater for diesel pool fires. However, the steady ceiling CO concentration per unit mass burning rate increased linearly with the altitude for both fuels. The results revealed that the steady CO concentration at the height of 110 mm in the cross-section was nearly identical for various altitudes in the case of gasoline pool fires. However, for diesel pool fires, the CO concentration was higher at higher altitudes.