Field experiment and simulation of hot air curtain for cold protection in subway aisle in severe cold regions

Abstract

Harbin Subway is the northernmost subway line in China. In winter, outdoor temperature can reach −37.7 °C. Cold protection has emerged as a critical priority for subway operations in the region. In this paper, taking the aisle of a typical island station in Harbin as the research object, long-term and short-term field experiment on the thermal environment of the aisle were carried out. The field test data of the station and the full-scale model were used to conduct numerical simulations on the effect of supply air temperature, speed, and angle on the aisle environment. The modified PET temperature scale and average power consumption during the operation of the hot air curtain were used to evaluated the cold protection solutions of the air curtain. The results revealed that the average temperature of the cross-sections in the aisle without cold protection measures dropped by 5.4 °C–6.3 °C from its initial level after the train left the station. Without increasing average power consumption, changing the supply air angle of hot air curtain can improve the thermal environment in the aisle. Considering the three aspects of cold protection effect, passenger thermal comfort and power consumption, this paper recommends that the cold protection solution for aisles with a length less than or equal to 76.7 m, L-shaped and similar layouts is 35 °C for the supply air temperature, 9 m/s for the wind speed, and the range of the difference between the supply air angle and the aisle inclination angle is 6° <θ-α < 11°.