Study on the Influence of Window Glass Ignition Temperature on the Heat Release Rate of CRH Passenger Rail Car

Abstract

The window glass ignition temperature is one of the main factors that determine the Heat Release Rate (HRR) of passenger rail car. In order to reveal the influence of window glass ignition temperature on the HRR of China Railways High-speed (CRH) passenger rail car, the HRR, ignition temperature and other thermal parameters of the individual materials and component assemblies of the CRH passenger rail car, are measured with the Cone Calorimeter, burning temperature tester and other instruments, as the input parameters of Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), and according to the different window glass ignition temperatures ,4 fire scenarios have been designed to obtain the HRR vs. time curves of CRH passenger rail car. The comparison results show that the window glass ignition temperature exerts a significant influence on the HRR of passenger rail car; if the ignition temperature is lower than 415°C, during the fire process the windows near the ignition source will be broken, and the back draft phenomenon will take place, resulting in the extremely high second peak HRR, about 22.6MW; if the ignition temperature is higher than 470°C, during the fire process all the windows will not be broken; and so it is suggested that the window glass ignition temperature in the passenger rail car should be higher than 520°C.