IMPROVED ESCAPE USING WATER SPRAY AND MOBILE VENTILATION

In Spring 2000 a comprehensive field experiment was undertaken in a road tunnel in Austria to test the effectiveness of a new water spray system, designed to improve the air quality inside of a tunnel in case of a fire. In order to control the smoke propagation, mobile ventilators were used, which can be installed on trucks or rail wagons. The experiment was accompanied by an extensive measurement study in order to measure temperature and flow conditions as well as the concentration of airborne gases and the visibility. In addition complex 3D CFD calculations were undertaken to investigate the performance of mobile ventilators under different meteorological conditions. These conditions included different wind velocities as well as counter-flow conditions. (A)