Improving tunnel resilience against fires: A new methodology based on temperature monitoring

摘要

Monitoring temperatures during tunnel fires is of major importance for both the firefighters extinguishing the fire, and the engineers in charge of the subsequent repair work. However, current methods of assessing fire damage have limitations when applied to tunnels and only provide estimates of the maximum fire temperatures at specific locations of the tunnel. This is not a desirable situation, as the temperature-time curves associated with the fire event should be available for use in assessing the residual strength of the tunnel structure. This is the key parameter in defining repair work and the length of time the tunnel will need to be closed and thus the socio-economic cost of the tunnel fire. In addition, real-time recording of the temperature-time curves would provide valuable information to the firefighters engaged in extinguishing the fire.