National Academies Press: OpenBook
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24729.
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2017 N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 836 Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels Igor Maevski Jacobs EnginEEring New York, NY Subscriber Categories Bridges and Other Structures • Security and Emergencies Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide inter- est to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of specialists in high- way transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transporta- tion departments and by committees of AASHTO. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research (SCOR), and each year SCOR’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Directors and the Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the Acad- emies and TRB. The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs. Published research reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to http://www.national-academies.org and then searching for TRB Printed in the United States of America NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 836 Project 20-07 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 978-0-309-44611-2 Library of Congress Control Number 2016961501 © 2017 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FRA, FTA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, PHMSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to increase the benefits that transportation contributes to society by providing leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied committees, task forces, and panels annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was conducted for the AASHTO T20 Committee, with funding provided through NCHRP Project 20-07, “Recommended AASHTO Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels.” NCHRP is supported by annual voluntary contributions from the State Departments of Trans- portation. Project 20-07 is intended to fund quick response studies on behalf of the T-20 committee. The report was prepared by Dr. Igor Maevski, PE of Jacobs Engineering. The work was guided by a technical working group. CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 836 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Waseem Dekelbab, Senior Program Officer Gary Jenkins, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Maria Sabin Crawford, Editor NCHRP PROJECT 20-07/TASK 363 PANEL Gary English, City of Seattle-Assistant Fire Marshal, Seattle, WA Walter P. Heller, Massachusetts DOT, Boston, MA Yunlong “Jason” Liu, HNTB Corporation, Bellevue, WA Norman Rhodes, Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York, NY Peter Sturm, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria Steven L. Ernst, FHWA Liaison NCHRP PROJECT 20-07 PANEL Paul D. Degges, Tennessee DOT, Nashville, TN (Chair) Shailen Bhatt, Colorado DOT, Denver, CO Malcolm Dougherty, California DOT, Sacramento, CA Gregg C. Fredrick, Wyoming DOT, Cheyenne, WY Michael Holder, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh, NC Mostafa Jamshidi, Nebraska DOR, Lincoln, NE Mark C. McConnell, Mississippi DOT, Jackson, MS Randall R. Park, Utah DOT, Salt Lake City, UT Joyce N. Taylor, Maine DOT, Augusta, ME Thomas D. Everett, FHWA Liaison Keith Platte, AASHTO Liaison Ann M. Brach, TRB Liaison

F O R E W O R D This report presents guidelines for emergency ventilation smoke control in roadway tunnels to facilitate human evacuation and emergency responder safety. These guidelines consider tunnel geometrics such as tunnel altitude; physical dimensions (i.e., length, cross section); type of traffic flow (i.e., single or bi-directional flow); and fan utilization and place- ment. They also consider cargo types and quantities as they pertain to fire heat release rates (FHRRs) and ventilation requirements. The guidelines determine the effects of ventilation on tunnel fires including fire size, and the interaction of firefighting and ventilation system operation. The material in this report will be of immediate interest to tunnel owners and operators, law enforcement agencies, first responders, designers, and ventilation equipment vendors. In normal operation, ventilation ensures sufficient air quality in the tunnel, generally by diluting pollutants. During the self-evacuation phase (also called the self-rescue phase), the ventilation system aims to create and maintain a tenable environment for the evacua- tion of tunnel users. Specifically, this environment consists of acceptable visibility, heat, air temperature, thermal radiation, and air quality levels. During the firefighting phase, the ventilation system control and operation should be part of the standard operating proce- dure for the tunnel so that firefighting and rescue can be carried out in accordance with the emergency response plan. Currently, the design and operation of emergency smoke control varies from project to project in the absence of consistent and standardized practices. There was a need to identify the best operational practices for emergency ventilation smoke con- trol in roadway tunnels. Research performed under NCHRP Project 20-07/ Task 363 by Jacobs Civil Consultants Inc., developed guidelines for emergency ventilation smoke control in roadway tunnels to improve human evacuation and emergency responder safety. By Waseem Dekelbab Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

C O N T E N T S Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions. 1 Summary 4 Chapter 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Roadway Tunnels Emergency Ventilation—Current Industry Knowledge and Practice 4 1.2 Applicable Regulatory Standards and Guidelines 16 Chapter 2 Road Tunnel Fires 16 2.1 Main Design Fire Parameters 18 2.2 Impact of Fire Size on Smoke Management Requirements 23 Chapter 3 Tunnel Emergency Ventilation and Smoke Control Design Guidelines 23 3.1 Types of Road Tunnel Ventilation Systems 34 3.2 Tunnel Ventilation Systems Conditions for Application and Configurations 39 3.3 Tunnel Ventilation Fans Utilization and Placement 44 3.4 Effects of Ventilation on Tunnel Fires and Fire Sizes 44 3.5 Fire Smoke Stratification and Length of Stratification and Its Impact on Emergency Ventilation 48 Chapter 4 Tunnel Fire Detection and Ventilation Impact 49 Chapter 5 Tunnel Fixed Firefighting Systems and Ventilation Impact 49 5.1 Interaction Between Water-Based Fixed Fire Suppression and Tunnel Ventilation Systems 54 5.2 Interaction Between Firefighting Operation and Tunnel Ventilation Systems 57 Chapter 6 Tunnel Emergency Ventilation Controls 60 References 62 Glossary 64 Appendix A Tunnel Fire Detection and Warning Systems 67 Appendix B Tunnel Fixed Firefighting Systems

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TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 836: Guidelines for Emergency Ventilation Smoke Control in Roadway Tunnels presents guidelines for ventilation in roadway tunnels to facilitate human evacuation and emergency responder safety. These guidelines consider tunnel geometrics such as tunnel altitude; physical dimensions (i.e., length, cross section); type of traffic flow (i.e., single or bi-directional flow); and fan utilization and placement. They also consider cargo types and quantities as they pertain to fire heat release rates (FHRRs) and ventilation requirements. The guidelines determine the effects of ventilation on tunnel fires including fire size, and the interaction of firefighting and ventilation system operation.

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