Evacuation speed in full-scale darkened tunnel filled with smoke

Publication date: Available online 11 May 2017
Source:Fire Safety Journal
Author(s): Miho Seike, Nobuyoshi Kawabata, Masato Hasegawa
Tunnel fires create dense black smoke that covers ceiling lights and darkens tunnel spaces. The present study investigates experimentally the evacuation speed in a full-scale tunnel filled with smoke and clarifies the relation between the extinction coefficient (up to 1.6m⁻¹) and normal walking speed. In this study, participants were exposed to smoke in a full-scale experimental tunnel that was darkened by turning off the ceiling lights, and the extinction coefficient was varied from 0.18 to 1.6m⁻¹. The maximum, minimum, and mean normal walking speeds were almost constant up to 1.0m⁻¹ but decreased slightly at higher extinction coefficients. At 0.30m⁻¹, the maximum emergency-evacuation speed through the dark tunnel is less than that when the ceiling lights are on and corresponds to 2.6m/s, thereby indicating a fast walking speed even at small extinction coefficients. However, the maximum emergency-evacuation speeds at coefficients exceeding 0.48m⁻¹ for light and dark conditions are almost identical. The minimum and mean emergency-evacuation speeds decrease at extinction coefficients of approximately 1.0m⁻¹. Additionally, normal walking speed and emergency-evacuation curves are calculated from the current experimental results to compare the effect of ceiling lights with that of a darkened space. The results indicate that the normal walking speed and emergency-evacuation speed are influenced by the darkened space.



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