Environmental simulation of tunnel fires by computational fluid dynamics

How computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is applied to predict the probable environment in a tunnel due to an accidental fire will be discussed in this article. Results on the fire-induced air flow and temperature distributions are useful for design purposes. Predicted results by CFD are compared with experimental data measured from full-scale burning tests. Changes of tunnel environment due to wind velocity, heat release rate of the fire, and thermal stratification effect are included. The limitations on solving the key equations numerically will also be outlined.