Computational fluid dynamics simulation of smoke movement in highway tunnel fire

In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is described to numerically simulate the tunnel fire. An experimental fire in a tunnel is simulated with the CFD model. Predicted results are compared with the tunnel test data and the simulated results by FLOW3D software. The results indicate that the simulated results by the CFD model in this paper are better than those by FLOW3D software and have good consistency with the experimental data. The fully developed smoke flow downstream clearly presents layered temperature distribution. The simulation results can also provide emergency scheme for tunnel fire and suggestion for tunnel construction. For example, the evacuees should go along the wind upstream area and the distance between two entries of the escapetruck in the tunnel should not too long.