Full-scale Experiments for Heat Release Rate Measurements of Railcar Fires

초록

This paper describes experiments performed to measure the heat release rate of train car fires from ignition to burnout. Two tests are presented: a test using an intercity railcar and a test using a subway car. For the tests, the cars were moved inside a tunnel facility and placed on stands to simulate realistic conditions. Thermocouples were installed inside the train car to provide an accurate picture of the temperature conditions inside the car so that an insight of the fire development can be obtained. A number of cameras have also been placed inside the car and the tunnel providing live video during the test. Other instrumentation included heat flux meters for measuring heat fluxes inside the train car and the tunnel and instruments for measuring smoke density. The paper provides details of the experimental set-up and the instrumentation as well as the procedure used to perform the tests. It also presents and discusses the results of the two tests.