Knowledge house in smoke control systems and others makes a difference in fire safety in (railroad) tunnels

The 2012 Building Code stipulates that all fire safety installations must have an inspection certificate. However, compliance with this in practice is not always easy. An interview with Stan Veldpaus, Project Advisor Smoke Control Systems, and Erik Peeters, Commercial Manager Fire Safety at Colt International, about the fire safety of (railroad) tunnels and the importance of a properly functioning, certified smoke control system.

Tunnel Safety

"When designing a smoke control system for rail, subway and road tunnels, the safety of people is paramount," says Peeters. "After that it is important that emergency services can gain safe access as soon as possible and lastly we also try to protect the structure. A tunnel is vital to the economy so you want it operational again as soon as possible." Veldpaus adds: "A good smoke control system [RBS] is very important for that." Colt International, in conjunction with the Inspection Institution, designs, supplies, assembles, maintains, tests and certifies the total combination of smoke control systems.

Design optimization

"We first determine the system size and then test the effectiveness of the Smoke Control Installation (RBI) using a ProTuVem calculation," says Peeters. "Fine for an initial rough indication, but to then fine-tune and optimize that, we use the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) technique." Veldpaus adds: "Using CFD simulations, we can accurately see in advance the effectiveness of a tunnel ventilation system in the event of a fire. These calculations are much more accurate and have tremendous predictive power. What will actually happen in the event of a fire, the behavior of smoke and temperatures can therefore be predicted very accurately. Based on these CFD simulations, we can then further optimize the system or make it even more effective."

Practical translation

Peeters explains that Colt International validates the CFD calculation with reality. "For example, we have done several real life tests in practice, where we have replaced a compartment of a subway with flat cars with a container of equal dimensions and equal openings and placed a fire in it. We also test with smoke machines. In doing so, we know the characteristics of the fans and how they perform. The trial and error process, using ProTuVerm and CFD, are at the heart of Colt International's designs." Veldpaus: "We prefer to keep the designing in-house. We are a knowledge house, that's where our strength lies. As an advisory and implementing partner, we can also act excellently alongside a consulting firm, but we do include the knowledge of the practical translation in our advice and design. We also look at energy consumption, availability and accessibility of components and market conformity. And safety during installation and maintenance. These are issues that we deal with on the front end that are important for all stakeholders," Veldpaus believes.

Certification and maintenance

Colt International can take care of the entire process within smoke control. "In addition to advising, designing, supplying and installing, we ensure that a project is delivered including certification and we can also maintain it." The latter is a crucial part of keeping an installation in nominal condition, according to Peeters. "Think of it as a kind of APK, but for your installation. It's hanging there, but you want to make sure it does what it's supposed to do in case of an emergency. So you have to handle it properly and maintain it properly to ensure that." Veldpaus: "In addition to doing that for new tunnels, we can also determine the effectiveness of the current system at existing facilities and make sure it's certified. If the system is not adequate, then we can anticipate that and make adjustments where necessary or replace the system." He concludes, "Especially with the large-scale task in tunnel renovation that the Netherlands will be embarking on in 2023, this is of course an enormous added value."