Study on spilled liquid from a continuous leakage in sloped tunnels
Qinghua Guo, Ying Zhen Li, Haukur Ingason, Zhiguo Yan, Hehua Zhu
Abstract
The study focuses on the behaviors of spilled liquid from a continuously leaked tank in sloped tunnels. Spillage width and area, which impact the potential heat release rates in case of fire, are investigated under different tunnel slopes and leakage flow rates by numerical simulations using interFoam based on the VOF method in the OpenFOAM toolbox following the validation. The simulation results show that the spillage width initially decreases rapidly and then slowly as the tunnel slope increases. Other parameters, including road surface roughness, physical properties of liquid and leakage source height, are also considered. Empirical models for predicting the spillage width and area are established considering both tunnel slope and leakage flow rate. The results may provide guidance for tunnel safety design and drainage system design affiliated with a tank leakage inside a tunnel.