Research on thermal-driven smoke control by using smoke curtains during a subway platform fire

During the occurrence of a fire on a subway platform, the focus is usually on controlling the ventilation and smoke exhaust systems to prevent smoke from spreading from the platform floor to the lobby floor. The passive method of using smoke curtains to control the smoke needs to be further explored. This study aims to predict the optimal smoke curtain depth required to prevent the spreading of the smoke from the platform floor to the lobby floor. A full-scale experiment was conducted, the results of which verified the computational application used. Furthermore, by combining theoretical analysis, more numerical calculations were conducted to further analyze the effect of the heat release rate (HRR) of fire (Q) and smoke exhaust volume (Ve) on smoke layer thickness (smoke curtain depth (hsc)) under the ceiling of the platform area. The expressions of minimum smoke curtain depth as a function of HRR and smoke exhaust volume were determined through the numerical results based on different plume models (e.g., Zukoski plume, Heskestad plume, etc.). By using the smoke curtain to control smoke, this method reduces the operating cost of the ventilation system. The findings of this study can provide a reference for the fire-safety engineering design of subway stations.