Making Tunnel Walls Fire-Resistance

Tbe rendered unstable with its lining damaged and steel structure exposed — making it unfit for vehicles to pass through.

According to Associate Professor Dr Roszilah Hamid from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), unlike buildings on fire, fires involving vehicles ­— especially heavy vehicles with full load — are of different intensity due to the high rate of hydrocarbon fuel.

“A study by Germany’s Federal Highway Research Institute reported that a vehicle’s fire temperature in a tunnel can rise dramatically to 1200 degree celsius in just five minutes and could last for 30 minutes if not extinguished.The high humidity of the tunnel concrete layer could cause thermal spalling where it would explode and break when high pressure in the concrete is condensed.

The reinforcement will be exposed to high temperatures and the tunnel structure will become unstable and damaged. Keep in mind, tunnel construction is the most expensive part of a highway construction,” said the chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at UKM’s Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment.