TY - JOUR
TI - The air-flow structure and gas dispersion behavior in gas tunnel construction through bench cut method
AU - Liu Rong
AU - Ren Song
AU - Fan Jinyang
AU - Wu Fei
AU - William Ngaha Tiedeu
JN - Thermal Science
PY - 2019
VL - 23
IS - 3
SP - 1417
EP - 1424
PT - Article
AB - The inability to accurately predict the in rush of gas increases the fear of field workers security and unnecessary investments in tunnel ventilation. In this study, a 3-D numerical model was established to investigate the air-flow structure and gas diffusion characteristics of a gas tunnel during construction. The result showed that the flow inside the bottom bench mainly came from the re-circulation zone of the upper bench. Mutation in the tunnel section due to bottom bench excavation would cause the formation of some air circulation in the bottom bench. The circulation air in the bottom bench came from the re-circulation zone of the upper bench, while the air-flow in the considered zone was a polluted air. Based on the obtained results, there was no accumulation of CH4 inside the bottom bench. Nevertheless, gas gushing will still appear during the construction of the bottom bench surface, which can possibly lead to gas disaster. This study aims to provide some guidance for tunnel engineers on safety monitoring systems.