Fire behaviour of large scale loaded tunnel segment tests for project Rotterdamsebaan, The Netherlands

Assessing the performance of tunnels in fire is becoming increasingly crucial for the overall usability and durability of the structure. One of the most reliable methods for evaluating the presentation of the concrete during fire in tunnels is by testing. In this work, the fire tests performed on the Victory Boogie Woogietunnel, project Rotterdamsebaan (The Hague, the Netherlands) are discussed. The study aims to assess the fire performance of the cut and cover concrete section when subjected to a tunnel fire curve. A series of 6 fire tests were performed on concrete slabs of the size 5,0 m x 2,4 m x 0,4 m when exposed to Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) fire curve for 120 minutes. Based on the work, one of the main conclusions drawn were that it is necessary to test a large-scale specimen to judge the performance of a protection system accurately. Another important conclusion is that the test specimen should have the concrete mixture which accurately represents the tunnel concrete to avoid uncertainty in the fire induced spalling behaviour of concrete.

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