Measurement Technology

Tunnel Fire: Protection against explosive Concrete Spalling with Polypropylene Fibres

If fire breaks out in a tunnel, the heat has scarcely any possibility of escape, and the temperature increases to more than 1000 °C in a short time. The heat can lead to explosive spalling from the concrete and weaken the stability of the structure. This can be hindered by the addition of polypropylene (PP) fibres. But what actually happens inside the concrete? Engineers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have found a way to measure this.

If a vehicle in a tunnel catches fire, as happened for example due to an accident in the Gotthard road tunnel in 2003, the temperature quickly...

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