Building and Environment 37 (2002) 1139 1152

www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

Numerical simulation for optimizing the design of subway

environmental control system
Ming-Tsun Ke , Tsung-Che Cheng, Wen-Por Wang
Department of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan
Received 31 July 2001; received in revised form 7 November 2001; accepted 16 November 2001

Abstract
Subway Environmental Simulation Program (SES) was used to combine with the commercial computational 3uid dynamics (CFD)
software to explore the in3uence of various operating situations to the subway environment of Taipei Rapid Transit System in the present
study. The results show that the under platform exhaust (UPE) has a substantial in3uence on the temperature and the cross-sectional area
of the ventilation shaft has quite more e9ect on the ventilation volume than length. The pressure distribution caused by the piston e9ect
and its e9ect on the platform screen door was also discussed and compared. ? 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Computational 3uid dynamics; Under platform exhaust; Piston e9ect

1. Introduction
This paper mainly focuses on numerical simulation analysis for the environmental control system of the subway
station area and the underground tunnel area between stations. The construction of the tunnel ventilation system is
one of the important environmental control systems aiming
at controlling the temperature inside the tunnel so that the
auxiliary system equipment of the train and the electrical
equipment in the tunnel can operate properly under acceptable working temperature, and when emergency <re occurs,
it can e9ectively control the direction of the spread of the
smoke and discharge the smoke out of the tunnel. On the
other hand, the ventilation shafts being installed on both
ends of the station can slow down the pressure wave in the
station platform and the in3uence of the thermal load of the
tunnel in the station area.
The application of SES program [1] is very popular in the
rapid transit systems of many cities in the world. The related
conceptual design of the subway can be resolved by the
thermal load analysis of the SES program and the selection
of equipment. Although there are many research reports on
the rapid transit system by using the SES program, yet the
design conditions and the weather conditions are di9erent
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886-2-27712171;
27314919.
E-mail address: mtke@ntut.edu.tw (M.-T. Ke).

fax:

+886-2-

0360-1323/02/$ - see front matter ? 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S 0 3 6 0 - 1 3 2 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 0 5 - 6

from those in Taiwan. There are not too many researches

that are related to the piston e9ect; therefore it is necessary
to use the numerical results of the SES program to combine
with the detailed simulation of the three-dimensional CFD
simulation for further studies on this subject as the reference
for the future planning of the tunnel ventilation and the
environmental control system.
2. Design conditions and theoretical model
The subway route under investigation is the Hsin Chuan
route of the Taipei Rapid Transit System. The SES software was used to combine with the commercial CFD
package software PHOENICS (Parabolic, Hyperbolic or
Elliptic Numerical Integration Code Series) to establish
the three-dimensional numerical analysis model to proceed
with the detailed physical phenomenon simulation analysis
for the tunnel environmental control system.
2.1. Design conditions and design guidelines
According to the Taipei Rapid Transit System Planning
Handbook, the related design conditions for the environmental control system are described as follows.
A. External temperature conditions
The rush hours of the Taipei Rapid Transit System are
08:00 and 17:00, and the temperature for the rush hours

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M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Nomenclature
AA
BB
CC
DD
A
Av
C
Cm
CKp
CKps
CKH i
CKHC
Dh
E
f
f

F
g
hf
hfr
k

Hsin Chuan station

Fu Jen University station
Tan Feng station
Hui Lung station
net cross-sectional area of tunnel (m2 )
cross-sectional area of ventilation shaft (m2 )
proportional constant, = 0:48
3ow split parameter
driving pressure coeLcient
head loss through a ventilation shaft
entrance loss, = 1 for a T-junction ventilation
shaft
coupling loss between the tunnel and the ventilation shaft
hydraulic diameter (m)
eLciency of UPE
friction factor
modi<ed friction factor
energy head added (m2 =s2 )
gravitional acceleration (m=s2 )
frictional energy head loss, = (fL=D)(V 2 =2)
(m2 =s2 )
minor head loss, = KV 2 =2 (m2 =s2 )
turbulent kinetic energy, (m2 =s2 )

Table 1
Design weather conditions

loss coeLcient
parameter, = 0:965
parameter, = 0:9 for square tunnels
length (m)
static pressure (Pa)
ventilation rate (m3 =s)
ventilation rate in ventilation shaft (m3 =s)
residuam vector
reference base vector
Reynolds number

air temperature ( C)
velocity in x direction (m=s)
velocity in y direction (m=s)
air velocity (m=s)
air velocity in ventilation shaft (m=s)
velocity in z direction (m=s)
elevation head (m)

Greek symbol

dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy,

(m2 =s3 )
absolute roughness factor
air density (kg=m3 )

Table 2
Tunnel dimensions
Summer (17:00)

Dry-bulb temperature
Wet-bulb temperature
Atmospheric pressure

K
Ki
Ko
L
P
Q
Qv
R(ui )
R0
Re
T
u
v
V
Vv
w
Z

32.2 C

26.0 C
1013 mbar

Winter (17:00)

9.7 C

7.6 C
1013 mbar

in the afternoon is higher, therefore 17:00 is taken to be

the design hour, and the external temperature conditions are
illustrated in Table 1.
B. The design conditions of the tunnel area
The air dry-bulb temperature in the tunnel should be kept

below 37 C during normal operation, and should be below

43 C at conjested condition.
C. Tunnel area
The tunnel area for this research is from the cross-over
track downstream the Hsin Chuan station (AA station) to
the tunnel area of the Huei Lung station (DD station), and
the range is described as below:
(a) Hsin Chuan Station to Fu Jen University Station (BB
station) (up and down tracks),
(b) Fu Jen University Station to Tan Feng Station (CC station) (up and down tracks),

AABB
Tunnel
Length (m)
1370
Inclination (%) 0:3=0:53
Remark
A cross-over
near AA side

BBCC
Tunnel

CCDD
Tunnel

Lay-up
track

1227
0:3=0:36

1416
0:47=0:3
A cross-over
near DD side

About 600
3=3

(c) Tan Feng Station to Huei Lung Station (DD station)

(up and down tracks),
(d) Extended to the reception track and the departure track
of the lay-up track of the tunnel.
Tunnel sections are primarily bored tunnels except that
cross-over tracks and lay-up tracks are cut and cover
tunnels, and the geometric dimensions are shown in
Table 2.
D. The tunnel area of the cross-over track and the tunnel
portal of the lay-up track
There is a cross-over track in the CC Station to DD Station proximate to the DD station, and behind the DD station there is a lay-up track being extended to the ground
level to the maintenance and repair plant. The up and down
tracks are linked together by the cross-over track, making

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Table 3
Dimensions of stations

Length of station area (m)

Height of concourse (m)
Height of track area (m)
Width of track area (m)
Length of platform area (m)
Width of platform area (m)

Fu Jen Univ.
Station

Tan Feng
Station

Hui Lung
Station

194
4.15
6.21
16.55
141
8.7

153
4.15
6.21
16.55
141
8.7

277.2
4.15
6.21
17.55
141
8.9

the air3ow in one track to 3ow to another track and thus

reducing the piston e9ect. Therefore, jet fan should be installed to guide the air3ow. However, since there is a lay-up
track tunnel extending to the ground level, the hot air in the
tunnel can be exhausted, or outside air can also be induced
too.
E. Ventilation shaft
According to the design requirements, ventilation openings are installed on both sides of the station, which connect with the environmental control system plantrooms
and the natural outdoors air, and it includes three independent shafts: exhaust shaft, intake shaft, and pressure relief
shaft.
F. Station area geometry
The concourses and the island type platforms of Fu Jen
University station, Tan Feng station and Hui Long Station
are all located in cut and covered boxes. Platform-screen
doors are installed between the platform and the track
area. Each side of the platform is supposed to be lined
with a train with six cars and each car has four doors.
The station is a two-3oor underground building vertically connected by a concourse and the platform tracklayer. The dimension of the station area is generalized in
Table 3.
G. UPE
In present research there are platform-screen doors that
separate the track from the platform. There is quite small
AA station

BB station

amount of air 3owing between the platform and the tunnel

since the gap between the train and the platform-screen door
is only 10 cm wide. The installation of screen doors serves
to prevent heat in the tunnel and in the train from getting
into the platform area and reduce the cooling load of air
conditioning in the concourse and platform layer. However,
temperature in the tunnel of the track area will rise since
there is no air conditioning to cool down the air. Therefore,
the heat in the tunnel along the track has to be expelled
by UPE. The de<nition for the eLciency E of UPE is as
follows:
Heat expelled by UPE
E=
= CQ:
(1)
Heat released by train
As proven by the result of the experiment, the proportional
constant C in Eq. (1) is 0.48 when the eLciency E is under
65% whereas there is no experimental data to refer to if E is
greater than 65%. However, as known through the eLciency
curve in theory, the eLciency will not exceed 80% no matter
how the discharge capacity is.
2.2. Theoretical model
The present research <rst used the SES to perform the
analysis for the underground tunnel ventilation system and
obtained the important operational data, and then these data
were used as the boundary conditions to proceed with the
3D CFD simulation to give us detailed and useful numerical
results. Fig. 1 shows the layout of the ventilation system
in the tunnel between each station, and Fig. 2 is the local
detailed 3D layout of the station area.
2.2.1. One-dimensional analysis model
The installation of ventilation shaft will have an impact
on the visual landscape and the surrounding environment
because of the prominent vertical construction and the occupation of valuable land so that the design for the ventilation
shaft may need to be changed. It results in the originally
planned ventilation requirement. Therefore, we must study
the in3uence of the length and the cross-sectional area of the

CC station
AIR FLOW
DIRECTION

DD station
PORTAL

0.3 %
0.47 %
-0.3 %

1758

0.53 %

0.36 %

-0.3 %

1368

1141

1487

Unit: m
Fig. 1. Schematic plot of the tunnel ventilation system between stations.

1142

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Fig. 2. Local detail layout of present underground station.

ventilation shaft on the piston e9ect in advance as a basis

for future reference.
Bernoullis equation can be used for the analysis of
present subway ventilation system.
gZ1 +

V2
P1
P2
V2
+ 1 + F = gZ2 +
+ 2 + hf + hfm :
!
2
!2
2

(2)

In the subway ventilation system, if the height of the

ventilation shaft remains unchanged, and only the length
and the cross-sectional area are considered, it will only in3uence hf and hfm , and the relation between the friction
loss and the cross-sectional area and length is described
below.
hf = f

L V2
;
Dh 2

(3)

V2
:
2

(4)

hfm = K

To study the in3uence of the ventilation shaft to the piston

e9ect, we need to know about the air3ow distribution in the
tunnel and the ventilation shaft. We can deduce the following
according to [2,3].
The 3ow split parameter for the air3ow passes through
the ventilation shaft and inside the tunnel is de<ned
as
Cm =

Air3ow volume inside ventilation shaft

A v Vv
=
:
AV
Air3ow volume inside tunnel

(5)

The 3ow split parameter when air 3ows into the ventilation openings is de<ned as


Av CKp
Cmi = Ki
:
(6)
A CKps

The 3ow split parameter when air 3ows out from the
ventilation openings is


Av CKp + 1 CKH i
;
(7)
Cmo = Ko
A
CKps CKHC
where CKHC can be neglected when CKps 1.
The foregoing 3ow split parameters are only suitable for
the tunnel that only has one ventilation shaft. However, we
can know about the relation between the air3ow and the area
and resistance coeLcient of the ventilation shaft. When the
cross-sectional area or the length of the ventilation shaft is
changed, we assume the air3ow caused by the piston e9ect
in front of the ventilation shaft is the same (that is Q2 = Q1 ,
CKp2 = CKp1 ), and there is change in air3ow distribution
only in the ventilation shaft and at its downstream, and it is
known as the change of 3ow split parameter. Let the original
3ow split parameter be Cm 1 , and the 3ow split parameter
after changing the cross-sectional area and the length of
the ventilation shaft be Cm 2 , then the relation of the air3ow
volume is shown below.


Qv 2
Av2 #K + f1 L1 =Dh1
=
;
(8)
Qv 1
Av1 #K + f2 L2 =Dh2
where the friction factor f can be calculated by the
Altshul-Tsal equation [4]:
f
= 0:11

Dh

68
Re

0:25

if f
0:018: f = f

if f
0:018: f = 0:85f
+ 0:0028
with Re = 66:4 103 Dh V .

(9)

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Table 4
Relaxation factors set in present study
Variable
Relaxation factor

0.3

104

104

104

0.3

T
0.3

0.1

2.2.2. Three-dimensional CFD model

A full-size three-dimensional model is developed according to the actual size of the station and the tunnel area in
Cartesian coordinate. The 3ow is regarded as incompressible, transient and turbulent. The boundary conditions are as
follows.
(a) The boundary of all kinds of solids in the model does
not consider the surface roughness and no-slip boundary
conditions are set.
(b) The boundary conditions at both sides of station and
those of the ventilation outlets all take the results
of SES simulation as in [5]. There are two tunnel
ventilation fans (TVFs) at each ends of the station.
The supply air volume of each TVF is 25 m3 =s with
static pressure 1:2 kPa. The suction speed of UPE
is 3:48 m=s.
The turbulence model used in the numerical model is the
widely used standard k model. The relaxation factors set
in the course of iteration are shown in Table 4. Except the
linear mode used in the pressure term, the rest terms all use
the false time-step mode.
PHOENICS applies the residual vector R (ui ) to check
convergence. Right after each process of iteration, the preset
e9ective convergence criteria must be checked at once, in
order to decide whether iteration should be continued. This
preset convergence criteria is as follows:
||R(ui )||
6 101 :
(10)
||R0 ||
3. Result and discussion
3.1. Normal operation mode
If the ventilation openings are located at the appropriate positions, the natural ventilation can be accomplished
by the piston e9ect caused by the moving train in the
subway tunnel. There is no need to turn on the fans in
order to save the energy cost. Therefore, the train should
be able to introduce suLcient air to cool down the heat
generated by the train. It must be very careful in the
planning, evaluation, and calculation for the layout of the
ventilation openings and the size of their cross-sectional
areas, and they should be con<rmed with the SES
simulation.
UPE is a slot of 0:25 m wide and 1 m long on both sides
of the platform, each side has a total of 46 evenly distributed slots to capture the heat generated from the train.

1143

There are exhaust duct under the platform and each of

the both ends has an exhaust shaft. Each exhaust shaft on
each end has two sets of fans to simultaneously proceed
with the exhaust of hot air on the same side of the both
ends.
There is platform-screen doors installed in the station platform according to the present research, therefore the air3ow
at the passenger area of the platform and that at the track area
does not have direct convection. When the train arrives a station, and the platform-screen door opens, only small amount
of air 3ows in because the gap between the platform-screen
door and the carriage door is small, and hence the convection
can be ignored. Only the heat conduction generated by temperature di9erence inside and outside the platform-screen
door needs to be taken into consideration. The heat of such
conduction was taken into consideration in the estimation of
cooling load at the passenger area of the station and in the
SES simulation. The simulation time is peak hour of 17:00
in the afternoon, and there is a train for every 120 s, and the
train stops at a station for 25 s. The simulation duration is of
14; 400 s, and then takes the average data of the last 3600 s.
The results with various operating conditions are shown
below.
Normal operation mode with no UPE system. The SES
simulation results show that the temperature at the tunnel

area reaches up to 46:6 C and the temperature at the station

area reaches up to 48:8 C.

Normal operation mode with UPE system (suction air:ow rate is 30 m3 =s). The results show that the temperature
drops signi<cantly, but the temperature in the tunnel area
and the tunnel adjacent to the tracks of the station area is

still as high as 3839 C, which exceeds the required design

temperature of 37 C.
Normal operation mode with UPE system (suction air
:ow rate is 40 m3 =s). The suction air3ow rate of UPE of
each track in the station area at the BB and CC stations is
40 m3 =s, and at the DD stations and others is still 30 m3 =s.
The simulation results show that the temperature at the tun
nel area has dropped below 37 C, and the average temperature next to the tracks in the station area also drops below

37 C.
The above simulations show that when the station area
does not have the UPE system, the temperature will rise to

49 C approximately. When the operation is performed in

an environment with the temperature higher than 45 C, the

performance of the electrical equipment, air conditioning
system and auxiliary equipment of the train itself in the
tunnel will drop to below 50%. When the temperature of the

environment further rises over 55 C, they will not be able to

operate. Therefore, it is necessary to install the UPE system
to prevent the operation eLciency of system equipment in
the tunnel from being seriously in3uenced by the extreme
environment.
Since there is a crossover on the up track departing
from the AA station, when the suction air3ow rate of UPE
is 30 m3 =s for each side of the platform the piston e9ect

1144

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

40

BB/CC/DD UPE=15 m3 /s, Headway=120 sec.

BB/CC UPE=20 m3 /s, DD UPE=15 m3 /s, Headway=120 sec.

39

Dry Bulb Temperature (C)

38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29

BB Station
0

500

1000

(a)

1500

CC Station

2000

2500

3000

DD Station
3500

4000

4500

Distance from AA Station (m)

40

BB/CC/DD UPE=15 m3 /s, Headway=120 sec.

BB/CC UPE=20 m3 /s, DD UPE=15 m3 /s, Headway=120 sec.

39

Dry Bulb Temperature (oC)

38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30

BB Station

CC Station

DD Station

29
0

(b)

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Distance from AA Station (m)

Fig. 3. Temperature distributions in up track and down track tunnels.

cannot function as expected. In the down track the DD

station is the terminal station and has no entrance or exit
passing through the ground surface. When the train departs
the DD station, it will immediately meet the cross-over and
reduce the function of the piston e9ect. Although there is a
signi<cant drop in the air temperature in the tunnel, yet it
still does not meet with the design requirement. More partic
ularly, the temperature reaches up to about 39 C on the track
in the BB station and the CC station. Since the piston e9ect
cannot accomplish the expected result, only reinforcing the
performance of UPE system can be considered. Therefore,
suction air3ow rate at the BB and the CC stations will rise
to 40 m3 =s on each side of the platform and still keeps at
30 m3 =s for the DD station. The comparison of the simulation results is shown in Fig. 3. The average temperatures
in di9erent location according to the present conditions are
shown in Table 5. The simulation results show that the average temperature of the air next to the track in the tunnel

Table 5
Average temperature in tunnel and station areas (UPE suction rates:
BB=CC stations= 40 m3 =s, DD station= UPE 30 m3 =s)

Tunnel area

Up track ( C)

Down track ( C)

AABB
BBCC
CCDD
DDPortal

36.4
36.5
35.8
31.7

35.1
35.5
35.2
30.6

Station area
BB
CC
DD

36.9
36.4
34.2

35.6
35.7
30.5

and the station area is below 37 C. Therefore, it is recommended to increase the suction air3ow rate of UPE system
at the BB and CC stations to 40 m3 =s on each side of the
platform.

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

3.2.1. E;ect of the cross-sectional area of the ventilation

shaft
The cross-sectional area of the ventilation tunnel at the
BB station is set to 15, 20, 25, and 30 m2 , and the length is
maintained at 60 m to investigate its impact. All of the UPE
systems are closed to avoid in3uences to the analysis of the
piston e9ect.
The simulation results are shown in Fig. 4. When the
cross-sectional area of the ventilation shaft is doubled, the
air3ow rate in it will increase by 1.4 times, and the theoretical value of the 3ow should also be doubled. It is because
the theoretical result only takes one ventilation shaft into
consideration and there is no in3uence from any other, but
the SES simulation accounts the in3uence of all ventilation

Downstream BB Station, Exhaust

Downstream BB Station, Intake
Upstream BB Station, Exhaust
Upstream BB Station, Intake
Theoretical Value

17
3

Studying and understanding the in3uence of the

cross-sectional area and the length of the ventilation tunnel to the piston e9ect serves as the reference basis for
the design change and reduces the impact on surrounding
environment and the visual landscape in the future.
In the present research, the cross-sectional area and the
length of the upstream and downstream ventilation shafts in
the BB station are separately changed, and the case analyses by comparing the results with the theoretical values are
shown below.

18

Volume Flow rate in Ventilation Shaft (m /s)

3.2. The in:uence of the cross-sectional area and length

of the ventilation shaft on the piston e;ect

1145

16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3

15

20

25

Cross-Sectional Area of Ventilation Shaft (m )

Fig. 4. E9ect of the cross-sectional area of ventilation shaft on the air3ow

rate (length = 60 m).

shafts. Therefore, there is a di9erence in the results, and the

SES simulation is used as the basis for the analysis.
3.2.2. E;ect of the length of the ventilation shaft
The length of the ventilation shaft at the BB station
is separately changed to 40, 60, 80, and 100 m, and the

Volume Flow rate in Ventilation Shaft (m /s)

18
Downstream BB Station, Exhaust
Downstream BB Station, Intake
Upstream BB Station, Exhaust
Upstream BB Station, Intake
Theoretical Value

17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
15

20

30
2

25

30
2

Cross-Sectional Area of Ventilation Shaft (m )

Fig. 5. E9ect of the length of ventilation shaft on the air3ow rate (cross-sectional area = 20 m2 ).

1146

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Fig. 6. Coupling e9ect of the cross-sectional area and length of ventilation shaft on the air3ow rate.

50
48

Temperature in Tunnel ( C)

46

20 km/hr
40 km/hr
60 km/hr
80 km/hr
BB Station

CC Station

44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30

500

1000

Tunnel Distance (m)

Fig. 7. Temperature distributions in tunnel under various train speeds.

cross-sectional area remains at 20 m2 , and all of the UPE

systems are closed to avoid any in3uence to the analysis of
the piston e9ect.

The simulation results are shown in Fig. 5. When the

length of the ventilation shaft is increased to 2.5 times, the
air3ow rate at the downstream of the ventilation shaft at

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

1147

Fig. 8. Pressure and velocity distributions when the train entering the station area under various speeds.

the BB station is reduced to 0.75 0.85 times, and that at the

upstream of BB station is reduced to about 0.95 times. Since
the in3uence at the upstream ventilation shaft is smaller
than that at the downstream due to the change of length,
theoretically the change in air3ow rate due to the change in
length is very small and is about 1%.
3.2.3. Coupling e;ect of the cross-sectional area and the
length of the ventilation shaft
The design speci<cation basically regulates the crosssectional area of the ventilation shaft that cannot be greater
than 20 m2 , and the length should not exceed 60 m, but
sometimes the length of the ventilation shaft has to be increased due to the problem of limiting land and the position
of the exit of the ventilation opening has to be changed.
Therefore, when the original design with an area of 20 m2
and length of 60 m is changed to the lengths of 80 and
100 m, the cross-sectional area should be increased ac-

cording to the simulation to obtain the same air exhaust

volume.
The simulation results are shown in Fig. 6. When the
length of the upstream and downstream ventilation shafts at
the BB station are increased to 80 m, the cross-sectional area
should be enlarged to 22:5 m2 to accomplish the originally
designed total intake and exhaust air volume (at 20 m2 , and
60 m) caused by the piston e9ect. When the length of the
ventilation shaft is increased to 100 m, the cross-sectional
area should be enlarged to 25 m2 .
3.3. The in:uence of train velocities on environment
temperature in the tunnel and track areas
Di9erent piston e9ects caused by di9erent train velocities
will in3uence the induction and exhaust of the air3ow in the
ventilation shaft, and further impact the thermal exchange
of the hot air in the tunnel with the external air and hence

1148

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Fig. 9. Pressure and velocity distributions when the train passing through the ventilation shaft under various speeds.

a9ects the temperature distribution in the tunnel. The heat

in the tunnel is generated from the equipment such as lights,
indicating lights, and electric equipments, and the major
source comes from the train due to its acceleration heat,
braking heat, and the heat discharged from air-conditioning
equipment and its accessory equipment.
The SES program is used to separately simulate di9erent
piston e9ects caused by di9erent train velocities (20, 40, 60,
and 80 km=h) passing through the tunnel for the analysis of
temperature distribution, assuming the length of the tunnel,
the length, dimension and position of the ventilation shaft,
and the train schedule interval are constant.
The simulation results are shown in Fig. 7. The simulation
results show that when the train velocity is in the range of
40 60 km=h, the temperature in the tunnel is lower. When
the velocity is at 20 km=h, it has more cars in the tunnel due
to the slow speed and causes a drastic rise in temperature
due to the weak piston e9ect. When the train velocity is
at 80 km=h, although there is a better piston e9ect, yet the

larger heat released from the high speed of the train causes
the air temperature in the tunnel higher than those at the
velocities of 40 and 60 km=h.
3.4. The in:uence of train velocities on pressure
distribution in the station area
Due to the safety and economic considerations, all stations
in the Hsin Chuan route will be designed to install platform
screen doors. However, the addition of screen doors easily
causes the piston e9ect when the train arrives the station.
A large pressure at the train head will be produced, and the
thickness of the glass and the anti-pressure capability of the
platform screen door must be taken into consideration.
To simulate the situations of the train passing the station,
the actual dimensions of the station and tunnel are considered as detailed as possible into the numerical model. Both
sides of the model are tunnels, and the length at the end of

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

1149

Fig. 10. Pressure and velocity distributions upon the train arriving the platform screen door area under various speeds.

the entrance to the tunnel is 171 m, and the length at the

end of the exit of the tunnel is 150 m. The total length of
the station is 198 m, wherein the platform screen door area
is 141 m, the height of the station is 5:31 m, and they are
of the actual size. The 46 UPE slots under the platform are
simpli<ed into 5, but the total opening area and the suction
air volume remain unchanged. In the mean time, in order
to simplify the model, and since the station is symmetrical
sideway, only the track on one side is considered for the
CFD simulation in order to reduce the CPU time.
The by-pass and the ventilation shafts are taken into consideration, and they are put into the model for simulation.
A 29:5 m 3:2 m 141 m block represents the train of the
Taipei Rapid Transit System. A theoretical reference value
can be derived by the calculation according to the design data
[2]. When the train is traveling at the velocity of 80 km=h,
the length of the tunnel is 1400 m, and the blockage ratio is
42.5%, the pressure di9erence generated by the train head

is 1132 Pa. 3D CFD simulation results are shown in Fig. 8

when the train entering the platform area and traveling at the
velocity of 80, 65, and 55 km=h, respectively. The contour
diagram represents the pressure, and the vector diagram represents the velocity. Fig. 9 shows the pressure and velocity
distributions of the train passing the ventilation shaft with
di9erent velocities. Fig. 10 shows the pressure and velocity distributions of the train just entering into the platform
screen door area. Fig. 11 shows the pressure and velocity
distributions when the pressure generated by the head of the
train reaches the maximum.
The maximum pressure at 80 km=h is 1727 Pa, as can
be seen from these <gures and the head of the train generates the maximum pressure of 1119 Pa at 65 km=h. Furthermore, Fig. 12 shows the pressure and velocity distributions
of the train just departing from the platform screen door
area at di9erent velocities, and it shows the pressure and velocity distributions at each location. When the train passes

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M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

Fig. 11. Pressure and velocity distributions when the pressure on the train head reaches maximum under various speeds.

through the platform at di9erent velocities, the maximum

pressure caused by the trains displacement is shown in Fig.
13. When the train enters the platform area from the circular
tunnel, the maximum pressure generated by the train head
starts to drop, and it is because the e9ects of the by-pass
and the ventilation shafts. After the train passes the by-pass
and the ventilation shafts, the pressure starts to accumulate.
When the velocity of the train is 80 km=h, the maximum
pressure of 1727 Pa of the entire simulation process approximately occurs at the second car of the train when it enters
the platform screen door area, and the pressure will progressively decrease thereafter. When the velocity of the train is
65 km=h, the maximum pressure generated by the train head
is up to 1119 Pa, and at the velocity of 55 km=h, the maximum pressure is 782 Pa.
When the train passes through the platform screen door
area, the maximum pressure occurs at the position near the
train head, since the cross-sectional area of the station is

descending when it enters the platform screen door area,

and the pressure obviously starts increasing. Meanwhile, it
can be observed that only when the train passes through the
neighborhood of the by-pass and the ventilation shafts, it has
signi<cant pressure releasing e9ect. After the train passing
by-pass and the ventilation shafts, it has no e9ect on the
release of pressure.
4. Conclusions
This study combines the SES program and the CFD software PHOENICS for detailed simulation and analysis of
subways environmental control system as a reference for
design. The conclusions of the analysis of the present research are described below:
The temperature change in tunnel under di;erent piston
e;ects and train velocities. When the velocity of the train

M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

1151

Fig. 12. Pressure and velocity distributions when the train head leaving the station area under various speeds.

is at 40 60 km=h, the air temperature in the tunnel is lower

than that at the velocity of 80 km=h by 12 C, and when the

velocity is at low speed of 20 km=h, the temperature will
rise due to the weak piston e9ect.
The in:uence of cross-sectional area and length of the
ventilation shaft on the piston e;ect. If the height of the
exit of the ventilation shaft and the minor head loss remains
unchanged, the increase in length of the ventilation shaft will
increase the friction. When the length is increased from 40
to 100 m, the air3ow rate will decrease by 1525%. The
increase in cross-sectional area of the ventilation shaft will
signi<cantly reduce the friction resistance and the resistance
due to the reduction in velocity. When the cross-sectional
area is increased from 15 to 30 m2 , the air3ow rate will be
increased by about 40%. When the length of the ventilation
shaft is increased to 80 m, the cross-sectional area has to be
increased to 22:5 m2 in order to maintain the original piston
e9ect. If the length of the ventilation shaft is increased to
100 m, the cross-sectional area has to be increased to 25 m2 .

The in:uence to the platform-screen door when the train

passes through the station. The CFD simulation result of the
maximum pressure when the train that passes through the
platform screen door with a velocity of 80 km=h is 1727 Pa,
which is higher than the result of 1132 Pa obtained from
the empirical correlation, which is a simpli<ed model with
less parameters. The value di9ers from the simulation results
obtained by the PHOENICS by approximately 30%.
The CFD simulation results show that when the train is
traveling at 80 km=h, the train head generates the maximum
pressure of 1727 Pa, which approximately occurs at the second car of the train when it enters the platform-screen door
area. When the velocity slows down to 65 and 55 km=h,
the maximum pressures are decreased to 1119 and 782 Pa,
respectively, which also occurs at the second car of the
train when it enters the platform-screen door area. The
foregoing results recommend a speed of less than 55 km=h
when the train passes through the platform without a
stop.

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M.-T. Ke et al. / Building and Environment 37 (2002) 11391152

2000
1800

Speed= 80 km/hr
Speed= 60 km/hr
Speed= 55 km/hr

1600

Pressure (Pa)

1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Position (m)
Fig. 13. Pressure distribution along distance when the train head arriving the station area under various speeds.

The pressure generated by the train head can only be released when the train is passing through the by-pass and the
ventilation shafts. After the train passes through the by-pass
and the ventilation shafts, the pressure starts to increase
quickly.
References
[1] Subway environmental design handbook, vol. II, Subway
environmental simulation computer program, Version 4, Part 1, Users
manual. DOT of USA, 1997.

[2] Subway environmental design handbook, vol. I, Principles and

applications. DOT of USA, 1975.
[3] ASHRAE applications handbook. ASHRAE, 1999 [Chapter 28].
[4] Tsal RJ, Adler MS. Evaluation of numerical methods for ductwork
and pipeline optimization. ASHRAE Transactions 1987;93(1):1734.
[5] Cheng TC. Simulations of ventilation and smoke system for subway
tunnel. MS thesis, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan,
2000.