Educational agents for the training of tunnel operators

The tunnel operator monitors and regulates the flow of traffic inside a tunnel, and takes actions in case an incident occurs. TNO has developed a training simulator that enables the operator to train incident situations. We are currently improving the simulator by developing intelligent agents that support a qualified operator, who trains...

Behaviour on tunnel fire

Motorists drive through tunnels at high speeds. In consequence, they see the tunnel in a flash and have no idea how the tunnel looks like when they have to walk in the tunnel, for example, when evacuation is required. The authorities responsible for evacuation (and escape signs) are experts who fail to see the tunnel the way the general public...

Licht en geluid leiden naar uitgang van tunnel: Zelfredzaamheid cruciaal in eerste minuten bij ramp

Getting passengers out: Evacuation behaviours

Auditory marking of escape ways in smoke

Fire and smoke in a tunnel are dangerous because people get disoriented, blinded, and finally suffocate. When such a situation occurs (despite all precaution), sound beacons over the emergency exits could be a great help, reducing escape time through smoke. We let human participants "find refuge" from a road tunnel in dense (cosmetic) smoke....

The tunnel as seen on evacuation

Motorists drive through tunnels at high speeds. In consequence, they see the tunnel in a flash and have no idea how the tunnel looks like when they have to walk in the tunnel, for example, when evacuation is required. The authorities responsible for evacuation (and escape signs) are experts who fail to see the tunnel the way the general public...

Geluidbakens in tunnels: juridische en operationele analyse

Eerdere proeven van TNO hebben aangetoond dat geluidbakens boven de vluchtdeuren de automobilisten helpen om te voet te vluchten uit een tunnel, ook in dichte rook. Om deze geluidbakens in tunnels aan te brengen heeft Rijkswaterstaat Bouwdienst aan TNO gevraagd het aanbestedingstraject te ondersteunen.De opdrachtverlening kent twee fasen: eerst...

Auditory guidance in a smoke-filled tunnel

As a test on auditory guidance, participants tried to .nd refuge and safety in a road tunnel in dense smoke with sound beacons over the escape exits. The beacons emitted a 'shhussing' noise with a 5-Hz pulse frequency. Three groups participated, 32 or 33 participants per group, the first with minimal instruction (sound not mentioned), the second...

Behavior of drivers during tunnel evacuation

Automobilisten zijn amper bereid hun auto te verlaten als ze in een tunnel in een file staan en voor hen is brand. Een 'commando' is nodig, daarna helpt het kudde-effect.

Getting passengers out: Evacuation behaviours

When disaster strikes, mass transportation means mass evacuation. The issue is especially urgent if, despite precautions, a train comes to a stop in a tunnel and there is a fire. Adequate behaviour of passengers is a major success factor of an evacuation. Passengers should replace their original (travel) goal with the evacuation goal and--once...

Ontwikkeling en laboratoriumtest van geluidsbakens voor ontruiming van tunnels [Development and laboratory test of sound beacons for tunnel evacuation]

Purpose: Can people lost in dense smoke be guided by sound? In a previous test with (commercially available) sound beacons over the emergency exits of a tunnel barely 20% found the exits; "unacceptable" according to the Centre for Tunnel Safety of the Civil Engineering Division of the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management....

Bekendheid noodvoorzieningen in autotunnels 2001

Vanwege maatschappelijke verontrusting over de veiligheid van autotunnels gaf de Bouwdienst van Rijkswaterstaat opdracht na te gaan wat de gemiddelde weggebruiker weet van de in tunnels aanwezige noodvoorzieningen. De opdracht is deel van een groter geheel van proeven met gecontroleerde branden, gesimuleerde evacuaties en hulpdiensten. TNO...

Gedrag van automobilisten bij evacuatie van een tunnel

Gedragsproeven (N(700) gehouden in de Beneluxtunnel, gaven informatie over hoe evacuatie nu in de praktijk gaat. In TTn van de proeven werden geluidsbakens getest, als orientatiehulp in dichte rook.

Vluchtwegen en vluchtwegaanduidingen Westerscheldetunnel [Escape ways and escape-way marking in the Westerschelde tunnel]

Purpose: The tunnel under the Westerschelde is 6.6 km long. Evacuation is possible for emergencies. Evacuees from the "disaster tube" go to the "other tube" through transverse tunnels equipped with doors to contain smoke. But how do drivers know to leave their car, and where to go? ---- Methods: Evacuation steps are: (a) alerting drivers, (b)...

Traffic safety in the Westerschelde tunnel in case of emergency

The future Westerschelde tunnel will consist of two separated tunnel tubes of 6.6 km in length, one for each direction. The cross-section of each tube is just wide enough to contain two lanes of 3.5 metres wide. Due to financial constraints a separate tube for pedestrians will not be built and the cross-section of the tube does not allow any...