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Previous research has commonly assumed that tunnel fire blockage occurs at the central longitudinal axis of tunnels. However, fires may arise at different points within tunnels, each with various distances from the tunnel sidewall. The study aimed to investigate the distribution of ceiling temperature fields across various scenarios of blockage and transverse fire source locations by conducting a sequence of fire experiments within a reduced-scale 1:10 horseshoe-shaped tunnel model. The findings indicate that at sufficiently low ventilation velocities (v’≤0.19), the maximum ceiling temperature rise in the tunnel remains virtually unchanged regardless of the locations of blockage and transverse fire source. For higher ventilation velocities (v’>0.19), the maximum ceiling temperature rise diminishes with greater blockage-fire source distance. Additionally, the maximum ceiling temperature rise increases as the distance between the sidewall and the fire source diminishes. Furthermore, a new model has been formulated to forecast the dimensionless maximum ceiling temperature rise, incorporating both blockage and transverse fire locations.

Compared to single-source fires in tunnels, double-source fires may exhibit more intricate flame merging behavior and higher flame burning rates due to their interaction, thereby escalating the risk of fire propagation within the tunnel. In this investigation, a 1:10 scale model of a horseshoe-shaped tunnel test site was deployed to conduct experiments on lateral double-source fires, scrutinizing flame merging behavior, probability prediction models, and temperature characteristics of tunnel ceiling smoke gas by varying the oil pool size and double-source spacing. Findings from the study suggest that flame merging behavior within the tunnel is contingent upon double-source spacing and heat release rate (HRR), manifesting in three distinct forms: complete merging, intermittent merging, and complete separation. Through the introduction of non-dimensional heat release rate and non-dimensional fire source spacing, a piecewise function has been devised to forecast the probability of flame merging for both fire types. Furthermore, a predictive model for the maximum temperature rise along the longitudinal centerline of a horseshoe tunnel was formulated, drawing from established theoretical frameworks.