Freezing of Tunnels: An Assessment of Canadian Railway Tunnels inBritish Columbia

Tunnel frost issue is considered one of the main operating challenges of tunnels in cold climate. Where water seeps into atunnel with subzero inside temperature, ice can form in different ways such as hanging icicles, ice pillar on the walls or icebuildup on the floor. These issues should be considered during tunnel operation from safety and economical point of views.The current practice to remove ice from tunnels has safety concerns for the maintenance crews and passing trains andusually delays train traffic. As an alternative, insulation is considered a more reliable and safer method to avoid frost issuesin the tunnels. However, to decrease construction or remediation costs for tunnels susceptible to frost issues, the insulationlength should be minimized. Various methods to estimate the freezing depth inside the tunnels were discussed in this paperand their suitability was explained. In addition, the frost susceptibility of ۷۰ Canadian railway tunnels within RockyMountains in the province of British Columbia was discussed based on over ۱,۷۰۰ climate station across the province. Itwas concluded that ۲۱ tunnels have subzero temperature for at least ۳ months of the year and ۱۲ unlined or partially linedtunnels need additional frost investigation.

کلیدواژه ها:

TUNNEL ، RAILWAY ، FREEZING ، ICICLE.