A saving for society of almost half a billion SEK! This is what fire protection solutions developed by RISE in collaboration with, among others, the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) and Brandskyddslaget have resulted in. The consultancy company Ramboll has calculated the figures.
Between 2010 and 2012, the STA carried out a development project which had the aim of designing an adapted fixed fire fighting system (FFFS) for road tunnels. The project was carried out in collaboration with Brandskyddslaget AB, Nordic Sprinkler, Bravida, and RISE Fire Research (formerly SP Fire Research).
The overall objective was to develop a cost-effective system that suppresses the growth of a fire and prevents it from spreading between vehicles.
The STA initiated the project during the final stages of the planning of the Northern Link tunnel, but also aimed to find solutions that could be used in the Stockholm Bypass tunnel system and other Swedish road tunnels.
Economic calculation
Having been commissioned by RISE, the consulting company Ramboll conducted a study that shows that RISE’s work has had a significant impact on many of the decisions relating to FFFS solutions that have been made by the STA. Specifically, the report concludes that RISE Fire Research (together with the STA and the private companies Brandskyddslaget AB, Nordic Sprinkler, and Bravida) has contributed to net savings of almost half a billion SEK. Truly a good return on invested research funds (roughly 10 million SEK) by the STA.
The development of the new concept
During the project, a new sprinkler-based FFFS was developed and tested. The result is a system that features side-wall nozzles (nozzles that emit water towards the walls of a tunnel) with a great range, and water supply systems with pipes that are both less expensive and fewer in number than those found in a traditional sprinkler system. A number of previous issues of Brandposten have contained articles that describe the various tests that were carried out during the development process.
RISE Fire Research contributed in the early stages of the project by participating in two hearings, where it was officially asserted that the STA was on the right track in its development of the FFFS. During the development process, RISE Fire Research was able to verify the efficacy of the system through testing and expert knowledge. According to the report, the test results and expertise provided by RISE Fire Research were decisive in the STA’s decision to install the system in the Northern Link tunnel. RISE Fire Research also played an important role in the aftermath of the development project, when the Swedish Transport Agency required further support in demonstrating the well-functioning efficacy of the system. The new FFFS became operational in November 2014, when the Northern Link tunnel was opened to traffic, and the system will also be installed in the Stockholm Bypass tunnel system, which is planned to open for traffic in 2025.
A large economic impact
According to Ramboll’s report, the economic effects of RISE Fire Research’s participation in the development work are significant. The final results of the cost-benefit analysis that Ramboll performed show that the project has been very beneficial from a socio-economic perspective, representing a net value of almost half a billion SEK and an income-cost relationship of roughly 50. This means that the socio-economic value of the contributions of RISE Fire Research are approximately 50 times greater than the development costs incurred by the project. This estimation is likely very conservative, as Ramboll only performed calculations for the Northern Link and Stockholm Bypass tunnel systems. The results of the development project have now been disseminated to other tunnel projects in Sweden and abroad. The developed FFFS stands a good chance of becoming the new Swedish standard for road tunnels. The new system also results in savings in other technical systems (ventilation, structural, detection), although these are not quantified in Ramboll’s report.
RISE Fire Research founds TUSC
One of the results of our excellent collaboration with the STA and other organisations is that RISE Fire Research will be able to provide continued support to society and industry through a new centre, TUSC (Tunnel and Underground Safety Center), which has an agreed research funding of at least 3.5 million SEK per year for five years. The funding will be provided by the STA, the Swedish Fortifications Agency, SKB (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company), and RISE. Discussions are ongoing with other possible stakeholders.
For more information, go to
www.ri.se
www.sp.se/fireresearch
About the Author
Haukur Ingason, Phd has over 30 years of international experience in fire safety research and engineering and is responsible for group of scientists on tunnel fire research at RISE Safety.
