Subway Climatology

Dear Colleagues,

Subway climatology is a relatively new field of research that is concerned with understanding the airflow in subway systems. Professor Andreas Pflitsch of the Department of Geography at the Ruhr University, Bochum, coined the name. Professor Pflitsch saw a connection between the behaviour of the airflow in caves and that in subway systems. His experience of caves led him to believe that the previous research on caves could be applied to subways and this would then be a valuable resource to understand the dispersion of smoke and toxic substances in subways. The initial experimental work, lead by Professor Pflitsch, performed in New York, Dortmund, Berlin and Newcastle, validated some of the assumptions regarding the similarity of Caves and Subways. One important similarity is the existence of a background airflow which is thermally driven by the external weather conditions and shows an element of seasonality. In subways, this background airflow is independent of the train movement and re-establishes quickly after the passage of a train. An understanding of the background airflow is essential if sustainable evacuation strategies in subways are to be established. The unpredictable nature of the airflow in subways is amplified when the thermal effect of escalator motors and stairwell chimneys is included. A significant difference is that subways are in an urban environment and are subject to the local heat island effect thus showing less seasonal variability than caves. This is very much a thermodynamic problem, more so when fire, and smoke dispersion are added to the problem. The experimental work of Professor Pflitsch and his co-workers lead to the establishment of an analytical platform used to study existing stations and serve as an early stage design tool for subway system architects and designers.

The analytical platform of this multidisciplinary work is based upon:

·         Applied thermodynamics

These topics are not exclusive to Subway Climatology; many research workers have been and still are studying aspects of subway systems without using this particular title.

The production of this special edition of “Advances in Applied Thermodynamics” is the first recognition of Subway Climatology as a rigorous multidisciplinary research topic it its own right that will provide an international platform for the exchange of ideas and encourage the meeting of like minds.

This Special Issue invites contributions that present new and original research in Subway Climatology. The list above provides a guide to the topics but this is by no means exclusive.

Prof. Dr. Brian Agnew
Guest Editor

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• Subways
• Virtual environment
• Evacuation strategy
• CFD
• Human factors
• Instrumentation
• Heat island
• Urban micro climate