The Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Test Program. The Memorial Tunnel Test Facility

Many aspects of the Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Test Program (MTFVTP) have made it the most comprehensive of its kind, but none more so than the test facility itself The Memorial Tunnel test facility was truly state of the art in fire ventilation testing. Starting with a two-lane mountain tunnel, the engineering consultants for the MTFVTP designed, managed construction for, and maintained a one-of-a-kind facility that allowed testing of seven ventilation concepts and was capable of withstanding nearly 100 fires-four of which were 100 megawatts (MW) (341 MBtu/h) . This paper describes the test facility and the many modifications that were made to the Memorial Tunnel in preparation for the extensive testing.