Investigation of Diurnal Pattern of Generation and Resuspension of Particles Induced by Moving Subway Trains in an Underground Tunnel

Sang-Hee Woo; Jong Bum Kim; Gwi-Nam Bae; Moon Se Hwang; Gil Hun Tahk; Hwa Hyun Yoon; Se-Jin Yook

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0444

Investigation of Diurnal Pattern of Generation and Resuspension of Particles Induced by Moving Subway Trains in an Underground Tunnel

Korea Nanoparticles

Sang-Hee Woo¹^,2^,3, Jong Bum Kim², Gwi-Nam Bae ²^,3, Moon Se Hwang⁴, Gil Hun Tahk⁴, Hwa Hyun Yoon⁴, Se-Jin Yook ¹

¹School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
²Technology Research Center, Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, Seoul 04806, Korea
³Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
⁴Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railway Research Institute, Uiwang 16105, Korea

Received: November 1, 2017
Revised: February 10, 2018
Accepted: February 20, 2018
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0444

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Cite this article:
Woo, S.H., Kim, J.B., Bae, G.N., Hwang, M.S., Tahk, G.H., Yoon, H.H. and Yook, S.J. (2018). Investigation of Diurnal Pattern of Generation and Resuspension of Particles Induced by Moving Subway Trains in an Underground Tunnel. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 18: 2240-2252. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0444

HIGHLIGHTS

Particle mass concentration in a subway tunnel was measured.
A pattern of variation of particle mass concentration in subway tunnel was derived.
A model to predict the variation of particle mass concentration was proposed.
Prediction of diurnal variation obtained from the model agreed well with measurement.

ABSTRACT

To protect the health of subway users, it is essential to investigate the generation, resuspension, and decay of particles in underground tunnels. In this paper, we analyzed the diurnal pattern of variation in particle concentration in a subway tunnel. The mass concentration of particles was measured in a shelter located midway in the underground tunnel connecting Janghanpyeong station and Gunja station on Seoul Subway Line 5 by using an aerodynamic particle sizer, a dust monitor, and a fast mobility particle sizer. The particle mass concentration increased uniformly as a train passed through the tunnel, which was followed by an exponential decay. The particle concentration in the tunnel decreased when the decrease in the number of particles between train operations exceeded the number of particles generated and resuspended by a passing train, and increased in the opposite case. The diurnal variation in particle concentration in the tunnel according to train operations can be predicted by applying such a pattern of variation to the mass concentration of particles.

Keywords: Aerosol; Particle concentration; Subway; Underground tunnel; Train operation.