ABSTRACT
The fire safety concept in tunnels situated in the Dutch highway network consists of non-spalling classified concrete with passive fire protection in designated areas, concrete with added polypropylene-fibres or a combination of spalling classified concrete with passive fire protection. Active fire protection is not used in the tunnels of Rijkswaterstaat. After several years of fire safety research, Rijkswaterstaat concluded that the existing fire safety concept is no longer valid, because the concrete that was classified as non-spalling does show spalling. This affects the fire safety concept in such a way, that fire testing is obligatory for all new tunnels. Also, the existing tunnels will be tested for fire safety. In this paper, the development of the previous fire safety concept in Dutch tunnels owned by Rijkswaterstaat is explained, the fire testing sequences that have been performed in recent years are described and the current standings are clarified.
