Pressure-Neutral Swing-Sliding Door for Tunnel Cross-Passages
Railway tunnels pose a special challenge for door systems: dynamic alternating pressure loads of up to 10 kPa at several million load changes and static pressures of up to 30 kPA are requirements that door and gate systems have to withstand over a period of at least 20 years. Due to the overpressure in cross passages, the opening of swing doors is always a challenge and requires more force. In the event of an incident, it may therefore be significantly more difficult or even impossible to open the cross-passage door during an evacuation.
Pressure Differences Are Compensated without Opening Aid
With the pressure-neutral door, the issues of opening forces solve themselves. Elkuch‘s system is optimally suited between sections with different air pressure conditions. The door can be operated with a minimum opening force at any time, even when ventilation is in operation. Pressure differences are overcome without an opening aid; it does not require any additional electricity. According to the manufacturer, the door system is low-maintenance and more cost-effective than a sliding door. It has passed the fire test up to 120 min and has already been tested with a dynamic pressure load of +/-2.5 kPa (tests with +/-5.5 kPa will follow).
The pressure-neutral swing-sliding doors have already been installed in Austria in the Milser Tunnel, Plabutsch Tunnel and Reittunnel as well as in two tunnels in Slovakia (all doors with a fire resistance from EI 30 to EI 90 and a dynamic pressure load of +/-2.5 kPa). There is great interest in pressure-neutral doors on the Italian market in the EI 120 version with +/-5.5 kPa and on the German market as EI 90 with +/-2.5 kPa.
