DAEJEON < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

[Daejeon = Yonhap News] Reporter Kang Su-hwan — Pai Chai University announced on the 2nd that a professor and students from the Department of Railway Construction Engineering have filed a patent for an evacuation passage security system designed to prevent major disasters during tunnel fires.

As part of the Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) project, Professor Lee Kyung-chan and students (Yoo Myung-jun, Lee Seung-min, Jeon Jae-hyun, and Hwang Seon-bin) filed the patent for a "System and Method for Securing Evacuation Passages in Tunnel Fires Using Water Curtains."

Tunnel fires are particularly dangerous due to the risk of suffocation from toxic gases rather than the flames themselves. Existing ventilation systems have limitations in removing smoke, and the overlap between ventilation paths and evacuation routes increases the risk of casualties.

The core technology of this patent involves water spray nozzles installed on tunnel walls. In the event of a fire, these nozzles create a triangular "water curtain" that physically separates the vehicle traffic area from the evacuation space.

A key feature of the system is its ability to block and suppress the inflow of flames and smoke, allowing evacuees to move safely without the risk of burns or suffocation.

Additionally, the system includes guidance lights installed alongside the nozzles to clearly indicate evacuation directions. The water curtain also helps improve visibility by condensing and precipitating smoke particles.

Professor Lee Kyung-chan stated, "With the increasing construction of deep underground tunnels (more than 50m deep), such as the GTX (Great Train Express), interest in tunnel fire safety is growing." He added, "This patent offers a technology that guides safe evacuation during fires by replacing traditional physical barriers with water curtains. We hope this idea will be adopted in deep tunnel construction projects to contribute to ensuring citizen safety."

swan@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (February 02, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.