Cooling panels for deep underground networks
The Cooling Panels physical asset demonstrator project – one of four designed to prove the benefits of modern methods of construction in the TIES Living Lab programme – involved designing, manufacturing and testing novel cooling panels suitable for the challenging environment of the London Underground deep Tube network. The project was designed and managed by Transport for London (TfL) and supplied by Strategic Rail Consultants.
Underground transit systems are popular in cities around the world, and they can be a very efficient method for moving a large number of people quickly and safely. But many cities have ageing systems that are in urgent need of upgrading. This project was created to meet the challenges to provide the cooling capacity in the Tube tunnels needed to enable the increase in the number of trains per hour and reduce maintenance costs compared with the Platform Air Handling Units cooling system.
Following the success of the first prototype tested, the project team decided to develop the design, and test the panel at Holborn station while also testing the fan in a dusty environment (Mark Lane) in parallel. To date, the cooling panel and fan performance data have been tested and recorded for the tests at Holborn. At Mark Lane, TfL will run the fan for 6–12 months to obtain further data on the performance of the fan. Once proven through the TIES Living Lab project, the system is intended to be used for future network improvements on other lines and, indeed, in other cities e.g., New York, Paris and Madrid. Read full information paper here.