Abstract: To address the challenge of predicting and locating the position of the fire source with difficulty when the fire occurred in a cable trench, a method of fire source location using a single-exponential function with correction parameters and maximum temperature rise prediction was proposed. Based on a full-scale test platform and finite element simulation analysis, the relationship between the ceiling temperature rise and the location of the fire source was obtained, effectively enabling the location of the fire source and the prediction of the maximum temperature rise. The experimental results showed that the temperature of the ceiling exhibited an exponential change pattern longitudinally. The maximum deviation of fire source location was 0.098 m, with an average deviation of 0.044 m, and the average accuracy reached 98.67%. The maximum error in predicting the maximum temperature rise of the ceiling was 30 ℃, with an average deviation of 23.33 ℃, and the average accuracy was 96.8%. Compared with traditional fire prediction methods, the proposed method offered higher precision, providing a theoretical basis for the prevention of early cable trench fires. For different sizes of cable trenches, the proposed method's horizontal applicability was generally good, although its vertical applicability was limited to some extent. This limitation could be addressed by setting up temperature measurement points every 10 m to ensure accurate predictions.

Key words: cable trench, cable fire, temperature of the ceiling, fire source location, temperature prediction