This experimental study delves into the fire characteristics within a long and narrow compartment equipped with multiple lateral openings. The investigation encompasses aspects such as radiant heat flow, temperature distribution, and smoke layer height. The presence of lateral openings introduces asymmetry in suction, resulting in augmented radiative heat flow on the rear side of the fire source compared to the front and left sides. Smoke stratification remains stable, with minimal temperature influence from the fire source power at one opening and negligible impact at the other. Employing a customized two-dimensional method for thermal estimation, our experimental data display lower results than previous predictions due to structural disparities. The utilization of the N-percentage rule unveils two discernible regions in smoke layer height behavior: stable and decreasing, a pattern consistent across varying heat release rates. These insights offer valuable predictive tools for discerning fire characteristics in elongated, restricted compartments with multiple lateral openings. Consequently, this study enhances comprehension and informs safety measures within such configurations, contributing to the broader field of fire safety engineering.

Runoff processes are the basis for maintaining the safety of river ecosystems. The Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) faces changes in flow regimes due to the impacts of human activities and climate change, which may threaten its fragile ecosystem. In this study, a new comprehensive system for evaluating runoff variation was constructed to investigate the degree of runoff alternation in the YZR. Based on the data from the primary hydrological stations in the YZR from 1956 to 2000, the assessment indicators of runoff variation were selected by considering the flow, sediment, and water temperature processes. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation system for runoff variation was constructed via multiple hydrological analysis methods and vague sets. The results showed that the variation index of the YZR from 2010 to 2013 was 0.15–0.20 compared with the flow regimes of the YZR before 2000, which were within a reasonable range, indicating that the comprehensive runoff conditions of the YZR were not greatly disturbed by human activities such as reservoir construction and river regulation during this period. These results provide a tool for evaluating the runoff change in the YZR and new references for researching runoff variation in other similar watersheds.