A simple method to assess the quenching effectiveness of fire suppressants

作者：Avedisian C T; Presser C^*; Stiehl J; Cavicchi R E

来源：Fire Safety Journal, 2010, 45(3): 206-210.

DOI：10.1016/j.firesaf.2010.02.002

• Fire suppressant
• Pulse heating
• Extinction
• Transient heating
• Thermal conductivity
• Quenching effectiveness
• Suppression effectiveness

A screening concept is suggested for evaluating the effectiveness of fluids to thermally suppress fires. It is based on measuring a fluid's ability to inhibit (or quench) the temperature rise of a material that is rapidly heated. The experimental design is similar to the transient hot wire technique, in which the evolution of the average material temperature is recorded for a given input power, and internal temperature gradients in the material are minimized. A gold wire (100 mu m long and 5 mu m diameter) is used as the surface which heats the fluid. The wire temperature response due to a power pulse provides a measure of the effectiveness of the fluid to suppress thermally the temperature increase. The results indicate that the "quenching effectiveness", QE=(T(max)-T(infinity))/(T(max,ref)-T(infinity)), correlates with the ratio of the fluid thermal conductivity to that of the wire, k(fluid)/k(solid), using different Nusselt numbers (representing both conduction and natural convection) for the liquids or gases. The concept developed here could be included in a more comprehensive screening protocol, which would assess the thermal potential of candidate fire suppressants. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

• 出版日期2010-4