Abstract
Aim: Determination of the n-heptane diffusion flame-extinguishing efficiency of the combined method which uses a fire extinguishing aerosol, CO2 gases (N2) and the simultaneous impact in their environment of shock waves. The identification of a possible extinguishing mechanism for this method.
Methodology: In order to determine the possibility of extinguishing the diffusion flame of n-heptane by the combined use of CO2 or N2 gases, aerosol and the shock wave created by the explosion of the pyrotechnic charge, an experimental chamber was set up with a volume of 0.5 m3. Inside the chamber, a shock wave generator was installed, and a crucible with n-heptane was placed at a distance of 1.75 m from it. The gas was fed to the chamber through a gas meter. The pressure in front of the shock wave was measured with a BMP-180 pressure and temperature sensor for the Arduino controller, which operates on a piezoresistive basis. The photographic documentation of the extinguishing process by the combined action of aerosol, CO2 and N2 gases, and a shock wave was done using the Nikkon 1j4 camera with a frame rate of 1200 frames per second.
Results: The scientific aspects of the increase in the fire-extinguishing efficiency of the gas-aerosol mixture are theoretically substantiated and experimentally confirmed in this paper. Accordingly, the combined impact of a series of shock waves and CO2 or N2 gases mixed with aerosol on the flame of n-heptane inside a chamber, leads to a significant increase in the extinguishing efficiency of such a method. It has also been demonstrated that the extinguishing aerosol concentrations decrease 8 times, and the gases concentration in the binary mixture with the aerosol decreases 4,6 times for CO2, and 4 times for N2 in a relation to their individual extinguishing concentrations when the diffusion flame of the n-heptane is exposed to a series of 3 shock waves with a frequency of 10 Hz and a total power of only 240 Pa.
Conclusions: The characteristics of extinguishing the diffusion flame of n-heptane under the conditions of a special chamber were determined experimentally using the proposed combined extinguishing method. The tests have shown that the time for the onset of fragmentation decreases significantly after exposure to a series of shock waves, and the flame is then detached and dispersed at much lower concentrations of aerosol and gas mixture, which leads to faster extinguishing.
Keywords: fire, shock wave, gas, aerosol fire extinguishing, fire extinguishing concentration
Type of article: original scientific article