Experimental extinguishment of fires by blast. Final report
Experiments on extinction of fires by airblast were continued in the shocktube facility dedicated to blast/fire interactions studies, and the facility was further improved toward a full, thermal/blast simulation capability, which will include a thermal radiation source. The experimental efforts were aimed toward improving our understanding of the physical mechanisms and scaling rules of blast extinguishment of fires through (1) tests with various common liquid (class B) fuels of different physicochemical properties and burning behavior and (2) tests with wood cribs of various element (stick) thicknesses and consequently varying burning behavior and time scales. Limited shocktube tests were also conducted in preparation for the MILL RACE event featuring blast extinction of fires on cellulosic debris. The significance of fuel type in ease of extinction by short positive-phase-duration airblast was confirmed. Most notable is that many class B fuels may have a significantly lower extinction-threshold overpressures, even with the short-duration airblasts used, than past tests with hexane had indicated. All tests indicated that flame flashback to the fuel bed from the downstream turbulent wake was the flame-retaining mechanism in nonextinction cases.
- Research Organization:
- SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 7091717
- Report Number(s):
- SRI-PYU-3341; ON: DE82906416
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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