MOSCOW, June 19 A self-activating fire extinguisher filled with carbon dioxide in a water shell was developed by TPU scientists. According to them, the new device counteracts the flame due to the shock wave generated when the hydration system explodes, and can become an environmentally friendly and effective alternative to existing methods of fighting fires. The research results are presented in Gas Science and Engineering.
Today, to extinguish fires, so-called projectile devices are used, which throw a projectile with fire extinguishing agents at the source of the fire. As explained by specialists from Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), the compounds used in such systems are toxic to living beings, and also cause great damage to objects surrounding the ignition source, regardless of the material of manufacture.
Gas hydrates, compounds of gas in an ice and water shell, could be a promising “filling” for fire extinguishers, the university explained. They form foam in aqueous solutions, which speeds up the suppression of fires, do not have a negative impact on the environment and human health, and are low cost, experts emphasized.
A team of TPU scientists developed a self-activating device with gas hydrate based on carbon dioxide obtained by burning traditional fuels at thermal stations, and tested the prototype in various conditions: when burning wood, PVC panels, linoleum, cable products, oils, alcohols and flammable liquids .
“To do this, a “packed” hydrate mass with a hydrate fraction of 35 to 75 grams was placed at the source of the fire. At the moment the “fire extinguisher” is activated, the combustion of the flame stops due to the shock wave that occurs during the explosion of the hydrate. The ice shell of the hydrate itself reduces the temperature by the source of the fire, and the inert gas displaces oxygen from the combustion zone,” said Nikita Shlegel, associate professor at the TPU Research School of Physics of High-Energy Processes.
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The specialist explained that surfactants, a fire extinguishing agent, a foaming agent and polysorbate.
“Experiments have shown that the response time of a fire extinguisher can be adjusted by varying parameters such as the mass of the hydrate and the volume of free space in the fire extinguisher, the amount of added water and the type of mechanical impact on the fire extinguisher (impact on the fire extinguisher itself or its collision with other objects). For example, for increasing the reaction rate, you can add from 25 to 75 ml of water to the hydrate. In some cases, this made it possible to speed up the operation of the fire extinguisher by 9 times, and the mechanical effect on the fire extinguisher reduced its response time by 20 seconds,” the scientist said.
The specialist explained that fires can be “fired at «self-activating extinguishing shells. Depending on the area of the fire, a different number of devices may be required.
The work was carried out by the Laboratory of Heat and Mass Transfer of Tomsk Polytechnic University with the support of the federal program of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation «Priority-2030» of the national project «Science and Universities».