Droplet dynamics study for different water-based fire suppressing liquids over commercial grade heated woods under various conditions
摘要
In the present paper, an experimental approach was performed to study the effectiveness of different water-based fire suppressant liquids over commercial grade heated woods by studying their droplet dynamics behaviour. Paper predicted the effectiveness of three types of non-toxic, affordable, and high shelf-life water-based fire-suppressing liquids for preventing accidental ignition and probable fire like situation for selected commercial-grade woods. Four different commercial grade woods were selected for the study i.e. mahogany, lebbeck, east african mahogany, and beechwood. All the selected woods are extensively used in office, shops, and in-home furniture. For preparing fire suppressing water-based solutions, potassium acetate (CH3COOK), ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) were used. During experimentation, all the wood samples were maintained below their ignition temperature or the temperature at which woods catches fire while slow heating process. Through experiments, it was observed that most wood catches fire in the temperature range of 250 to 300 °C when exposed to slow heating. Fire-suppressing droplets were impinged over heated wooden surfaces maintained at 150, 200, and 250 °C. Droplet diameter was kept constant at 3.5 mm for all the cases, while the impact velocity of the droplets was varied from 1.4 to 2.42 m/s. Liquid properties like, viscosity (µ), surface tension (σ), density (ρ), and pH values were determined for all the prepared samples. Parameters like, Weber number (We), spreading ratio (S), and rate of temperature change (ΔT) were studied experimentally and by observing droplet dynamics. Parameters which were studied in the present paper are important for the development of low-cost water-based fire suppressing liquids, which can be easily manufactured and stored. The experimental findings demonstrated that the maximum spreading ratio (S) increases with the wettability properties of wooden surfaces.