The impact of fire extinguishing gases injected into the composition of foams on the effectiveness of extinguishing flammable liquids

Abstract

PURPOSE. Extinguishing refined oil products with foam generated from a synthetic foaming agent with the use of a colloidal system of neutral gases and refrigerants as the gas phase is considered. A series of experiments was carried out to determine the fire extinguishing efficiency of foam, based on solutions of the “Aquafom” type S foaming agent, of various concentrations with the introduction of neutral gases and refrigerants. Data on the main criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of foam extinguishing were obtained. METHODS. The authors conducted laboratory tests in order to define the dependence of critical and optimal values of quenching parameters on the intensity of the supply of foams with different gas phases. FINDINGS. A histogram of the extinguishing efficiency parameter dependence on the methods of generating foam and the methods of feeding foam into the combustion chamber was obtained. Based on the numerical value of the extinguishing efficiency indicators, an analysis of the effectiveness for each extinguishing method was carried out. RESEARCH APPLICATION FIELD. It is advisable to introduce the outcomes of the study in research and educational process. CONCLUSIONS. The method of obtaining foam by mixing a solution of the foaming agent “Aquafom” type S with chladone 227ea with a sublayer foam supply to the combustion hearth turned out to have the highest parameter of extinguishing efficiency. Consequently, the foam generated by this method proved to be the most effective in extinguishing a model fire source.