Characterization of water spray on fire suppression

Abstract

The progress of the applications of water spray systems in fire suppression has been substantial over the last decade. However, the extinguishing mechanisms and the role of spray characteristics in fire suppression has not been well understood and identified. Sometimes, water spray does not behave like a perfect gaseous agent in fire suppression and the capability of a water spray system in fire suppression is dependent on the distribution of droplet size, water flux density, and spray dynamics. The study has been undertaken to examine quantitatively the effectiveness of water spray fire suppression systems using water droplet size ranged from about 150 μm to 800 μm. An experiment was conducted in this investigation to study quantitatively the effect of water spray on fire suppression and extinction. In order to produce different water droplet sizes under same water supply rates, different characteristics of water spray nozzles were designed and fabricated for experimental program. Four different water droplet sizes and two different water supply rates were applied on both liquid and solid fires. Also, ventilation effect of water spray on fire suppression and extinction was proposed.