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Combustion Properties of Halogenated Fire Suppressants

Published

Author(s)

Gregory T. Linteris, Valeri I. Babushok, Oliver Meier

Abstract

Previous experimental studies have shown that some halogenated fire suppressant agents added to hydrocarbon-air systems can enhance the combustion. For example, their addition to the air stream can widen the flammability limits of lean mixtures, and increase the maximum explosion pressure for constant volume combustion. To explore the experimentally observed combustion enhancement, the combustion properties of pure mixtures of fire suppressants and air/oxygen were studied. Adiabatic combustion temperatures, ignition delays and burning velocities were calculated for several typical fluorinated fire suppressant agents (CF3H, C2F5H, C3F7H and C3F7COC2F5) in mixtures with air, and CF3Br and CF3I in air and oxygen. Calculated burning velocities are in the range 0.37 cm/s to 2.5 cm/s at initial temperature 400K (stoichiometric air mixtures of CF3H, C2F5H, C3F7H, C3F7COC2F5, 1 bar). The results show that the fluorinated agents possess sufficient energy to participate in combustion processes, and can support combustion with burning velocities which should be measurable (for some of the systems) at slightly elevated initial temperatures. Simulated ignition delays for C3F7H and C3F7COC2F5 are shorter than for propane for the analyzed range of temperature (1000 K to 1500 K), and those for C2F5H/air mixtures are comparable with propane in a lower temperature range (1000 K to 1250 K).
Citation
Combustion and Flame
Volume
159

Keywords

fire suppressants, fire suppression, FM-200, Novec 1230, HFC 125, CF3Br, Halon 1301, CF3I, Halon replacements, flame inhibitors

Citation

Linteris, G. , Babushok, V. and Meier, O. (2012), Combustion Properties of Halogenated Fire Suppressants, Combustion and Flame, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2012.07.005 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created August 1, 2012, Updated November 10, 2018