Size Distribution and Light Scattering Properties of Test Smokes (NIST SP 965)

Published

February 1, 2001

Author(s)

D W. Weinert, Thomas Cleary, George W. Mulholland

Abstract

Measurements of particles size distributions and optical properties of smoke detector test smokes may yield a better understanding of existing detector designs and facilitate design improvements; NIST is making such measurements now on smokes produced in the fire emulator/detector evaluator (FE/DE). Results are presented for the first time of the mass scattering cross section (m2.g-1) of one flame generated (propylene) and two non-flaming fire generated tests smokes (cotton smolder, wood pyrolysis). Size characterization shows that the smoke from pyrolysed wood blocks is a unimodal distribution with a MMAD of 1.55 mm, while the smoldered cotton wick fuel has a bimodal distribution with a MMAD of 0.31 mm for its measurable mode. It was found that 48D% of the mass of the cotton wick smoke was below 0.056 mm. The ratio of polarization and the degree of linear polarization have been demonstrated as a means of distinguishing between soot from flaming fires and smoke particles from non-flaming fires. The ratio of polarization is shown to be more sensitive than the degree of polarization to soots from different flaming fuels. Three flame generated smokes (acetylene, ethylene and propylene) are shown to have similar q-plots, which are easily distinguished from the q- plots for the non-flaming fuels smokes.

Citation

Special Publication (NIST SP) - 965

Report Number

965

NIST Pub Series

Special Publication (NIST SP)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.965

Local Download

Keywords

fire detection, fire detection systems, smoke detectors, smoke generation, size distribution, sampling, light scattering

Citation

Weinert, D. , Cleary, T. and Mulholland, G. (2001), Size Distribution and Light Scattering Properties of Test Smokes (NIST SP 965), Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.965, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=912274 (Accessed March 13, 2025)