Automatic fire suppression

Abstract: A prototype fire suppression system was tested in one full-scale vehicle crash tests and three static vehicle fire tests. The prototype fire suppression system consisted of 2 Solid Propellant Gas Generators and two optical detectors. These components were installed on the hood of the test vehicle. A vehicle crash test and a series of static vehicle fire tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of this prototype fire suppression systems in extinguishing fires in the engine compartment of a crashed vehicle.

Abstract: On the morning of May 13, 2008, a fire that started in a coffee vending machine on the 6th floor of the 13-story Faculty of Architecture Building at the Delft University of Technology (TUD), Delft, the Netherlands, quickly developed into an extreme loading event. Although all building occupants evacuated safely, the rapid fire spread severely impacted fire department operations, allowing the fire to burn uncontrolled for several hours, eventually resulting in the structural collapse of a major portion of the building. With the fire continuing to burn after collapse, damage was ultimately significant enough that the building had to be demolished. Collecting and archiving data from this fire is extremely important because structural collapse of high-rise buildings due to fire has historically been quite rare. There are several reasons for this, from the overall infrequency of fire ignition in high-rise buildings, to the combination of structural fire resistance of the frame, fire-rated compartment barriers, automatic fire suppression systems, and fire department suppression activities generally associated with the fire protection strategy for high-rise buildings. This event offers a unique opportunity to study the performance of a code-compliant high-rise building in a major fire wherein the outcome was different than might typically be expected. In order to facilitate analyses of this event, researchers in the United States, under a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF award 0840601), teamed up with researchers from TNO and Efectis in the Netherlands, along with Prof. Kees van Weeren of the TUD Faculty of Architecture, to collect data on the fire and collapse. A summary of data collected and outcomes of preliminary analyses are presented.

Abstract: An automatic fire suppression system used to provide protection of window glass and other structural elements in aircraft terminals which are exposed to exterior fires caused by natural, accidental, or intentional events comprises a directional passive microwave receiver, a central processor for processing received microwave signals over time and comparing the received signals over time with thermal event signatures stored in memory to selectively actuate a sprinkler system for protecting the window glass in the vicinity of an identified fire event. The memory may further store a model of the aircraft terminal, and the processor utilizes a fire dynamics simulator to simulate a thermal event at the terminal. A related fire suppression process involves the detection of incipient fires through an array of exterior passive microwave heat sensor fire detectors connected to an electronic control processor which identify zones such as 30 to 100 linear foot zones of exterior glass surface and automatically initiates an array of quenching sprinkler heads applying water to the exposed surfaces of glass and other structural elements in response to detection of an identified fire event by its signature.