• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.19 no.2 s.58
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• pp.29-36
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• 2005

We carried out discharge and fire extinguishing tests of new inert gas clean agent, which consists of $92\%$ nitrogen and $8\%$ carbon dioxide, as an alternative of Halon that is banned by Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer of the earth. Discharge and fire extinguishing tests were performed in $27m^3$ and $190m^3$ rooms with piping which allows gaseous agent to transport from storage to test rooms. We confirmed that it took less than regulation time, 60 seconds for the discharge of over $95\%$ initial charged amounts. Discharge test variables were piping length and orifice size. Fire extinguishing tests verified that this new inert gas clean agent is suitable for both n-Heptane fire and deep seated fire of wood crib.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.9-17
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• 2004

The values of physical properties of the inert gases of Ar, $N_2$, $CO_2$ were calculated by the empirical equations. The regression coefficients were obtained by the experimental data and the resulting calculated values. For the empirical equation with a lower regression coefficient, a new correlation was suggested. At an atmosphere pressure, the empirical equation was confirmed by the experimental values for the viscosity, density, saturated pressure, and surface tension of Ar, $N_2$, $CO_2$. The correlation coefficients of the empirical equations proposed in this work was higher than 0.99.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2010

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the possibilities of an industrial $N_2$ generator that it replace Halon series as a natural extinguishing system. And this study comparison design standard of gas series extinguishing system with natural extinguishing system. We manufactured simple protected enclosure for analyzing fire-extinguishing performance of the $N_2$ generator. As a $N_2$ gas is exhausted on protected enclosure, a various of Oxygen concentration is measured to analyze fireextinguishing performance experimentally. The results, in case of $100m^3$ protected enclosure and $5m^3$/min $N_2$ flow rate, the Oxygen concentration is decreased below 15% within 3 minutes. And so, the $N_2$ generator make full use of an suffocating extinguishing system.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.41-48
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• 2001

Halogen-based fire suppressing agents have been the most effective fire suppressants and widely used for flammable liquid and electric fire. However they have environmental problems causing stratospheric ozone depletion and globe warming. As a substitution of halon, fire suppression system using fine water mist is one of an effective fire suppressant. Suffocating and cooling effects of water mist are increased by the evaporation characteristics because it has droplet size less than 1,000 $\mu{m}$ and very large surface area. In this study, the extinguishing characteristics of fire was measured with changing of water mist droplet size, flow density; discharge pressure, and fire size. As a result, the extinguishing time of pool fire was shortened with the increase of flow density and in case of low flow density less than 0.5$\pm$0.05 ml/$\textrm{cm}^2$ . min, the extinguishing time was shortened with the increase of droplet size. The cycling discharge was effective for $\eta$-heptane pool fire, and total amount of water mist required to extinguish fire was reduced to a quarter compare with continuous discharge.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.54-60
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• 2010

An experimental study has been carried out to determine the flow rate for a feasible N2 generator to extinguish the fire, and this study analogized the correlations to determine the flow rate for $N_2$ generator considered an Oxygen concentration, protected enclosure, discharging pressure and discharging time. We manufactured simple protected enclosure for analyzing fire-extinguishing performance of the $N_2$ generator. As a $N_2$ gas is exhausted on protected enclosure, a various of Oxygen concentration is measured to analyze fire-extinguishing performance experimentally. The correlations determined as an uncertainty analysis for the Oxygen concentration deviations of the theoretical and experimental value. The analogized correlations is Q = (21 $\times$ V)/($O_2+{\zeta}{\cdot}P$)-V. In case of $300m^3$ protected enclosure, 0.8 MPa discharging pressure and $40m^3$/min $N_2$ flow rate, the Oxygen concentration is decreased below 15% within 3 minutes.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

Halogen-based fire suppressing agents have environmental problems because they cause the stratospheric ozone depletion and globe warming. Hence, fire suppression system using fine water mist became the center of interest as a substitution of halon. As a study about this, it is in progress to make the optimum droplet size by using water mist nozzles and to improve the extinguishing performance of water mist by using additives. Before this study, the extinguishing time of ethanol and n-heptane pool fire was measured with changing of water mist droplet size, flow density, discharge pressure, and fire size. In this study, on adding the additives to improve physical and chemical extinguishing performance of water mist, the extinguishing performance would evaluate and the optimum condition would find out. As a result, in case of ethanol pan 1 pool fire, the extinguishing time of the water mist by adding of 2.5 wt% NaCl and 0.3% AFFF got shorter 27% and 60% than the pure water mist. Adding of AFFF was to decrease the flame temperature by forming thin film on the fuel surface and to decrease the evaporation of n-heptane fuel. In case of NaCl, alkali salt crystals showed on the flame surface.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2007

This study aims to investigate, review, and summarize the definition, development, and applications of "percent agent in pipe", "percent of agent in pipe" which is used as a key factor in testing and evaluating the performance of gaseous fire extinguishing agents, including Halon 1301 and $CO_2$. This study also analyzes and compares the local and international standards on testing and evaluating the performance of gaseous fire extinguishing systems, as well as the results of system performance tests conducted as a part of performance evaluation and approval programs for gaseous fire extinguishing systems, especially, Korean Gaseous Fire Extinguishing System Performance Approval Program called KFI Approval. Percent agent in pipe was defined first in NFPA 12A, Standard on Halon 1301 Fire Extinguishing Systems, dating back to the 1970's. After the phaseout of Halon 1301 systems in 1994 in the developed countries, the percent agent in pipe has been widely used in Halon 1301 alternative clean agent fire extinguishing systems, both halocarbon clean agent systems and inert gas clean agent systems, as an essential criterion to assure the system design accuracy, determine the limitations and performance of a system, and to predict the system performance results accurately, especially, in association with their system flow calculations. Underwriters Laboratories has their own standards such as UL 2127 and 2166 applying percent agent in pipe in testing and evaluating the performance of clean agent fire extinguishing systems. As a part of a system performance test and approval program called KFI Approval System, Korea also has started to apply the percent agent in pipe as a key factor to test, evaluate, and approve the performance of gaseous fire extinguishing systems, including both high and low pressure $CO_2$ systems, from the early 2000's. This study outlines and summarizes the relevant UL and KFI standards and also describes the actual test resultant data, including the maximum percents of agent in pipe for gaseous fire extinguishing systems. As evidenced in lots of tests conducted as a part of the system performance test and approval programs like KFI Approval System, it has been proven that the percent agent in pipe may work as a key factor in testing, evaluating, and determining the limitations and performance of gaseous fire extinguishing systems, especially compared with the hydraulic flow calculations of computer design programs of gaseous fire extinguishing systems, and will remain as such in the future. As one thing to note, however, there are some difficulties in using the unified percent agent in pipe to determine the maximum lengths of pipe networks for gaseous fire extinguishing systems, because the varying definitions used by some of the flow calculations (not in accordance with NFPA 12A definition) make it impossible to do any direct comparison of pipe lengths based on percent agent in pipe.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.7-12
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• 2007

The search for a new fire-extinguishing agent with all the desirable properties of halon 1301 has not been successful. To study binary gaseous extinguishing agents instead, one has to determine the extinguishing concentrations for several compositions of a given chemical in an inert gas. This process is expensive and time consuming. The fire suppression efficiencies of gas mixtures of HFC 125 and HFC 227ea with nitrogen as total flooding agents were studied by cup burner method. It was shown that addition of small amounts of those extinguishants to nitrogen can enhance the suppression effectiveness of the inert gas. As expected, the degree of synergism was highest at low concentrations of the chemical. For each binary system, extinguishing concentrations of the pure compounds and one binary data were used to predict the extinguishing concentrations for the entire range of binary composition. The predicted values were very close to experimental data.