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Performance of Foam Agents on Pool Fires at High Altitudes

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Abstract

The physical and chemical properties of foams change based on atmospheric pressure, so estimating the effect of pressure on the efficiency of foamite has important implications for extinguishing fires in high-altitude regions like the plateau in Sichuan province, China. In this study, foam expansion rate, drainage time, burn-back time, and fire extinguishing efficiency of three kinds of foamite are examined through pool fires in field experiments in plateau areas and in laboratory chambers. Agents investigated are fluorine-protein foam (FP), aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), and alcohol-resistant foam (S/AR). The results show that increases in altitude led to reduced performance across all measured performance parameters for all three kinds of foam extinguishing agents, and that AFFF still performs better than both (S/AR) and (FP) in high altitude. The study helps with the selection of foamite for pool fires in high-altitude regions and improves the fire protection.

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Abbreviations

FP:

Fluorine-protein foam extinguishing agent

AFFF:

Aqueous film-forming foam extinguishing agent

S/AR:

Alcohol-resistant foam extinguishing agent

FE:

Field experiment

m erf :

The mass of the foam, g

E :

The expansion rate of foam

σ :

The surface tension

LSE:

Laboratory-scale experiment

EF:

Expansion rate of foam

DT:

Drainage time

BT:

Burn-back time

ρ :

The density of the foam

t dt :

25% Drainage time, s

γ :

The boundary curvature

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51804314), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (E2018507020), and Science and Technology Research Project of Higher Education in Hebei Province”(QN2020535). The first author thanks the support of and the Key Laboratory Opening Foundation of the Ministry of Public Security in China (KF201810) and “Basic Work Special Project” from Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China (2016GABJC02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China People’s Police University, Langfang, 065000, China

    Huaibin Wang, Tianwei Zhang, Qinzheng Wang, Yu Li & Qingchun Kang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Bei**g Institute of Technology, Bei**g, 10081, China

    Huaibin Wang, Zhiming Du & Qinzheng Wang

  3. Weihai **hong Group Co., Ltd, Weihai, 264200, China

    Tianwei Zhang

  4. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Tianwei Zhang

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  1. Huaibin Wang
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  2. Zhiming Du
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  3. Tianwei Zhang
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  4. Qinzheng Wang
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  5. Yu Li
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  6. Qingchun Kang
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Correspondence to Tianwei Zhang.

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Wang, H., Du, Z., Zhang, T. et al. Performance of Foam Agents on Pool Fires at High Altitudes. Fire Technol 58, 1285–1304 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-021-01188-w

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