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Fire suppression performance of a new type of composite superfine dry powder
Author(s) -
Li Hangchen,
Feng Li,
Du Dexu,
Guo Xinxin,
Hua Min,
Pan Xuhai
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/fam.2750
Subject(s) - composite number , zeolite , thermogravimetric analysis , materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , particle size , scanning electron microscope , particle (ecology) , composite material , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , physics , oceanography , engineering , thermodynamics , geology
Summary To enhance the performance of existing dry powders and ensure process security, a new type of dry powder based on ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH 4 H 2 PO 4 ) was prepared. The prepared composite superfine dry powder was denoted as NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite in this paper. The effectiveness of commercial ABC dry powder, superfine dry powder, and the NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite in fire suppression were compared in a small‐sized fire‐extinguishing chamber. Laboratory‐scale tests showed that the NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite had considerably superior fire‐extinguishing efficiency to that of commercial ABC dry powder and superfine dry powder, along with shorter average extinguishing time and less average mass of powders consumed. In addition, the NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite also displayed much improved toxic gas suppression ability. The physical and chemical characteristics of commercial ABC dry powder, superfine dry powder, and the NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite were characterized using a range of techniques of laser particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Based on the analysis results, the improved fire suppression performance of the NH 4 H 2 PO 4 /zeolite composite can be ascribed to smaller particle size, larger surface area, and a special chemical decomposition process.