Influence of modified additives on the properties of compressed air foam

Abstract

Abstract The object of this study is the properties of compressed air foam with the use of modified additives: its drainage time and expansion ratio.

The main properties of compressed air foam that affect the effectiveness of fire extinguishing are its drainage time and expansion ratio. At the same time, a number of authors have confirmed that the introduction of chemically modified additives into the composition of water fire extinguishing substances makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of fire extinguishing.

The problem to be solved was to determine the influence of five modified additives (NH4)2HPO4, NH4H2PO4, (NH4)2СO3, K2CO3 and KCl in the concentration range of 1–5 % by mass on the expansion ratio and drainage time of the compressed air foam. The results showed that the content of additives (NH4)2HPO4, NH4H2PO4 and (NH4)2СO3 in the aqueous solution of the foaming agent does not affect its expansion ratio within the given limits. On the other hand, with K2CO3 and KCl additives, it was not possible to obtain compressed air foam with a expansion ratio of 5–20, that is, their inefficiency in compressed air foam was noted.

The characteristic dependence of the effect of (NH4)2HPO4, NH4H2PO4 and (NH4)2СO3 additives on drainage time has been determined. The greatest drainage time is characteristic of the K≈20 generation mode. The highest recorded drainage time index was established for NH4H2PO4, namely 5.45 min; for (NH4)2HPO4 the drainage time was lower by 8 %; for (NH4)2СO3 the drainage time was lower by 20 %. At the same time, with the use of (NH4)2HPO4, NH4H2PO4 and (NH4)2СO3, it is characteristic to obtain a foam with lower drainage time compared to foam of a conventional composition. Thus, for foam with a expansion ratio of K≈20, the drainage time of foam with NH4H2PO4 is lower by 17 %, with (NH4)2HPO4 by 23 %, and with (NH4)2СO3 by 33 %.

The effect of reducing the drainage time of the foam can have a decisive role in reducing its effectiveness when used for extinguishing flammable liquids due to the extinguishing mechanism but is not decisive for extinguishing solid substances. Therefore, the fire-extinguishing effectiveness of compressed air foam with modified additives during the extinguishing of solid combustible materials in comparison with the conventional CAF composition requires further study