Experimental study on the extinction of liquid pool fire by water droplet streams and sprays

This paper provides evidence about the interaction between the water droplet stream and the flame, and explains how the interaction affects the suppression effectiveness. Two purpose-built gasoline pools were used to generate different open fires. The mono-disperse water droplet streams and water sprays were used as the flame suppressant. The first pool with a circular shape was equipped with a concentric pipe to allow the droplet stream to pass through the flame without impinging the gasoline. The second pool with a long narrow shape was equipped with expandable sides and allowed to extend the fire size. The passing ways of the droplet stream were systematically varied. The results clearly show two modes of flame inhibition; one is by blocking or interfering with the mixing of gasoline vapor and fresh air, and the other by cooling down the flames. For the stream case, the direction of the stream passing through the flame can affect the effectiveness of the suppression which increases as the angle is changed from vertical to horizontal. Also, there is an optimum distance between the stream axis and gasoline surface for flame inhibition. Moreover, the ability can be affected by the droplet size. On the same volume flow rate, the larger the droplet size, the more effective the flame suppression. For the water spray passing through the flame in the long groove pool, whenever the quantity of water vaporization reaches a critical value, the effectiveness of flame suppression by combining the obstructing and cooling effects becomes better.