The Use of Ground Cover Materials to Suppress Fuel Spill Fires.

Abstract

Small-scale experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of crushed and graded stone aggregate in preventing or retarding the rate of flame propagation from a fixed-ignition source when it was employed as a simulated ground cover material under controlled experimental conditions, for each of three aviation fuels. Tests included the use of loosley packed aggregate and no-fines concrete made with the same material. No significant difference in the rate of flame spread was noted between the loosley packed aggregate and no-fines concrete under equivalent test conditions. The experiments showed that the effectiveness of an aggregate in retarding flame propagation was a function of its size and the flash point of the hydrocarbon fuel and of its depth below the surface of the simulated ground cover. The fire suppression and/or containment effectiveness of the ground cover materials increased as the size of the aggregate decreased and the flash point of the fuel increased and as the depth of the fuel below the surface of the stone increased. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1973
Accession Number
AD0763447

Entities

People

  • Charles H. Urban
  • George B. Geyer
  • Lawrence M. Neri

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aviation Fuels
  • Concrete
  • Fire Suppression
  • Fires
  • Flame Propagation
  • Flames
  • Flash Point
  • Fuels
  • Hydrocarbon Fuels
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Ignition
  • Materials

Readers

  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Pavement Materials Engineering.