Investigation of Titanium Combustion Characteristics and Suppression Techniques

Abstract

This test program studies the burning characteristics of titanium under air flow conditions. The flat plate titanium samples are ignited by molten titanium from an electrically heated ignitor. Air flow conditions that support sustained combustion of a single sample are determined. The burn rate is measured on all tests with steady state burning. Argon gas is shown to be a feasible extinguishing agent for a titanium fire. Quick injection of a sufficient amount of argon gas to maintain a 60% concentration by volume of argon results in quick suppression by oxygen depletion. Carbon dioxide (CO2), a common fire extinguishing agent, is shown to sustain titanium burning at an accelerated rate. The ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by burning titanium is shown to be of a sufficient intensity for existing UV fire detectors to detect at reasonable distances.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1976
Accession Number
ADB010507

Entities

People

  • Duane G. Fox

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Flow
  • Air Force
  • Burning Rate
  • Cameras
  • Combustion
  • Compressor Blades
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Fire Protection
  • Ignition
  • Instrumentation
  • Materials
  • Motion Pictures
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Facilities

Readers

  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Metallurgy
  • Spectroscopy.