The Use Portable Water Mist On High Altitude

Journal of Fire Sciences
http://jfs.sagepub.com
Fire Protection of Heritage Structures: Use of a Portable Water Mist

System under High-altitude Conditions
Xin Huang, Xishi Wang, Xiang Jin, Guangxuan Liao and Jun Qin
Journal of Fire Sciences 2007; 25; 217
DOI: 10.1177/0734904107069675
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2007 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Fire Protection of Heritage

Structures: Use of a Portable
Water Mist System under
High-altitude Conditions
XIN HUANG, XISHI WANG,* XIANG JIN, GUANGXUAN LIAO
AND JUN QIN
State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology
of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China
(Received April 30, 2006)
ABSTRACT: In order to verify the application of water mist on fire protection

of the Potala Palace in Tibet and deepen the knowledge of its suppression
mechanisms under high-altitude conditions, a series of experiments are
performed with a portable water mist fire protection system and with diesel
oil, gasoline and, in Lhasa, ghee as fuels. All of the experimental tests are
conducted with and without multicomposition (MC) additives. The experimental
results show that the MC additive can evidently improve the extinguishing
efficiency of water mist for a diesel fire, but the gasoline fire is a little difficult
to extinguish. The effects of high-altitude conditions on fire suppression are
discussed.
KEY WORDS: water mist, heritage structures, additive, fire extinguish,
fire suppression mechanism.
INTRODUCTION
IT IS WELL known that the use of water mist for fire suppression was
first studied in the 1950s, and there has been a renewed interest in this
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wxs@ustc.edu.cn
Figures 1, 2, 4 and 514 appear in color online: http://jfs.sagepub.com
JOURNAL
OF
FIRE SCIENCES, VOL. 25 MAY 2007
0734-9041/07/03 021723 $10.00/0

DOI: 10.1177/0734904107069675
2007 SAGE Publications

217
218
H. XIN
ET AL.
old technology since the first version of the Montreal Protocol was
introduced in 1987 [1,2]. This international commitment to protecting
the Earths ozone layer from further damage by chlorinated fluorocarbons (CFCs) has driven about 20 years of testing to develop
alternative fire suppression technologies to replace the chlorine- or
bromine-based gaseous fire suppressants known as halons. In addition,
some traditional and chemical agents were found to be a danger to
personnel due to toxicity and asphyxiation. Water mist is not associated
with such dangers to people in occupied areas, and has received
considerable attention as one of the potential methods for replacement
of Halon 1301 and 1211 [39]. Many studies on water mist suppression
mechanisms and its application in practical fires, such as aircraft cabins,
military radar, computer rooms, communication equipment cabinets,
have been performed [1016]. However, little work has been carried out
on fire suppression with water mist under high-altitude conditions,
such as in Lhasa, the provincial city of Chinese Tibet, at an altitude
higher than 3600 m.
China has a considerable number of historical buildings, which are not
only valuable to Chinese culture but also an important constituent
of international cultural heritage. Based on incomplete statistics, there
are 3000 historic buildings (excluding historic civilian buildings) in
China, including 1000 towers and 2000 palaces and temples [17].
Therefore, research on protecting historic buildings is very important in
China [18]. As one of the well-known world cultural heritages, Potala
Palace (Figure 1) is a key fire protection object in China.
Located on the Red Hill in Lhasa, the stone-and-wood-structured
Potala Palace covers an area of over 360,000 m2 and is 119 m high with 13
floors. It houses a large number of priceless cultural relics, as well as silks
and satins, including prayer banners, thangkas, and hadas. The woolen
rugs, wooden cabinets, and religious books in the Palace also make the
fire load very high. Moreover, nearby structures of the Palace are
connected by corridors and no fire compartmentation exists. Combustible
curtains and canopies made of cloth are placed above the corridors or in
the windows. Therefore, fire can spread quickly between nearby
structures and floors. Ghee-fueled lamps, burning incense, electrical
equipment, and lightning are potential ignition sources. In summer,
visitors to the Potala Palace number more than 1000 daily. With winding
and narrow passageways, only two steep and narrow stairways exit. If
a fire were to occur, the loss of life and property could be great.
It should be noted that there are special requirements for fire
protection in the Potala Palace, since it is not only a famous travel scenic
spot, but also a Holy Land of Buddhism. For instance, a pipe system

Fire Protection of Heritage Structures
219
Figure 1. The Potala Palace in Tibet province (The altitude is about 3700 m).
cannot be installed inside the Palace because of its unsightly appearance

and potential damage to the building structure. In addition, a pipe
system might place too much burden on the weight capacity of the
Palace. In order to avoid damage to the cultural relic, massive amounts
of released water and corrosive fire suppression agents are also rejected
by the Buddhists of the Zang nationality. In addition to the Potala
Palace, the fire protection of some other historical temples in Tibet
face the difficulties of remote location and lack of readily available
water resources. Therefore, selection of appropriate fire suppression
methodology is essential for heritage structures in Tibet.
A portable water mist fire protection system could be regarded as
a suitable means for fire protection of the Potala Palace because of its
small and unobtrusive presence, cleanliness, etc. These merits can make
the system avoid negative effects on the appearance of the Palace
because it can be placed in a corner, a convert, or other appropriate
locations, and it can reduce the potential for cultural relic corrosion,
breakage, and adverse environmental effects. But no research or testing
had been done on fire extinguishing with a portable water mist in Tibet.
The purpose of this study was to verify the application of water mist
fire protection in the Potala Palace and deepen the knowledge of
its suppression mechanisms under high-altitude conditions.

220
H. XIN
ET AL.
The experiments were performed in a 4 2 4 m confined compartment,

using a 300 mm 300 m 50 mm standard stainless steel fuel pan.
Although heptane, diesel, or crude oil pool fires are usually used in fire
suppression testing [11,19], diesel oil, gasoline, and ghee, a typical
potential ignition source inside the Potala Palace, were used as fuels
in our work. A multi-composition (MC) additive [16], newly developed
by our research group, was also used. The experimental results showed
that the MC additive can evidently improve the water mist extinguishing
efficiency for a diesel fire, but the gasoline fire was still a little difficult
to extinguish.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
As shown in Figure 2, the experiments were conducted in a
4 2 4 m confined compartment in Tibet at 3658 m altitude and
66 kPa atmospheric pressure. A 300 300 50 mm3 standard stainless
steel pan was placed on the floor. Water mist was produced by a portable
system, which worked with a single fluid nozzle and a 3 L water tank
(containing 1.5 L water and 1.5 L 3.2 MPa nitrogen). The nozzle was
connected to the tank with a 300 mm long stainless steel pipe and
a 400 mm long flexible tube so that the water mist injecting direction
and its working distance can be varied easily. The droplet size and
velocity distribution were measured previously by a phase Doppler
anemometry (PDA) system [13,20] at Hefei, where the atmospheric
pressure is about 101 kPa and the altitude is about 23 m. In addition,
some K-type thermocouples were located along the pool centerline to
measure the temperature. A CCD camera was used to visualize the fire
suppression. An in situ gas analyzer (produced by MSK Co.) was located
Figure 2. Schematic of the experimental apparatus.

221
1.5 m from the fire source and 2 m above the ground to measure the
concentrations of CO, CO2, and O2. An electric balance was used to
measure the fuel mass loss. In order to compare the experimental results
between Tibet and Hefei, some cases were repeated in Hefei with the
same conditions, both at room temperature of about 12 C.
The concentration of the MC additive was 0.2%, which is the optimized
value as stated elsewhere [16].
All of the systems began to work after ignition, and the fire
was allowed to burn for about 5090 s before the water mist injection.
All the raw data were saved and processed automatically by a computer.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Water Mist Characteristics
As shown in Figure 2, water mist is discharged from a single fluid
nozzle. The droplet size and velocity were measured by a PDA system
at the cross section 1.0 m away from the nozzle exit. The working
pressure of the system is about 3.0 MPa, and the discharge coefficient
(K-factor) is about 0.66. Figure 3 gives the measured results of Sauter
140
3.0 MPa
1.0 m away from the nozzle exit
130
SMD (mm)
120
110
100
90
80
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Distance from exit centerline (mm)
Figure 3. Radial distribution of the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) measured by PDA.

222
H. XIN
ET AL.
3.0
Axial mean velocity (U)
Radial mean velocity (V)
Radial mean velocity (W)
Injection pressure: 3.0 MPa
1.0 m away from the nozzle exit
Mean velocity (ms1)
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Distance from exit centerline (mm)
350
400
Figure 4. Radial distribution of the droplets three-dimensional velocity measured

by PDA.
mean diameter (SMD) and Figure 4 gives the droplet velocity

distribution both axially and radially. It shows that the system has
a radially uniform droplet size distribution. The value of axial velocity
near the center of the spray cone is about two times higher than the one
near the envelop edge.
Tests on Diesel Fire Suppression
The tests of suppressing diesel fire with portable water mist system
were conducted in Tibet and Hefei. For each test, 300 g diesel oil and
10 g ethanol, which was used to ignite diesel oil, were poured into the
pan. During the ejection of water mist, the distance between the pool
fire and the fire fighter was fixed, but the injecting direction can be
adjusted a little according to the scene of the suppressing fire behavior.
After the fire was extinguished, the fan was turned on to exhaust smoke.
Table 1 gives the extinguishing time of the diesel fire tests under
different conditions. The temperature history of diesel fire before
and after the application of water mist at Tibet and Hefei are shown

223

Table 1. Extinguishing time of the tests on diesel fire suppression.
Case number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Locality
Fire suppression agent
Distance (m)
Extinguishing time (s)
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Hefei
Hefei
Hefei
Hefei
Pure water
Pure water
Pure water
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
Pure water
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
2
3
4
4
5
6
2
4
5
6
10
20
Failure
4
4
Failure
12
4
4
Failure
in Figures 5 and 6 for different distances and agents. The variation

of the CO concentration in the test room is shown in Figure 7.
Tests on Gasoline Fire Suppression
The tests of suppressing gasoline fire were also conducted in both
Tibet and Hefei. In each test, 250 g gasoline oil was poured into the pan.
Table 2 gives the extinguishing time of the gasoline fire suppression
tests under different conditions. The temperature history of gasoline
fire before and after the application of water mist in tests at Tibet
and Hefei are shown in Figures 8 and 9 for different agents.
The variation of the CO concentration in the test room is shown in
Figures 10 and 11. Table 3 gives the minimum concentration of O2 and
maximum concentration of CO2 measured in each case.
Discussion
In order to analyze the experimental results measured in Tibet and
Hefei, the fuel mass loss without water mist discharging was measured
by an electric balance. As presented in Figure 12, the fuel mass loss
rate in Tibet is much slower than in Hefei because of the lack of oxygen:
300 g diesel oil and 250 g gasoline were burned out within 600 s and
300 s, respectively, in Tibet but in only 330 and 160 s in Hefei, and the
highest flame temperature measured in Tibet is about 100200 C
less than in that in Hefei. Therefore, using pure water the fire can be
extinguished easily in Tibet. For a diesel fire, the fire-extinguishing
efficiency has little difference between the test in Tibet and Hefei.

224
H. XIN
ET AL.
(a) 700
Near the pool surface
600
5cm above the pool surface

Extinguishing time: 4s
Water mist
activated
Temperature (C)
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
40
(b) 800
80
120
Time (s)
Water mist
activated
700
200
Near the pool surface

Extinguishing time: 4s
600
Temperature (C)
160
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
40
80
120
160
200
Time (s)
Figure 5. Temperature history of diesel fire before and after the application of water
mist for tests in (a)Tibet and (b) Hefei (distance: 4 m, agent: 0.2% MC additive).
Both in Tibet and in Hefei, it was more difficult to extinguish a gasoline

fire than a diesel fire because of the low ignition point, good volatility,
and quick fire spreading. Upon discharging water mist, the temperature
near the pool surface decreased immediately as the water mist was
ejected to the fire root. In the tests, one part of pool fire was

225

(a) 700
5 cm above the pool surface

Extinguishing time: 10 s
Water mist
activated
600
Temperature (C)
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
40
80
120
160
200
Time (s)
(b) 800
700
Temperature (C)
600
Water mist
activated
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Time (s)
120
140
160
Figure 6. Temperature history of diesel fire before and after the application of water
mist for tests in (a) Tibet and (b) Hefei (Distance: 2 m, agent: pure water).
extinguished first, and then the fire fighter changed the direction of the
nozzle to extinguish the rest of the fire. In the case of a diesel fire,
the fire was extinguished quickly. However, in a gasoline fire, when the
nozzle direction was changed, the first extinguished fire was reignited by
the rest of the fire. Therefore, the extinguishing time was prolonged.

226
H. XIN
ET AL.
120
Tibet (extinguishing time: 10 s)
Hefei (extinguishing time: 11 s)
Diesel fire
CO Concentration (ppm)
100
80
Water mist
activated
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Time (s)
Figure 7. CO concentration history in the test room before and after the application
of water mist (distance: 2 m, agent: pure water).
Table 2. Extinguishing time of the gasoline fire tests.

Case number
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Locality
Fire suppression agent
Distance (m)
Extinguishing time (s)
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Tibet
Hefei
Hefei
Hefei
Hefei
Pure water
Pure water
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
Pure water
Pure water
0.2% MC additive
0.2% MC additive
2
4
2
3
2
4
2
4
20
Failure
21
Failure
25
Failure
17
19
The results also show that the MC additive has different effects on
fire suppression in different fuels and places. On using a 0.2% MC
additive, the diesel fire-extinguishing efficiency was greatly improved
both in Tibet and Hefei. The extinguishing time reduced and the
effective fire suppression distance increased. But in a gasoline fire,

227
(a) 700
600
Temperature (C)
Water mist
activated

500

400

300
200
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Time (s)
(b) 900
Water mist
activated
Temperature (C)
800

700

600

500

400
300
200
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Time (s)
Figure 8. Temperature history of gasoline fire before and after the application
of water mist in tests at (a) Tibet and (b) Hefei (distance: 2 m, agent: 0.2%
MC additive).

228
(a)
H. XIN
700
Temperature (C)

Water mist
activated
600
ET AL.
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
Time (s)
100
120
140
(b) 900
Water mist
activated
800
Temperature (C)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
100 120
Time (s)
140
160
180
200
Figure 9. Temperature history of gasoline fire before and after the application of
water mist in tests at (a) Tibet and (b) Hefei (distance: 2 m, agent: pure water).
the MC additive has almost no effect on fire suppression in Tibet,

although the fire-extinguishing efficiency improved, the extinguishing
time reduced, and the effective fire suppression distance increased
in Hefei. These results can be attributed to by the composition of the

229

250
Gasoline fire
200
150
100
Water mist
activated
50
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Time (s)
of water mist (distance: 2 m, agent: pure water).
180

Gasoline fire
160
140
120
100
80
Water mist
activated
60
40
20
0
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (s)
60
70
80
90
of water mist (distance: 2 m, agent: 0.2% MC additive).

230
H. XIN
ET AL.
Table 3. O2 minimum and CO2 maximum concentration measured

during each test.
Test in Tibet
Test in Hefei
Fuel
Fire
O2 Minimum CO2 Maximum O2 Minimum CO2 Maximum
suppression Distance concentration concentration concentration concentration
agent
(m)
(%)
(%)
(%)
(%)
Diesel
Diesel
Gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline
Pure water
MC additive
Pure water
Pure water
Pure water
Pure water
MC additive
MC additive
MC additive
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
20.0
20.5
19.8
19.0
20.3
19.7
19.9
19.7
19.3
0.4
0.2
0.5
0.9
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.5
0.7
19.8
20.4
19.8
19.9
20.2
20.1
20.0
20.2
20.2
0.5
0.4
0.9
0.9
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.5
0.5
350
Diesel fire (Tibet)
Diesel fire (Hefei)
Gasoline fire (Tibet)
Gasoline fire (Hefei)
300
Fuel mass (g)
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Time (s)
Figure 12. Fuel mass loss of the diesel and gasoline fire without application
of water mist.
MC additive, which is made from mixing five different components. The

first component is a fluorocarbon surfactant, which forms a thin layer of
film on the liquid surface after being sprayed out from the nozzle. The
second component is a viscosity modifier, which improves the blanketing

231
and runoff of water mist. The third component is an organic metallic

compound, which produces active radicals in the course of extinguishing
the fires. The fourth component is carbamide, which absorbs energy
from flame and generates a great amount of inert gases by decomposition. The fifth component is an N,N-dimethyl-formamide, which acts as
an antifreeze and dissolves all the components. The combined influence
of these components improved the fire-extinguishing efficiency. Except
for these positive effects, the organic solution, organic metal compound,
and decomposable material also have adverse effects on the water mist
fire-extinguishing efficiency. The organic metal compound and
decomposable material not only increase the surface tension of the
water but also make it more difficult for the water mist to evaporate
by increasing the boiling point [16]. Improved the fire-extinguishing
efficiency is to be expected mainly because of the formation of the film
that mitigates the radiative feedback from the fire to the burning fuel
surface and obstructs the evaporation of the fuel. The molecular weight
of the diesel is large, and diesel is not so easy to vaporize. Therefore, only
a very thin layer of film can help extinguish the fire except when the
fire is obstructed by the pan side, which is a little more difficult to
extinguish. Gasoline vaporizes easily, and the ignition point is low, and
so the effect of the film is not as good as that of a diesel fire. Thicker
films are needed to prevent the evaporation of gasoline. In addition, the
boiling point of the fuel is lower in Tibet than in Hefei and the gasoline is
easier to vaporize under high-altitude conditions. Therefore, the film
cover on the gasoline surface cannot prevent the fuel evaporation
effectively.
In addition, the fire temperature is lower in Tibet than in Hefei, so the
droplet is more difficult to vaporize and the effects of the organic
metallic compound and carbamide are difficult to present. However,
on the other hand, the boiling point of the droplet is also lower
in Tibet, so the evaporation is relatively easier. We use the following
equations to compare the two effects. The changes in droplet diameter
over time in the flame zone can be written as [21]
D20 D2 t
where D0 and D are initial and instantaneous diameters of the

droplet, respectively, and is the evaporation coefficient, which can be
described as

8 k T
Hv

232
H. XIN
ET AL.
where k is the thermal conductivity of fire gas, T is the temperature

difference between the flame and the droplet, Hv is the evaporating
heat of the water, and is the water density. Based on Equations (1) and
(2), the droplet lifetime can be determined. For the pure water droplet
with 120 mm diameter, its lifetime is about 60.8 ms in Hefei and 90.3 ms in
Tibet, while the temperature of the gasoline fire is 800 C in Hefei
and 650 C in Tibet. Obviously, the droplet is more difficult to evaporate
in Tibet.
As shown in Figures 10 and 11 and Table 3, the measured results
of CO, CO2, and O2 concentration are also different between Tibet and
Hefei. These can be explained as, the combustion of unit mass fuel
produces more CO in Tibet due to the incomplete reaction under
conditions of less oxygen. On the other hand, the fire size is larger and
more fuel is combusted in unit time at normal atmospheric pressure.
Therefore, either in a diesel fire or a gasoline fire, the increasing rates of
CO concentration in the test room of two different locations were almost
the same before the application of water mist as shown in Figures 7, 10,
and 11. After the water mist discharged, the flame structure was
destroyed and the air became turbulent by the impulse of the water mist.
Then the smoke that moved upwards formerly was blown around.
It made the concentration of CO and CO2 at the measuring point
increase promptly and the O2 concentration decrease, and with
discharging water mist, the water droplets vaporized in the flame
zone. The vapor diluted the O2 concentration and the combustion
reaction became more incomplete, which promoted the production
of CO. The phenomenon was more prominent under high-altitude
conditions. Therefore, the increasing rate of CO concentration is larger
in Tibet after the application of water mist. For a gasoline fire, the rate
in Tibet is about two times faster than in Hefei. The descent of the
smoke layer and the high CO concentration would make fire fighting
more dangerous, especially in Tibet. Table 3 shows that more CO2 was
produced in Hefei when consuming the same quantity of O2, which
also confirms that the combustion reaction is more complete at normal
atmospheric pressure.
Tests on Ghee Fire

Ghee is a dairy product used in Tibet. It is a kind of white and straw
yellow solid fat made from creamy milk, used for lighting lamps and
as food. It is widely used in Buddhist temples, such as the Potala
Palace, and may very likely be a typical fire ignition source in Tibet.

233
So, a set of experimental tests on ghee fire suppression with water mist
were performed in Tibet.
To the cases without MC additive, 250 g of ghee was placed in a round
stainless steel pan 200 mm in diameter, and the pan was located
200 mm above the ground. Because the ignition point of ghee is very
high, a 400 160 80 mm rectangular pan with 300 g of gasoline was
placed under the round pan to heat the ghee. After the ignition of
gasoline, the ghee melted gradually with the rise of temperature. About
320 s later, a small blue fire was observed above the ghee pool surface and
the ghee started to combust. When the gasoline was exhausted at 490 s,
the water mist without MC additive was activated 3 m away from the fire
source, and the fire was extinguished within 12 s. Figure 13 shows the
variation of ghee flame temperature measured before and after the
injection of water mist in Tibet. At first, the temperature measured
by the thermocouples above the ghee pool surface was the temperature of
the gasoline fire. After the ghee was ignited, the flame temperature
increased, and with the decrease of the gasoline temperature due to its
being exhausted, the temperature above the ghee pool surface decreased.
The temperature near the ghee pool surface decreased to about
440 C, and then there were no changes until the water mist
was injected. It means that the boiling point of ghee is about 440 C.
1000
10 cm above the gasoline pool surface

Near the ghee pool surface
5 cm above the ghee pool surface
Temperature (C)
800
600
400
200
Water mist
activated
Ghee was ignited
0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Time (s)
Figure 13. Temperature history of ghee fire before and after the application of water
mist (distance: 3 m, agent: pure water).

234
H. XIN
(a)
ET AL.
300
In Tibet
250
Water mist activated
200
150
100
50
0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Time (s)
21.5
(b)
In Tibet
O2 Concentration (%)
21.0
20.5
20.0
19.5
19.0
Water mist
activated
18.5
18.0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Time (s)
Figure 14. (a) CO, (b) O2, and (c) CO2 concentration histories in the test room before
and after the application of water mist (distance: 3 m, agent: pure water).

235

1.8
(c)
In Tibet
1.6
Water mist
activated
CO2 Concentration (%)
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Time (s)
Figure 14. Continued.
Figure 14 gives the variation of gas (CO, O2, CO2) concentration before
and after the application of water mist. The concentrations of CO and
CO2 decreased and that of O2 increased with the diminishing gasoline
fire, and after the water mist was discharged, the concentrations of CO
and CO2 increased and that of O2 decreased. The test on ghee fire
suppression with MC additive was also performed in Tibet with an
apparatus similar to that in a diesel fire and gasoline fire tests, and the
fire was extinguished within 13 s when the water mist was injected 2 m
away from the fire source. It was more easily extinguished than
a gasoline fire but was more difficult to extinguish than a diesel fire.
CONCLUSION
The fire-extinguishing efficiency of portable water mist fire
protection systems under high-altitude conditions was studied in
Tibet. The contrastive experiments at normal atmospheric pressures
were performed in Hefei. In order to improve the fire-extinguishing
efficiency, a newly developed MC additive was used in the tests.
The results show that the fire was easier to extinguish in Tibet with
pure water owing to lower oxygen levels, and the MC additive did not

236
H. XIN
ET AL.
show an evident effect on suppression of a gasoline fire in Tibet. The test

results also showed that extinguishing a ghee fire was easier than
a gasoline fire, but more difficult than a diesel fire.
At the lower layer of the test room, the concentration of CO and CO2
increased while that of O2 decreased quicker after the water mist was
activated, and the rising rate of CO concentration was more evident
in Tibet owing to incomplete combustion. It should be noted that
this situation may be more dangerous to people in densely populated
areas. Future work will be focused on: (1) detailed suppression tests on
other typical combustible materials in Tibet, such as prayer flags,
thangka, hada, and wood and (2) a selection of appropriate nozzles and
additives to improve the fire-extinguishing efficiency of the water mist
system.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors appreciate the support of the Natural Science Foundation
of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 50536030) and the China NKBRSF project
(No. 2001CB409600).
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238
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ET AL.
BIOGRAPHIES
Xin Huang
Mr Huang was born in 1981. He is currently a PhD candidate, and
received his Bachelors degree from the University of Science and
Technology of China (USTC) in 2002. His research interests are
modeling and experimental study on water mist fire suppression.
Xishi Wang
Dr Wang was born in 1969. He received his Bachelors degree in physics
from the North-West Normal University in 1994, his Masters degree
from the Anhui Inst. of Optics and Fine Mechanics of the Chinese
Academy of Science in 1997, and his Doctor degree from the Department
of Mechanics & Mechanical Engineering of USTC in 2002. He worked in
the Tokyo University as a visiting scholar for three months at the end of
2003, and then worked in the Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology as a post doctor for two years. He is currently associate
Professor of the State Key Lab of Fire Science. His research interests are
focused on optical diagnostics (such as DPIV, PDA and PLIF, etc.) for
two/multi phase flows, dynamics and heat transfer of micro bubbles/
droplets, and fire suppression technologies.
Xiang Jin
Mr Jin was born in 1982. He is currently a PhD candidate, and received
his Bachelors degree from the University of Science and Technology of
China (USTC) in 2003. His research interests are experimental study on
gas fire suppression technique.
Guangxuan Liao
Mr Liao was born in 1948. He is currently professor and executive
director of the State Key Lab of Fire Science (SKLFS). His research
interests include fire safety science and technology, simulation of fire
process, fire suppression and extinction mechanisms by water mist and
diagnostics of combustion flows.

239
Jun Qin
Mr Qin was born in 1953. He is currently senior engineer of the State
Key Lab of Fire Science (SKLFS). His research interest is focused on
diagnostic technique for spray field measurement.


The Use Portable Water Mist On High Altitude

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Journal of Fire Sciences

Fire Protection of Heritage Structures: Use of a Portable Water Mist

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Fire Protection of Heritage

ABSTRACT: In order to verify the application of water mist on fire protection

FIRE SCIENCES, VOL. 25 MAY 2007

0734-9041/07/03 021723 $10.00/0

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

cannot be installed inside the Palace because of its unsightly appearance

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The experiments were performed in a 4 2 4 m confined compartment,

Figure 2. Schematic of the experimental apparatus.

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Distance from exit centerline (mm)

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Mean velocity (ms1)

Figure 4. Radial distribution of the droplets three-dimensional velocity measured

mean diameter (SMD) and Figure 4 gives the droplet velocity

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

Fire suppression agent

Extinguishing time (s)

in Figures 5 and 6 for different distances and agents. The variation

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5cm above the pool surface

Near the pool surface

Both in Tibet and in Hefei, it was more difficult to extinguish a gasoline

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

5 cm above the pool surface

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Table 2. Extinguishing time of the gasoline fire tests.

Fire suppression agent

Extinguishing time (s)

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

5 cm above the pool surface

10 cm above the pool surface

25 cm above the pool surface

35 cm above the pool surface

5 cm above the pool surface

15 cm above the pool surface

25 cm above the pool surface

40 cm above the pool surface

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5 cm above the pool surface

the MC additive has almost no effect on fire suppression in Tibet,

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

Tibet (extinguishing time: 21 s)

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Table 3. O2 minimum and CO2 maximum concentration measured

Fuel mass (g)

MC additive, which is made from mixing five different components. The

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Fire Protection of Heritage Structures

and runoff of water mist. The third component is an organic metallic

where D0 and D are initial and instantaneous diameters of the

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