Design of a Deluge System to Extinguish Lead Azide Fires.

摘要

Lead azide is normally stored in alcohol-soaked sawdust which, because of its flammability, compounds the hazard of fire and possible detonation in AAP storage and processing areas. This report describes the testing of a high-speed UV fire detector which effectively senses alcohol fires and of a water deluge system which extinguishes such fires with as little as 206.8 kPa (30 psi) line pressure, a figure well within the AAP maximum. In full-scale tests, four stages of lead azide processing were simulated and both UV and IR detectors were compared for their effectiveness in sensing fire (started by igniting alcohol vapors with an electric match) and activating the water deluge system. In every test, the water deluge system extinguished the fire without disturbing the lead azide sufficiently to cause it to detonate by friction and before it could be detonated by fire. (Author)