Unique Challenges of Flammable Liquid Fires in Ground Vehicles (Postprint)

摘要

In 2006, the Fire Research Team of the Air Force Research Laboratory began studies on fire suppression for ground vehicles. The Fire Research Team is part of the Airbase Technologies Division in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and is located at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. The studies were to look at the problem of protecting occupants in vehicles, not engine compartment or fuel tank fires. Specifically of interest were fires caused by flammable liquid fuel accompanied by fire entering vehicles from the outside through the windows. This scenario was of particular interest because existing in-vehicle fire suppression systems seemed ill suited to this type of fire event. No specific fire suppression systems designed for ground vehicles were evaluated during this study. The purpose of the work was to achieve a better understanding of the scope and complexity of the problem. This paper outlines the problem, describes the methods used to study this category of vehicle fire, discusses the data obtained from those studies, and suggests aspects for consideration by designers of fire extinguishing systems for use in ground vehicles that might be exposed to this fire scenario.