- Author
-
Boyes, J. H.
|
Kennedy, M. P.
|
Wilton, C.
- Title
- Development of a Long Duration Flow Facility for Studies of Blast-Fire Interaction. Final Report.
- Coporate
- URS Research Co., San Mateo, CA
- Sponsor
- Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, Washington, DC
- Report
-
URS 7239-6; Work Unit 2563A,
December 1974,
94 p.
- Contract
- DAHC20-73-C-0195
- Keywords
-
blasts
|
fire suppression
|
test facilities
|
civil defense
|
tests
|
interactions
- Identifiers
- blast waves
- Abstract
- The study reports on the conversion of an underground complex into a Long Duration Flow Facility (LDFF), the calibration of the facility, and a limited test program to study the effect of long duration pressure pulses on extinguishing materials simulated to have been ignited by the co-incident thermal pulse (so-called "blast fire" interaction). The LDFF is composed of a compression chamber with a volume of approximately 40,000 cubic feet spparated by a mechanical diaphragm from a test room approximately twelve feet by fifteen feet by nine feet high. In operation, the compression chamber is filled; the diaphragm is then opened and the flow vents through the test room producing a flow of up to 5 psi and with a duration of up to 4000 milliseconds (to provide correlation with the long duration pressure pulse of megaton nuclear weapons). High speed photographic cameras and pressure sensing gauges instrument the test room. Three blast-fire interaction tests were conducted and it was found that the blast wave extinguished initial fires, but would not extinguish smoldering fires in upholstered materials such as mattresses. These tests demonstrated the usefulness of the facility.