- Author
- Edwards, J. C. | Morrow, G. S.
- Title
- Evaluation of Smoke Detectors for Mining Use. Report of Investigations.
- Coporate
- Pittsburgh Research Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- Report
- RI 9586, September 1995, 17 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- smoke detectors | mine fires | smoke chambers | fire detection | smoke detection | detector response | optical density | smoldering | experiments | ionization smoke detector
- Identifiers
- coal combustion detection
- Abstract
- The responses of six smoke detectors were measured with respect to visually obscuring smoke characterized by a corresponding optical density for smoldering and flaming coal combustion in the U.S. Bureau of Mines smoke chamber. It was determined for smoldering coal combustion experiments that for one type of ionization smoke detector the smoke detector's alarm occurred nearly equivalent to an odor monitor's alarm time, and earlier for the flaming coal combustion experiments. The experiments showed that an average CO concentration of 5 ppm corresponded to an optical density of 0.022 m⁻¹ for smoldering and flaming coal combustion. Two of the commercially available ionization-type smoke detectors were more responsive to flaming than smoldering coal combustion at an optical density of 0.022 m⁻¹, whereas the optical smoke detectors showed the opposite trend. The responsive characteristics of the detectors evaluated with respect to known smoke conditions in the smoke chamber shows their optential for use as mine fire sensors or part of a mine atmospheric monitoring system to improve mine safety.