A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University found a way to wrap the house in a huge aluminum foil blanket to protect the house from forest fires. After a series of tests proved the feasibility of this method, the researchers hope that their findings will help prevent damage caused by natural disasters, such as wildfires in California.
Image courtesy of fumiaki takahashi
Gao Qiao Wenming, a professor and lead research author at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in cooperation with NASA, said: "Whole house fire blankets are a feasible way to prevent fires at the junction of wasteland and cities." glenn Research Center , U.S. Forest Service, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and Cuyahoga Community College conducted this research.
People living and working in fire-hazardous areas contacted Takahashi, and they wanted to know if there are commercially viable products. This prompted him to conduct research and preliminary investigations, and the results showed that the overall structure of the fire blanket can already be used.
"I thought of a way to reduce wildfire damage, and discovered a US patented'flame retardant curtain', which is a fire blanket issued during the Second World War," he said. "In addition, the firefighters of the US Forest Service managed to save a historic forest hut by wrapping it with their fire-resistant materials," Takahashi reported.
Despite anecdotal reports, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the ability of fire blankets to protect buildings. Using research funding from the US Department of Homeland Security, Takahashi and his team tried to correct this problem through a series of experiments.
They tested the ability of different blanket materials to protect the structure from fire. The team started with the wooden birdhouse exposed to the fire in the room, then the door-sized planks on the hillside exposed to the grass fire, and finally the wooden shed in the forest fire deliberately activated by the fire department in the burn control area Do it regularly.
'Fire exposure testing determines the degree of protection of fire blankets on various wooden structures, from birdhouses in combustion chambers to full-size sheds in real forest fires. We tested four types of fabric materials: aramid, glass fiber, amorphous silica, and pre-oxidized carbon, each with and without aluminum surfaces.
"In addition, we conducted laboratory experiments under controlled heat exposure and measured the insulation of these materials against direct flame contact or radiant heat."
The best-performing blanket is a fabric made of glass fiber or amorphous silica, laminated with heat-reflective aluminum foil. They found that the material was strong enough to protect an isolated building from a short-lived wildfire, providing protection for up to 10 minutes, but technological advancements were needed to develop blankets suitable for extreme conditions.
"Fire blanket protection is of great significance to those living and fighting fires at the wasteland-urban junction, and provides business opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors," Takahashi concluded. "The current survey results show that the technical community, the public and the fire department must work together to take a step-by-step approach to successfully apply this technology."
Research institution: Case Western Reserve University Collaborators: NASA Glenn Research Center, American Forest Service, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Cuyahoga Community College Lead author: fumi takahashi Paper: Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering, doi: 10.3389/fmech .2019.00060
Is there anything to add? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. All comments are reviewed for review before being posted.
A diversified digital database serves as a valuable guide for obtaining product insights and information directly from manufacturers, and as a rich reference point for development projects or programs.