The technology of impulse dry powder fire extinguishing
The designers of EPOTOS association invented and patented an impulse dry powder fire extinguishing module in 1995 (Patent No. 2082475) thus they initiated in fact a new technology in fire protection. Beginning from that year EPOTOS association has been manufacturing impulse dry powder fire extinguishing modules under brand name “BURAN®” that are intended for extinguishing fires of solid combustible materials, flammable liquids, gases and electrical equipment – Class A, B, C & E.
“BURAN®”s are impulse, fast acting dry powder suppression systems. They are hermetically sealed, unpressurised, strong and lightweight units easy for installation and transportation.
The family of “BURAN®”s includes about 20 units with the weights of dry powder from 300 grams to 50 kg.
Every module “BURAN®” consists of a body (steel), a dry powder set, a pressure generator (solid combustible gas-generator) and a system of activation. The last news in the “BURAN®”s technology is that the modules can have a combined activation system – electrical and thermal activation in a single device.
The principle of extinguishing action is as follows.
A combustible gas-generator when electrically or thermally activated, produces combustion products that create positive pressure inside the body of “BURAN”. The pressure expands and ruptures the membrane. The extinguishing dry powder evacuate from the body of “BURAN” under a specific discharge rate. The extinguishing dry powder is a mixture of mono-ammonium phosphate, sodium and potassium bicarbonate and the anti-caking and anti-balling agents. The particles of the extinguishing dry powder are of specific diameters that perform a specific discharge rate and concentration of the dry powder in the fire. The extinguishing result takes place within a second.
The technology of condensed aerosol fire extinguishing
«EPOTOS» association invented and manufacture condensed aerosol generators under brand names “DOPING®” and “TOR®”. They are ecology friendly and the most cost effective alternative to Halon, Inert Gases, Halocarbons and Chemical Powder Fire Extinguishing. The “DOPING”s & “TOR”s are intended for extinguishing fires of solid combustible materials, flammable liquids, gases and electrical equipment – Class A, B, C & E.
Every generator “DOPING®” and “TOR®” consists of a body (steel or stainless steel), an aerosol forming compound (solid), a chemical coolant (solid) and a system of activation. The generators are unpressurised. The heart of the generator is an aerosol forming compound. The family of “DOPING®” and “TOR®” generators includes the units with weight of aerosol forming compound from 20 grams to 6300 grams.
The principle of extinguishing action is as follows.
The aerosol forming compound when electrically or thermally activated, produces combustion products — micron size dry chemical particles (mainly potassium carbonates), and gases (mainly carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapor). This mixture (aerosol) propels itself through a chemical coolant and discharges from the generator into the protected room.
The high rate of aerosol discharge and small size of the particles allow the agent to be rapidly distributed throughout the protected room. Homogeneous distribution of aerosol that is achieved in a several seconds and a long holding time help to prevent fire re-ignition. The extinguishing density of aerosol discharged from “DOPING®”s & “TOR®”s is about 90 g/m3 for A-Class fires and 75 g/m3 for B-Class fires. Some new generators have the extinguishing density of about 28 g/m3 for B-Class fires.
The “DOPING®”s & “TOR®”s correspond to modern international norms for condensed aerosol generators: ISO 15779:2011 and MSC.1/Circ.1270 (IMO).
The advantages of “DOPING®”s and “TOR”s over the competitive products are wide range of operating temperatures (-50⁰C…+90⁰C) and high strength under impact loads and vibration stress. Thus the “DOPING®”s and “TOR®”s are widely used for fire protection of various transport means and combat vehicles. The “DOPING®”s and “TOR®”s withstand the following loads:
- Sinusoidal vibration in frequency range 1…500 Hz under acceleration 100 m/sec² (10G);
- Multiple impacts (up to 10 000) under peak impact acceleration 196 m/sec² (20G) and duration of impacts 5…15 ms;
- Low atmospheric pressure 12 000 Pa (90 mm of mercury column);
- High humidity (98% under temperature 298⁰K as well as frost and dew);
- Pressure of water column (up to 5 m within 60 min);
- Single impact under peak impact acceleration up to 300G.
“EPOTOS®” association manufacture four types of design of condensed aerosol generators: axial-discharge, radial-discharge, circle-discharge and reverse-discharge. Radial-discharge generators can be used in small cabinets, reverse-discharge generators are characterized by low aerosol temperature and compact dimensions. The circle-discharge generators are the most effective ones and can be used for fire protection of rooms with big volumes.
The range of DOPINGs and TORs make possible fire protection of a lot of different objects from small to big under high economic efficiency.
