Experimental Studies on the Flameproofing Efficiency of Some Inorganic Substances upon the Inflammation of Wood and Fibrous Materials

Abstract

Preventing forest and steppe fires, as well as reducing damage from them, is unthinkable without the development and application of effective fire protective measures. Studies show, that there is a limited number of technological methods used to fight forest fires in the arsenal of forest fire services, for example, mineralized strips are most often used as a fire barrier or controlled counterfire of territory is organized. These measures either do not have sufficient efficiency, or they have increased danger themselves. There is another possibility ofcreating a fire barrier by reducing the fire hazard of forest debris by treating them with fire retardants similar to that used for the production of building materials. The paper presents the results for a study of the use of potential fire-retardant materials to reduce the ability to ignite wood (slats 10x10) and plant fibrous materials (flax hemp twine). Based on the analysis of literature data, substances based on aluminium, boron, magnesium and sodium chloride were selected as fire retardant materials. A method for investigating the fire-retardant action of the substances under study has been developed, which makes it possible to record the time of ignition of the samples from a constant power ignition source. A criterion for the fire-retardant action of the substances under study (> 20 min) has been developed, which is determined from the limiting combustion time of fragments of forest debris that can be carried by convective flows from fire and wind. Multiple studies of samples treated with flame retardants have been carried out. It was shown that substances based on aluminium and boron have the greatest fire-retardant effect, while magnesium and chlorine did not show a serious fireretardant effect. An additive fire retardant effect in case of repeated processing was revealed; it is similar to the use of more concentrated compositions. It is noted that more ample amount of fire-retardant materials is required for the protection of fibrous materials, than for wood samples, which, apparently, is the effect of the developed surface of the sample.