Effect of Water Sprays on Fire Fighter Thermal Imagers.
Effect of Water Sprays on Fire Fighter Thermal Imagers.
(596 K)
Widmann, J. F.; Duchez, J.
Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 39, No. 3, 217-238, April
2004.
Keywords:
fire fighters; water sprays; thermal imaging; fire
fighting; infrared imaging; sprinklers; extinction;
attenuation; large scale fire tests
Abstract:
The performance of fire fighter thermal imagers through
water sprays has been investigated experimentally and
theoretically. Thermal imagers are finding increasing
use in fire fighting applications, and the ubiquitous
nature of fire sprinklers, water mist suppression
systems, and water curtains for radiation attenuation
necessitates a thorough understanding of the effect of
water sprays and mists on thermal imager performance.
Laboratory-scale and full-scale evaluations of thermal
imager performance through water sprays have been
conducted, and the results analyzed using Mie theory to
predict the extinction of radiation by water drops.
Imagers were found to perform satisfactorily even
through water sprays produced by sprinkler nozzles with
K-factors. Tests were conducted under non-fire
conditions; thus, the effect of interaction between
water sprays and a hot smoke layer on imager performance
was not investigated.
