Airborne Smoke Sampling Package for Field Measurements of Fires.
Airborne Smoke Sampling Package for Field Measurements
of Fires.
(651 K)
Lawson, J. R.; Mulholland, G. W.; Koseki, H.
NIST SP 995; Volume 2; March 2003.
Fire Technology, Vol. 30, No. 1, 155-172, First Quarter
1994.
Keywords:
smoke; fire research; measuring instruments; oils; pool
fires; smoke yield; airborne sampling; experiments
Abstract:
A unique airborne smoke sample package (ASSP) for
determining the smoke yield of large fires has been
developed. The uncertainty in the average smoke yield
at the 95% confidence interval is about +7% of the
average of three repeat measurements. The ASSP, which
weighs less than 4 kg, is light enough to be flown
suspended below a tethered helium-filled balloon or
attached to a small radio-controlled aircraft.
Measurements are made by flying the sampling equipment
into a fire's smoke plume. Additional smoke plume
measurements that can be made with the ASSP include
particle size distribution using a cascade impactor,
smoke agglomerate structure using transmission electron
microscope (TEM) grids, and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) analysis using various sorbent
tubes. The application of the ASSP in measuring
laboratory and large outdoors petroleum pool fires is
discussed. Smoke yield values measured in field burns
of Louisiana crude oil range from 0.080 to 0.137, and
the primary sphere diameter of the agglomerates is as
large as 0.15 mum.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899