Cooling characteristics of cooking oil using water mist during fire extinguishment

• Published in: Applied thermal engineering 2016-08, Vol.107, p.863-869
• Main Authors: Zhang, Tian-wei, Han, Zhi-yue, Du, Zhi-ming, Liu, Kai, Zhang, Ze-lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additive; Boiling layer; Cooking oil; Cooling; Water mist
• ISSN: 1359-4311
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.07.043

•The cooling characteristics of a home scale of cooking oil fire was first successfully studied.•The influence factors of the boiling over layer was proved by temperature analysis.•The suppression efficiency of the boiling over layer using additives are higher than pure water.•The mechanism of suppression expansion of the boiling over layer by the six additives are different. This study analyzed the effects of both water mist and water mist with different additives on cooling of cooking oils during fire extinguishment. The sizes of water mist drops with different additives were measured using a split-type laser particle analyzer. Full-scale extinguishment–cooling experiments using different fire extinguishing agents and oil temperatures were also conducted. The boiling over layer formed during the cooling of cooking oil using water mist could significantly enhance the cooling rate. Moreover, the expanding rate of this boiling over layer is related to oil temperature and water mass in oils. Although additives reduce water evaporation and hinder oil cooling, such additives also inhibit the expansion of the boiling over layer, thereby reducing the risk of secondary damage caused by abundant oil overflow after the fire extinguishment.