"Blankets" protect homes from forest fires

A team of scientists from NASA and Casey University of the Western Reserve Area from Cleveland, Ohio, believes that special fire blankets can protect homes in high-intensity natural fires. The authors published their work in Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering.

This study was the first in its field to conclusively study the prospects for such a technology. Scientists tested various tissue materials in the laboratory, simulating fires of varying degrees of complexity, duration and combustion temperature. The work confirmed that the technique of wrapping with special refractory fabrics, existing now, allows to prevent the structure from igniting in a short fire.

It is assumed that if it is refined, it can become effective in more difficult conditions: in case of strong fires and in areas with a high density of housing. This requires changes in the design of materials, as well as the creation of new protocols for the deployment of "blankets", providing, for example, strategies for the simultaneous protection of several structures.

“A fire blanket for the whole house is a viable method of protection against fires on the border between wild lands and cities. <...> Modern technologies can protect an isolated structure from a relatively short fire attack, and further technological developments are likely to allow this method to be applied in difficult situations, ”says lead author of the study, Professor Fumiaki Takahashi.

Forest fires are not only a serious problem for the ecosystem of the planet as a whole and for individual territories. Many cities and towns are located at the junction of urbanized and wild areas. Every year, due to natural fires, human housing is destroyed and people die. If timely evacuation can improve the picture of the number of victims, then moving the city is hardly possible, so the development can help thousands of people.

The first US patents for prototypes of "fire blankets" found by Takahashi date back to the mid-20th century. However, of course, technology has moved forward since then, which makes it necessary to test the method and find the most effective materials.

“Fire tests determined how well fire blankets protect various wooden structures - from a birdhouse in a burning room to a full-sized shed in a real forest fire. We tested four types of fabric materials: aramid, fiberglass, amorphous silica and pre-oxidized carbon, each with and without an aluminum surface. In addition, we conducted laboratory experiments with controlled exposure to heat and measured the thermal insulation properties of these materials from direct contact with the flame or radiation heating, ”says the professor.

According to the findings of the study, of the currently available developments, the best results were shown in fiberglass or amorphous silica fabrics laminated with aluminum foil. According to the authors, this is due to the high reflectivity coupled with the good thermal insulation properties of such a fabric.

Source: https://naked-science.ru