Experimental study on suppressing PVC fire with water mist in a confined space

In this paper, the effect of water mist on PVC fires in a confined space under different external radiant heat fluxes has been studied and the re-ignition of the PVC fires was analyzed. Water mist was generated by a single pressure nozzle. Spatially resolved information on droplet size and velocity distributions of the fine water mist was measured by LDV/APV system. The heat release rate, oxygen, carbon monoxide concentrations and other important parameters of the interaction under various conditions were measured by cone calorimeter. The experimental study illustrated that water mist would suppress the PVC fire mainly by flame cooling and fuel surface cooling. When the fire was extinguished, water mist was shut off and fire would re-ignite after a period of time. The re-ignition time depends on the total quantity of water mist.