This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of significantly enhanced fire suppression including extinguishment and ignition prevention by applying coatings of aqueous yield stress fluids, that is, fluids which undergo a solid (gel) to liquid transition under the influence of shear stress. In the situation of diminishing availability of water and increased recognition of the negative environmental consequences of incumbent water additives such as aquatic toxicity, extreme environmental persistence, and bioaccumulation, there is a need for environmentally less impactful suppressants which potentially may include aqueous yield stress fluids. The main deliverables of the Phase I Research Plan are providing evidence that fire extinguishment and retardation are functions of applied coating thickness and demonstrating that the applied coating thickness is a function of controllable and deliverable rheological properties. The research will consist of rheological characterization of candidate yield stress fluids, verification of large scale pumping and spraying, measurement of extinguishment with sprayed yield stress fluids, and measurement of ignition retardation of coated combustible substrates. The anticipated technical results include demonstrating deposition of acceptably thick and uniform coatings by practically implementable methods and demonstrating that coatings so deposited exhibit useful levels of extinguishment and/or ignition prevention.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that achievement of effective levels of fire suppression at an acceptable cost may no longer be mutually exclusive with negative environmental effects of chemical additives. Fire is a continuing danger to life and property worldwide. The total cost estimate of fire in the US in 2010 was $328 billion, equivalent to 2.2% of the GDP, with 3,120 reported civilian fire deaths. More effective suppression can provide an important additional tool along with other methods to offset such losses. The dynamic rheological properties of complex non-Newtonian fluids especially as regards yield stress fluids and processes such as pumping, spraying, and coating deposition have heretofore been minimally treated in the scientific literature. The requirements of this project will require significant advances in this area. The estimated commercial impact of this project in terms of market opportunity is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars in sales of suppressants, translating to billions of dollars reductions in losses due to fire.
