Experimental investigation of synergistic additives in enhancing water mist suppression of engine oil fires

This study investigates the mechanisms and efficacy of water mist (WM) in suppressing engine oil fires. The incorporation of additives, particularly surfactants, enhances the physical and chemical properties of WM, enabling it to emulsify and infiltrate engine oil products more effectively. This optimization of droplet dimensions improves atomization efficiency, fire suppression performance, and emulsification capabilities, resulting in a highly efficient aqueous fire-extinguishing system. Among the additives studied, alkali metal salt NaCl has been extensively researched. To evaluate the synergistic effects of composite surfactants, this study compares the performance of composite anionic-nonionic surfactants with NaCl salts and pure WM systems. The results of oil pool fire experiments showed that the improvement effects of additives NaCl and LAS-FMEE (1:1) on the WM system were 18.39 % and 22.99 %, respectively. The screened composite surfactant fire extinguishing agent demonstrates superior enhancement effects on WM (water-mist) fire extinguishing compared to metal salts, effectively reducing toxic CO gas production in combustion systems. Additionally, omposite surfactants significantly enhance fire suppression efficiency, offering a promising approach for improving WM-based fire extinguishing technologies.