Equipment to measure smoke

HIRSCHLER Heat Release Equipment To Measure Smoke... 

Hirschler, M.M., Smoke in fires Obscuration and toxicity, Plenary Fecture, Business Communications Company Conference on Recent Advances in Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials, May 15-17, Stamford, CT, Eds. G.S. Kirshenbaum and M. Lewin, pp. 70-82, Norwalk, CT, 1990 Hirschler, M.M., How to measure smoke obscuration in a manner relevant to fire hazard assessment Use of heat release calorimetry test equipment, J. Fire Sci., 9, 183-222 (1991). 

These include, for example, smoke extraction systems. In ventilation and air conditioning systems certain equipment can also require special safety measures (e.g., due to explosion risks). 

There is a test that can detect acrylonitrile in blood. In addition, the major breakdown products of acrylonitrile by the body (termed metabolites) can be measured in urine. Some breakdown products that can be measured are specific to acrylonitrile. However, one breakdown product of the body (cyanide) that is commonly measured is not specific to acrylonitrile exposure, and the results can be affected by cigarette smoking. Because special equipment is needed, these tests cannot be performed routinely in your doctor s office. There is not enough information at present to use the results of such tests to predict the nature or severity of any health effects that may result from exposure to acrylonitrile. Further information on how acrylonitrile can be measured in exposed humans is presented in Chapters 2 and 6. 

This secondary effect of materials is illustrated by the difficulties encountered, in a recent study [54], when attempts were made to correlate CO concentrations measured in small scale and full scale fire tests. The same small scale equipment (typically the cone calorimeter rate of heat release test) could predict adequately a number of very important full scale fire properties, including ignitability, rate of heat release, amount of heat release and smoke obscuration. It could not, however, be used to... 

With respect to smoke and fumes, measurement of SC in the mixing area showed no increase above background, and no hydrogen sulphide was detected. In the placement areas, there was some odor from the aromatics in the sulfur modifier. Pouring conditions were similar to those of an asphalt paving operation and included a similar odor. No special protective equipment was utilized or required. Operators at the mixer wore dust masks. 

The Cone Calorimeter was equipped with a conveyor belt (Figure 16.13) to allow for continuous supply of small samples to pass under the cone heater for testing this is called RCC. Similar to a conventional Cone [35], the combustion products (smoke, CO, C02, etc.) are analyzed with the primary measurement being the amount of 02 consumed while burning. The operation procedure of the RCC and the conventional cone (ASTM 1354) are quite different as the RCC uses significantly smaller specimens and the test is continuous. In these studies, both the RCC and conventional cone were operated at a heat flux of 35 kW/m2. The absolute values for the RCC and conventional cone are not identical, since the sample masses are different, but the result... 

Hirschler, M.M., The measurement of smoke in rate of heat release equipment in a manner related to fire hazard, Fire Saf. J., 17, 239-258 (1991). 

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