68th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 22, 2015 — November 24, 2015)

V0007: Fire suppression with yield-stress fluids

Authors
  • Brendan Blackwell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Athrey Nadhan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Alex Wu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Randy Ewoldt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2015.GFM.V0007

We show high-speed video of fire impacted by drops of water and water-plus-additive. At only 0.1% (by weight), the additive dramatically changes the flow properties of the water, making it a non-Newtonian “yield-stress” fluid. This complex fluid can flow and spread on impact, yet still stick and accumulate on a surface, whereas water may splash away. This coating behavior can be advantageous for both extinguishing and preventing fires, each of which we demonstrate using high-speed imaging. These videos highlight the interesting properties of this non-Newtonian yield-stress fluid, made from 99.9% water and 0.1% by weight Carbopol microgel particles.

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