Master’s student from the SUSU Institute of Engineering and Technology Nikita Ponomarev together with scientists of the SUSU Department of Life Safety Saidzhon Tavarov and Aleksandr Sidorov, have received a patent for a hybrid system for monitoring and controlling an automatic aerosol fire extinguishing system.
Aerosol fire extinguishing systems are currently used at vehicle service stations, technical centres, and auto assembly plants. However, they are normally triggered by open flames. In such cases, fire can develop rapidly and unpredictably.
“Lithium-ion batteries pose an increased risk of fire hazards due to their tendency to thermal runaway,” shared Nikita Ponomarev. “Acting at the molecular level, aerosol composition doesn’t react dangerously with lithium, unlike water. It’s effective in an oxygen-free environment, doesn’t conduct electricity, and penetrates hidden cavities, which is important for extinguishing a multi-cell battery.”
The system, developed by Nikita Ponomarev and his senior colleagues, helps prevent fires and create a closed safety loop in a building.
The technical complex, which includes a thermal imager and gas analyser, is installed on the wall or ceiling in a room where car engines are repaired. In the event of a hazardous substance leak or high temperature, the system will warn of the danger and pinpoint the problem area down to, for example, a high-voltage battery cell.
When emitting a signal, the system will report the numerical values that triggered the alarm, allowing personnel to assess the context of the threat.
If the situation becomes critical, the system automatically activates an aerosol fire suppression system, which is effective and safe for electronics.
The control and decision-making of the system is performed by a developed algorithm running on the Windows operating system.
There are no direct analogues to this aerosol fire extinguishing system in Russia.
Nikita Ponomarev plans further system improvements: implementing a machine vision algorithm, training a neural network based on real fires to more reliably predict fire hazards, and expanding its scope of application by adapting the system to various hazardous industrial facilities, the technology of which involves increased fire hazard and the risk of flammable substance leaks.