Combustion of phosphorus: problems and solutions in setting up an experiment
Authors:   Research Institute (Military-System Research of Material and Technical Support of Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) of Military Academy of Material and Technical Support, Kulagin Andrey Vladimirovich , Rudenko Alexey Evgenievich ,   Research Institute (Military-System Research of Material and Technical Support of Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) of Military Academy of Material and Technical Support
Published: December 2023

Introduction. During storage ammunition both in open areas and indoors, various situations of ignition and fire development may occur. The article deals with the issues of extinguishing burning ammunition by isolating them from oxygen supply. As a fire extinguishing agent, a fast-hardening foam based on a specialized two-component composition for fire extinguishing, as part of an aqueous solution of expanded clay, was used. The ignition of phosphorus-containing ammunition, which is in the standard capping when using the system of automatic supply of fast-hardening foam to the ignition source, is simulated. A systematic approach to the planning and staging of the experiment is described. A test procedure has been developed and the choice of measuring instruments has been justified. The analysis of the obtained results was carried out. The main conclusion based on the results of the experiment is that the ranges of the phosphorus burning temperatures obtained during the detonation of ammunition both with free burning and when using fire extinguishing means are determined. The dynamics of burning is studied. The results can be used for further testing of both the properties of the fast-hardening foam and its automatic feeding system. Purpose and objectives. The purpose of the study is to improve the methods of extinguishing explosive and flammable substances and to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of fast-curing foam based on a specialized two-component composition for fire extinguishing as part of an aqueous solution of expanded clay. Methods. The effectiveness evaluation process is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, the parameters of free phosphorus burning obtained as a result of the detonation of regular mortar ammunition without extinguishing are determined. At the second stage of the study, phosphorus burning is extinguished using foam based on a specialized two-component composition for fire extinguishing and an assessment of its effect on burning process. Results and discussion. Private results of the application of an automated foam feeding unit to the ignition source are obtained and the results were evaluated. Conclusions. The proposed method of extinguishing explosive substances based on the use of special foam, based on a specialized two-component composition for fire extinguishing showed that the direction of development was chosen correctly, but currently the method cannot be applied in practice due to: - low reliability of the installation, according to the reliability criterion; - obtaining unreliable results due to insufficient development of technology for measuring physical quantities; - insufficient time for monitoring the process (4 times less than the calculated time); - the lack of the possibility of determining the mass of the burning substance and, as a consequence, the lack of calculation of the dynamics of the development of burning. The directions of further research in terms of the development of the obtained results and the planning of experiments are determined. Keywords: white phosphorus; experiment; extinguishing; fast-curing foam; analysis; criteria.