Engineering Stack Exchange
Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [fire]

20 questions
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3 answers

How can I keep a Zippo lighter from losing fluid to evaporation or leaks?

Zippo lighters are notorious for needing regular refilling. The fuel evaporates from the cotton regularly. Some people put a bit of rubber around the seal. What atmospheric conditions keep fuel from evaporating? Temperature, humidity, etc. Should I…
Mohammad Athar
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Is there fire suppression in some phone batteries, and if so, how does it work?

I recently saw a rugged smartphone, three or four years old, with a ~5000 mAh battery, suffer a major impact to its back. This wasn't a fall, it was a fast impact with a heavy object. Immediately there was this loud hissing sound, and clouds of what…
Jonathan Brickman of Topeka KS
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What is the minimum height of a chimney needed in a camper?

Like a lot of people nowadays, I'm fitting a log fire into the back of a camper van but can't find the minimum height above the roof for the chimney. Ideally, it should be as low as possible for aerodynamic and roof clearence purposes. Building regs…
Mike
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What are the possible implications of the heating of the structural stonework of Notre-Dame cathedral during the fire?

Yesterday, Notre Dame cathedral caught fire. The roof and the central spire were destroyed and some of the stonework was subjected to high temperatures for an extended period. What are the likely implications for the strength of the individual…
Dave Gremlin
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Generator prime movers vs. motor starting voltage drop: why does it matter what's spinning the alternator?

I was playing around in Cummins' GenSize tool with an example 5HP fire pump load to try to get an idea for just how large a generator would be needed to start a small fire pump, and found something very interesting. As it turns out, while a 40kW…
ThreePhaseEel
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What materials could non-flammable (blowtorch resistant) "plastic" submarine furniture be made of?

In a documentary on Russian submarines they show non-flammable furniture that's made of some kind of plastic of foam. They test/demonstrate it with a blowtorch that is capable of cutting metal (they say it's set at 2000°C), and eventually the …
got trolled too much this week
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If a fire-extinguishing bomb of sorts could be engineered or if a huge fire cover could be used, would they work better than the dumping of water?

In several regions of the world, fires rage through hundreds and even thousands of acres, and there is effectively little response that stops the fire, especially coupled with bad winds and extreme temperatures, not to mention dryness. We can dig…
Private Name
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What is the test procedures for a flame arrester?

A flame arrester is basically a heat exchanger in front of the tubulure. It conducts the heat of flame to some other place (to the liquid and/or the container especially if the container is built from a metal material), thereby extinguishes the…
ceremcem
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Is a powder fire extinguisher not good for CRT TVs?

I'm about to buy a standard 6-litre powder fire extinguisher. However, in the description, they all say: Suitable for [blablabla...] and for electronic devices up to 1000 V. Up to 1000 Volts? But then what about the information…
Aljandro Barbone
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What is the cheapest way to build a fireproof box?

I'm breaking my brain for a two weeks trying to find a way to build a fireproof box 100 cm × 100 cm × 100 cm with 1 door at the cheapest price. The immediate candidate is sheet metal, which needs to be at least 1.5 mm thick in order to be welded,…
Simon
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Static electricity in PE foam rolling

In a PE (polyethylene) foam factory there have been some incidents with static electricity that have created minor fires. Fire is a concern in such a factory, as PE is highly flammable, and even more as PE foam uses propane or butane gas in its…
PavoDive
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Will deodorant flamethrower ever explode?

Yes, the one where you put lighter close to nozzle of deodorant, light it up and start to spray out the deodorant. I suppose that this is simillar to how gas stoves work, so it shouldn't explode. Even when I stop pushing on spray button, flame gets…
Danyl Filatov
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Why not use fire-retardant plastics everywhere?

Some plastics will sustain a flame. Others won't. Not spreading a fire is obviously preferable in almost every circumstance. What advantages do combustible plastics have over non-combustible plastics, and in what circumstances?
Stephen Collings
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How could the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk burn to ashes if it was not wooden?

During the recent terrorist attack in Russia, the terrorists operated in the building for about 18 min. How could they set it on fire in such short time so that it burned to ashes and the roof collapsed? The footage from outside shows very energetic…
Anixx
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Can I estimate fire temperature from a building's colour?

I am studying a building that was impacted by a fire (from a Natural Hazard perspective, so consider my engineering skills as inexistant!!). There are obvious changes in the outside paint's colour, with the yellow one being original. Can anyone…
e5k
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