Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

In the field of fire research, perfluorobutane, which is one of perfluorocarbons, is known as a HALON alternative. On the other hand, perfluorocarbons are known to react with silane. In this case, perfluorobutane is an oxidizer. There is one more different situation. In making fluororesin, there sometimes occur explosion incidents. This explosion is considered to occur because gaseous perfluorocarbons, which are by-products of fluororesin, react with fluorine. In this case, perfluorobutane is a fuel. These facts suggest that perfluorocarbon can be a fire suppressant, an oxidizer, or a fuel. In this study, three types of perfluorocarbon mixture, which are methane/perfluorocarbon/air, silane/ perfluorocarbon /nitrogen, and perfluorocarbon/fluorine/nitrogen mixtures, were examined experimentally on their flammability. In the later two mixtures, nitrogen was added as an inert gas. In the three types of mixture, perfluorocarbon was expected to act as a tire suppressant, an oxidizer, and a fuel, respectively. Their flammability areas were revealed quantitatively as triangular flammability diagrams, and the fact that perfluorocarbon suppresses methane/air combustion and reacts with silane or fluorine was ascertained.