CFD Modeling of Water Mist Portable Fire Extinguisher Discharge Characteristics in the International Space Station

Abstract

The goal of the study is to analyze the operation of the Water Mist (WM) Portable Fire Extinguisher (PFE) in a module of the International Space Station (ISS). The WM PFE that will complement the carbon dioxide PFE is under development now. To prove the effective and safety WM PFE operation it is necessary to evaluate the water vapor distribution in the ISS cabin environment during and after the WM PFE discharge. The computations have been performed with the ANSYS FLUENT commercial CFD software on the basis of the 3D Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach. The 3D computational model included the U.S. Laboratory, Node 1 and Node 2 aisle way, while the presence of other modules was taken into account using a lumped-parameter model. The Eulerian multiphase model was used that allows for the modeling of multiple separate, but interacting phases. For the given discharge scenario, water vapour concentration and air temperature spatial/temporal variations are examined.