Investigation of the Acoustic Performance of the Fire Extinguisher Ball Against Underground Fires

Preventing the spread of fire and reducing the associated risks, is a significant issue in passive defense. Underground places housing mechanical and electrical installations, tunnels, and underground infrastructures, are always at risk of fire, and timely information about fires in these places is doubly important. The use of fire extinguisher balls is one of the newest methods that has been proposed in order to deal with fire hazards in these places. These balls explode with the heat of the fire and sound a terrible alarm. In this study, the acoustic performance of these balls during the explosion in a hypothetical underground location was simulated and investigated by Comsol software and the parameters of acoustic pressure, total sound level and transmission loss during the explosion of the ball were studied. The results of the present study showed that at low to medium frequencies (below 900 Hz), the sound caused by the explosion of the ball would be well heard by those present in the surrounding area, which confirms the optimal sound performance of the ball in fire alarm and warning.