Abstract
In general it is recommended to fill a transformer pit with rock ballast to extinguish the fire if there is a leakage of burning transformer oil. There is a lack of technology-neutral performance requirements for the design of solutions for fire extinguishment in transformer pit fires. This hampers the introduction of alternatives to the traditional method of filling the pit with rocks. Therefore we have conducted quantitative tests where temperatures and concentrations of CO, CO2, and O2 were measured at different position in a transformer pit subjected to burning oil simulating an accidental rupture and leakage. The tests were conducted to investigate the extinguishing capacity of one specific alternative solution, i.e. a profile plank layer over the pit. Three tests were performed with 90°C and 140°C pre-heated transformer oil. In the second test, a 19 cm water bed was used to examine the impact of rain water in the pit. The result showed that the profile plank extinguished the flames in a few seconds and that the water level did not have any significant effect on the result. The measurements showed that the temperatures peaked at 600–800°C 50 cm above the profile plank in all tests but dropped to under 100°C in 14–16 s. Furthermore the O2-concentration dropped to 3–5 vol% below the plank, which contributed to the rapid extinction of the burning oil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Svenska Elektriska Kommissionen (SEK) (2004), SS 421 01 01 Starkströmsanläggningar med nominell spänning överstigande 1 kV AC. SEK, Geneva
CIGRÉ (2013) Technical Brochure 537—guide for transformer fire safety practices. CIGRÉ, Paris
IEEE (2001) 980-1994 R2001—IEEE guide for containment and control of oil spills in substations. IEEE, Washington
FM Global Data Sheets (2012) FM global property loss prevention data sheets 5–4 transformers. McGraw-Hill, New York
NFPA 70 (2011) National electric code. NFPA, Quincy
NFPA 850 (2010) Recommended practice for fire protection for electric generating plants and high voltage direct current converter stations. NFPA, Quincy
Stølen R (2013) NBL A13104 test av filterløisingar til trafogruver. SINTEF NBL, Trondheim
Heskestad G, Dobson PH (1997) Pool fires of transformer oil sinking into a rock bed. Fire Saf J 28:33–46
Takeno K, Hirano T (1988) Behavior of combustible liquid soaked in porous beds during flame spread, In: Twenty-second symposium (international) on combustion, The Combustion Institute, pp 1223–1230
Takeuchi T, Tsuruda T, Ishizuka T, Hirano T (1991) Burning characteristics of a combustible liquid soaked in porous beds. In: Proceedings of the third international symposium on fire safety science, pp 405–414
IEC 60076-2 (1993) Power transformers—part 2: temperature rise. IEC, London
Datasheet showing technical data for the Nynas transformer oil used in the test series. http://www.reinhardoil.eu/PDB/Nytro-10-X.pdf
Lindström J, Försth M (2013) Fire test of profile plank for transformer pit fire protection, SP Report 2013:09. SP Fire Research, Borås
FIST 3-32 (2005) Transformer Fire Protection. Bureau of Reclamation, Hydroelectric and Technical Services Group, Denver
Fernández I, Ortiz A, Delgado F, Renedo C, Pérez S (2013) Comparative evaluation of alternative fluids for power transformers. Electr Power Syst Res 98:58–69
Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by Meiser Vogtland OHG, Oelsnitz, Germany. Tarmo Karjalainen and Emil Norberg at SP are gratefully acknowledged for managing the instrumentation. Krister Palmkvist, Lennart Hällefors and Samuel Norlén at SÄRF (Södra Älvsborgs Fire and Rescue Service) are gratefully acknowledged for managing the safety work during the tests. SÄRF is also acknowledged for their hospitality during the tests which were performed at the SÄRF training center Guttasjön in Borås, Sweden.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lindström, J., Försth, M. Fire Test of Profile Plank for Transformer Pit Fire Protection. Fire Technol 52, 309–319 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0409-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0409-2