title: Development of a multiple gas analyzer using cavity ringdown spectroscopy for use in advanced fire detection.
abstract: A portable cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) apparatus was used to detect effluents from small test fires in the Fire Emulator/Detector Evaluator (FE/DE) and a small room in the Building Fire and Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The output from two lasers is combined to detect four combustion gases, CO, CO(2), HCN, and C(2)H(2), near simultaneously using CRDS. The goal of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of using a CRDS sensor as a fire detector. Fire effluents were extracted from several test facilities and measurements of CO, CO(2), HCN, and C(2)H(2) were obtained every 25-30 s. In the FE/DE test, peak concentrations of the gases from smoldering paper were 420 parts in 10(6) (ppm) CO, 1600 ppm CO(2), 530 parts in 10(9) (ppb) HCN, and 440 ppb C(2)H(2). Peak gas concentrations from the small room were 270 ppm CO, 2100 ppm CO(2), and 310 ppb C(2)H(2).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University, 725 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Fallows
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.forename: J Houston
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Miller