Explore the vast range of titles available.

Reliability–redundancy allocation problem (RRAP) plays a vital role in reliability improvement and designing of systems which depend on the arrangement of components, reliability of the components, and redundancy allocation for the components. Higher reliability is the primary requisite for essential systems such as fire extinguisher drones (FEDs) which are very valuable for firefighters in tackling emergencies in non-reachable areas. In this work, a FED is considered with the aim of system designing for maximum reliability while considering the limited availability of resources such as volume, cost, and weight of the system. A total of five possible arrangements of the redundant components are investigated, and a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem is solved for system reliability optimization. For optimization purposes, a recently developed metaheuristic hybrid particle swarm grey wolf optimizer (HPSGWO) is implemented. The HPSGWO is a powerful fusion of PSO’s exploitation property and GWO’s exploration property. Solving RRAP by using HPSGWO provides 99% reliability of the proposed FED under the limited availability of resources. To validate the superiority of the HPSGWO, a comparative study is explained.

This paper discusses the use of an acoustic effect and technique to extinguish flames when extinguishing fires of oil and petroleum products. The added value is also to analyze the development prospects to familiarize the reader with the current state of knowledge in the use of acoustic waves for extinguishing of oil and petroleum products. Some types and conditions of using the acoustic effect when extinguishing a fire are considered. Various options for using the acoustic effect in fire extinguishers are shown. The prospects and environmental friendliness of the acoustic method in extinguishing the fires of oil and petroleum products are noted.

Korean forests are highly vulnerable to forest fires, which can severely damage property and human life. This necessitates the establishment of a rapid response system and the construction of firebreaks to prevent the spread of fires and protect key facilities. The existing firebreak construction methods can be classified into prevention- and response-stage methods. In the prevention stage, the progression and spread of fire are delayed, while in the response stage, primitive manual methods involving tools such as hooks are used, in addition to aerial deployment of water and fire retardants through helicopters. Herein, we propose the use of “fire-extinguishing drones” for firebreak construction during the initial, low-intensity stage of a fire before the deployment of firefighting personnel. We implement a continuous fire-extinguishing module capable of carrying six fire-extinguishing balls to verify its deployment accuracy and stable hovering capabilities. Through the operation of multiple drones using a ground control system and real-time kinematics to precisely generate designated automatic flight paths, we conducted experiments to assess the feasibility of firebreak construction by using fire-extinguishing drones to prevent the spread of wildfires. A firebreak construction field test was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of continuous fire extinguisher deployment, hovering performance during deployment, accuracy of the RTK-designated paths, and GCS performance. The proposed system achieved 100% performance on all indicators, except the accuracy of the RTK-designated paths.

Fires kill and injure people, destroy residences, pollute the air, and cause economic loss. The damage of the fire can be reduced if we can detect the fire early and notify the firefighters as soon as possible. In this project, a novel Internet of Things (IoT)-based fire detector device is developed that automatically detects a fire, recognizes the object that is burning, finds out the class of fire extinguisher needed, and then sends notifications with location information to the user and the emergency responders smartphones within a second. This will help firefighters to arrive quickly with the correct fire extinguisher—thus, the spread of fire can be reduced. The device detects fire using a thermal camera and common objects using a red-green-blue (RGB) camera with a deep-learning-based algorithm. When a fire is detected, the device sends data using the Internet to a central server, and it then sends notifications to the smartphone apps. No smoke detector or fire alarm is available in the literature that can automatically suggest the class of fire extinguisher needed, and this research fills this gap. Prototypes of the fire detector device, the central server for the emergency responder’s station, and smartphone apps have been developed and tested successfully.

The current investigation involved preliminary laboratory research regarding the accumulation capacity of three types of hyperaccumulator plants when specific soil factors are altered during their cultivation. Three different plants participated in this experiment, namely, milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaerth), industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), which were cultivated in two soils with different pH values, yet containing similar levels of metal pollutants. ABC fire extinguisher powder (FP), which had been tested in the past and found to cause a significant change in nutrient availability, was added to the soils. The FP was added at 1% v/v and, in order to facilitate its fast incorporation into the soil, the soil moisture was maintained at 60–65%. The experiment was conducted in pots where the plants were grown in contaminated soils, with and without the FP addition. The pseudo-total (after extraction with Aqua Regia), available (after extraction with DTPA), and water-soluble concentrations (after extraction with CaCl2 solution) of Cd, Cr, and Cu were determined in the soils. The plants completed their growth cycle (in 112, 128, and 139 days, respectively), were harvested, and the metal concentrations were assessed after extraction with Aqua Regia, both in the underground and above-ground parts. FP addition caused a significant decrease in the availability of each of the three metals, yet mainly Cr, as it caused a maximum reduction of 19.6% and 16.0% in the rate of water-soluble and available (after extraction with DTPA) Cr, respectively, in relation to the total Cr concentration in acidic soil, revealing the decisive role played by soil reaction in metal availability. FP addition caused a significant Cd reduction in accumulation in the above-ground parts of cultivated plants in the order of hemp > thistle > tobacco. FP use appears to significantly alter the plant-to-soil metal transfer, affecting the plants’ ability to accumulate Cd, Cr, and Cu. Apparently, this material, disposed of in the environment, could be a useful and low-cost soil conditioner, in line with the principles of the circular economy.

In this study, a hybrid wheeled fire extinguisher robot has been created. The robot has a two-degrees-of-freedom (DoF) fire extinguisher gun turret. To control the disruptive effect of mechanical oscillations on the firing system during movement of the robot body, PID and SMC controllers are used. When closed on flat ground, the robot’s five-piece transformable wheel construction allows it to travel swiftly. The wheel mechanism opens on tough terrain, allowing the wheel to assume a star-shaped configuration and enabling the robot to ascend by grasping onto obstructions. The three-dimensional mechanical design of the firefighter robot was designed first, followed by the kinematic model of the turret system and the three-dimensional Simscape model in the Matlab Simmechanic environment. Simulations of throwing fire-extinguishing balls at fire locations positioned at 20 m to 80 m horizontal and 1–30 m vertical distances were carried out on this model for three different scenarios (the robot is stationary, moving at constant speed and rotating around itself). The simulations resulted in a shooting success rate of 85.71% with PID and 95.23% with SMC (for a total of 105 shots). When the mistake rates were investigated, it was discovered that the constructed fire robot was usable in firefighting.

AbstractIntroductionCarbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a volatile liquid, previously used as a fire extinguishing agent. It is no longer utilized due to concerns about hepatotoxicity due to CYP2E1 metabolism to a trichloromethyl radical. Case 1: A 31-year-old man presented to the emergency department (ED) with one day of vomiting and diarrhea. His presentation labs revealed an AST: 1243 (U/L), ALT: 1885 (U/L), and INR: 1.64. The patient reported he was cleaning his basement, alongside his brother, when a “fire grenade” containing CCl4 shattered, releasing its contents the day prior to admission. They continued to work in the basement for six hours. He was treated with intravenous N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Peak levels of AST and ALT were 2982 (U/L) and 6390 (U/L) respectively. One week after discharge, his AST: 64 (U/L) and his ALT: 742 (U/L). Case 2: A 24-year-old male, the brother of case 1, presented to the ED 12 hours after his brother with abdominal pain and vomiting. Labs showed AST: 2,174 (U/L), ALT: 2,481 (U/L), and INR: 1.29. Intravenous NAC was initiated. Peak AST and ALT were 4345 (U/L) and 4782 (U/L) respectively. Eleven days after discharge, his AST was 25 (U/L) and his ALT was 89 (U/L). DiscussionPrior case reports have suggested a clinical benefit from NAC in patients with CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity although there are no controlled trials. ConclusionCCl4 remains available and should be considered as a potential cause of hepatotoxicity. This case report provides additional support to the therapeutic benefit of NAC.

Most fire spread is caused by the absence of suppression means at the beginning of the fire. This results in the missed golden time. There are various factors that cause initial fires, such as electrical outlets, general distribution circuits, and oil–vapor–gas cluster spaces. In most cases, these places are out of reach of human hands or they lose the initial suppression time when a fire occurs, causing the spread of fire. This study implements an intelligent fire suppression device that connects sensor IoT based on microcapsules to secure initial fire suppression and golden time in the event of a fire in blind spots that cannot be seen by humans or at a time when it is difficult to recognize a fire. The microcapsule is a micro-collection unit that collects Novec 1230 gas generated in the semiconductor production process. The microcapsule is molded into a form with a fire suppression function and, when a fire occurs, the molded body explodes and absorbs ambient oxygen to suppress the fire. The complex-sensor IoT executes smoke and heat detection generated when a fire is suppressed within 10 s, which ensures the reliability of the detector by notifying of the fire and detecting the ignition point through communication linkages such as Ieee 485 and WiFi or LoRa.

The deployment of fixed-wing aircraft in fire-extinguishing operations represents a significant advancement in the domain of aviation emergency rescue. Addressing the challenge of enhancing firefighting efficacy, this study delves into the water-dropping strategies of fixed-wing extinguishers and provides a methodological framework for the strategic planning and assessment of water-dropping tactics, employing multi-resolution modeling. The formulation of the planning algorithm and the structure of the effectiveness evaluation index system are explained accordingly. The corresponding prototype system was designed, comprising four subsystems that utilized distinct resolution models: fire environment simulation, water-dropping point scheme planning, approaching path planning, and mission evaluation simulation. Case studies validate the system’s capability to forecast fire and smoke propagation, plan a water-dropping trajectory based on the fire line, optimize flight paths based on the trajectory, and simulate as well as evaluate the whole firefighting mission process. The above research comprehensively constructs the model, finishes the iterative optimization, and evaluates the water-dropping strategy by simulation. The technical path and methodological framework of studying water-dropping strategies are established. The outcomes of this study provide invaluable support for the parameter inversion design of the fixed-wing extinguisher, offering decision-making assistance to commanders and supplying training scenarios for new aviation crews.

On Sept. 30, Project DYNAMO, a veteran volunteer group that rescues civilians, traveled to Sanibel island to search for and rescue survivors of Hurricane Ian.