USAGE OF THERMOCHROMIC MATERIALS AS FIRE PREVENTION SIGNALLING MEANS IN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS

The most electric wiring fires strike in residential structures causing a great many of casualties. The numbers of the same fires on industrial enterprises are considerably fewer but damage from them is rather greater. Thereby electric wiring is mostly vulnerable to the fire risk and threatens life safety directly. It is rather hard to assess the possibility of an emerging fire in electrical equipment by outward signs because the majority of emergency processes are not visible. It is a usual thing that the problem is discovered when the electrical installation is no longer on duty. It is true that emergencies in electric wiring are caused by voltage overloading and large transient resistance. Electric wiring failure is revealed by rising the temperature of conductors. Running out of the normal mode, heating of electric wiring up to high temperatures brings to chemical distruction and untimely erosion of isolation what finally provokes a short circuit and a probable fire. The fact is that during a long period the isolation is under the process of lowering its resistance and loss of isolation characteristics what negatively influences the temperature mode of the wiring as well. Application of thermo chrome dyes within the isolation of wiring affords to visualize the development of emergency modes of operation. Thermo chrome stickers on transformers and electric motors have also exposed the potential of this signal stuff intended for warning of a possible ignition in electrical equipment. Being referred to analysis of statistics of fires, literary sources and the experiment it has been made the conclusion proving that it is possible to apply thermo chrome dyes as indicators of the moment when electrical installations start operating under the modes associated with fire risks. Application of thermo chrome stuff displaying the temperature rise above the normal operational temperature of equipment will give a chance to respond to the problem in a proper time preventing breakdown of the equipment and the fire ignition.