Fire Extinguishing Micro-Capsule Shell Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fire extinguishing micro-capsules face challenges with low temperature decapsulation, leading to inefficient fire extinguishing and stability issues during long-term storage and exposure to solvents, requiring a solution for rapid release of fire extinguishing agents within a narrow temperature range.
Innovation Solution
A fire extinguishing micro-capsule with a high-density non-porous polymer shell, incorporating precipitants and coagulants, and a decapsulation process that ensures rapid release of the fire extinguishing agent within a narrow temperature range, maintaining stability and resistance to water and solvents, with a shell thickness of 200 nm to 5 μm and minimal weight loss during storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the shell is made of conventional materials and structure, then the fire extinguishing agent can be encapsulated, but the decapsulation temperature is too low and the release is not rapid enough
Solution Approach 1:
The shell is constructed from composite materials including gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, and cross-linking agents that create a structure with specific thermal response characteristics. This composite structure enables the shell to maintain integrity at lower temperatures while rapidly decapsulating at the target temperature range of 70-90°C, simultaneously achieving high decapsulation temperature and rapid release rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical and chemical parameters of the shell materials, including molecular weight, cross-linking density, and composition ratios. By adjusting these parameters, the shell's thermal stability and decapsulation characteristics are optimized to achieve rapid fire extinguishing agent release within the narrow temperature range of 70-90°C while preventing premature release during storage.
2Productivity
If the shell is made thin for rapid release, then the decapsulation is faster, but the stability during long-term storage above boiling point deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shell uses a composite structure of gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol with controlled thickness of 1-10 μm. This composite material provides both the mechanical strength needed for long-term storage stability and the thermal response characteristics for rapid decapsulation. The cross-linking between components creates a stable network that prevents premature failure while allowing rapid breakdown at fire temperatures.
Solution Approach 2:
The shell structure exhibits different properties at different scales: at the macro level, it maintains sufficient thickness and cross-linking for storage stability, while at the micro level, the controlled porosity and material composition enable rapid agent release during decapsulation. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between stability and release speed.
3Reliability
If the shell is made dense and non-porous for stability, then the leakage during storage is prevented, but the release rate during fire extinguishing is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shell undergoes a phase transition response to thermal stimuli during fire conditions. The gelatin-polyvinyl alcohol composite structure maintains a dense, non-porous state during storage to prevent leakage, but undergoes rapid structural transformation at 70-90°C that creates pathways for fire extinguishing agent release, thereby achieving both leakage prevention and rapid release.
Solution Approach 2:
The shell structure is designed to be dynamic rather than static: it maintains a stable dense configuration during storage but transforms rapidly under fire conditions. The cross-linked gelatin-polyvinyl alcohol network provides initial stability, then undergoes controlled degradation and restructuring to enable rapid agent ejection, achieving both leakage prevention and fire extinguishing efficiency.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional encapsulation materials are used, then the manufacturing is simple, but the resistance to water and solvents during long-term storage is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The shell combines gelatin with polyvinyl alcohol and cross-linking agents to create a composite structure with enhanced moisture and solvent resistance. This composite material maintains the relative simplicity of encapsulation manufacturing processes while providing superior protection against water and solvent penetration during long-term storage, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables long-term storage safety at room temperature and above the boiling point, rapid decapsulation of the fire extinguishing agent, and enhanced resistance to water and solvents, ensuring effective and reliable fire extinguishing performance.
Implementation Method 1
The volume of the fire extinguishing agent rapidly expands at a temperature (decapsulation temperature) above 70° C. (the boiling point of the fire extinguishing agent), and the shell is destroyed so that the fire extinguishing agent is released to the outside.
Implementation Method 2
The volume of the fire extinguishing agent rapidly expands at a temperature (decapsulation temperature) above 70° C.
Implementation Method 3
a fire extinguishing micro-capsule having a core-shell structure, in which the core is a fire extinguishing agent and the shell is a high-density non-porous polymer, and including a precipitant and/or a coagulant
Implementation Method 4
a fire extinguishing micro-capsule having a core-shell structure, in which the core is a fire extinguishing agent and the shell is a high-density non-porous polymer, and including a precipitant and/or a coagulant
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing micro-capsule, a method for manufacturing the same, and a fire extinguisher using the same. The fire extinguishing micro-capsule has a core-shell structure in which a core includes a liquid fire extinguishing agent and a shell uses a high-density non-porous polymer material. A decapsulation process of the fire extinguishing micro-capsule occurs in a narrow time and temperature range at a rate of at least 150%/min, and the stability of the agent in water and other solvents is significantly increased. A fire extinguisher including the fire extinguishing micro-capsule has increased lifetime and operational efficiency.