Date: December 3, 2018

To: ENGL 21007 D2 Class

From: Walmy, Jonathan, Oshane, and Ahmed (Group 3)

Subject: Proposing AutoFireman: Vehicle’s Automatic Fire Suppression and Passenger Safety

 

Purpose

The purpose of this proposal is to urge the safety of commercial vehicles by discussing the reasons behind systems’ failures and how to avoid, if not prevent them. We recommend implementing an innovative fire suppression system and introduce a detailed scheme of how this would be carried out, the effects it would have on a vehicle’s systems, and the overall budget and details of such a project.

 

Summary

The implementation for a fire suppression system in a commercial vehicle is needed more than ever, given the history of the industry. The automotive industry made it through a lot but still has even more to go. We should not anticipate the perfect car to come very early, as we still have many years of playing around with physics and math to improve the way cars work. Unfortunately, safety isn’t given that much attention compared to performance and durability improvements. While safety is a major concern when it comes to engineering automobiles, passengers still have a high probability of risk from electrical and mechanical failures in today’s automobiles. Although the risk of fire in a modern car, just driving along, is very low, it is a low-probability, extremely high-consequences event. Safety is an important thing that must be taken to account at all times, and thus we introduce AutoFireman; the automatic fire suppression system installed inside the vehicle. As much as how this can be advantageous in the form of advertising for the upcoming vehicles, this new fire suppression system would insure safety for consumers and certainly isn’t just a sales pitch. We are a group of machinery enthusiasts — cars in particular — and we hope to make our own footprint in the industry.

Introduction

 

Studying the history of an enterprise has always been the first and most vital step before undertaking an enterprise. If you look at the history of an invention like the seatbelt for example, you’ll find that it took a decade before regulations were actually put in place to prevent the numerous accidents reported in the period that preceded. Automobiles have suffered from fires since the first automobile ever produced in 1885. Where most fires in cars are caused by accidents, when vehicles collide, many of the flammable components that go into cars are exposed to heat or sparks. Cars have also been known to catch flames because of design flaws, electrical problems, and overheating. These problems have plagued cars since their conception. Where design flaws can be avoided through testing, most companies are constrained by deadlines and don’t have the time to run tests on commercial brands because they wish to get the product out on the market by the end of the year. This leads to many issues resurfacing after vehicles are released and recalls do have to be made. On the other hand, we have electrical and overheating issues that are caused by a variety of different reasons that occur overtime with cars or just randomly. We believe that the industry should take action in regard to fire suppression and safety regulations. It’s not a mystery that electrical fires have been a major factor impacting passenger safety and causing terrible incidents leading to deaths. Between 2014 and 2016, 45% of highway vehicle fires were caused by mechanical failures, 29% percent of the fire were reported to be ignited by electrical wiring, and 60% of fatal vehicle fire were caused during a collision (Ahrens, 2012). Many of these fires are the main cause of death for those involved in car accidents. One of the high-profile death-resulting incidents from a car fire is that of the famous actor Paul Walker from the “Fast and Furious” franchise. The actor was involved in a collision with a friend; the NASCAR driver Roger Rodas in a Porsche Carrera GT. The vehicle was reported to have hit a lamp post and multiple trees before catching fire and killing them both. It was also reported that Paul Walker braced for impact and had survived but was killed by the ensuing flames (Satalkar, 2014). Another example is that of the famous Formula One driver Niki Lauda who managed to survive only because of the intervention of one of his fellow drivers. Had this vehicle been equipped with a fire suppression system, these tragic deaths and accidents could have possibly been avoided.

Vehicle safety is primal when it comes to engineering automobiles. If innovated properly, it would reduce the major flaws present in cars’ systems and would decrease the risks of death when a person is driving an automobile. The insulation of electrical and mechanical compartments in current vehicles is not enough and does not insure the safety of passengers. Introducing a fire suppression system that would be implemented to commercialized automobiles will allow for prevention of a car catching on fire in the majority of cases. This system would be very affordable. The fire suppression system can be bought individually, but this would not be completely convenient. We believe that the implementation of the system inside of the body of the car is more convenient for car manufacturers companies as a way of advertising the cars for the upcoming year 2019.

Figure 1: Conceptual prototype of the fire suppression system

[Prototype visualization] (2018). Retrieved from http://ezshopex.com/sports-leisure/auto-leisure/auto-fireman-car-fire-extinguisher.html

Proposed Program

 

Wirings in a car are generally loosely hung about and are only hidden by soft materials. As a result, cars are at high risk for electrical fires. If an electrical fire occurs and the occupants are incapable of exiting the vehicle, they can lose their life. Using a fire suppression system can eliminate the chance of death due to a car fire. This program is composed of an insulating fire-resistant kit that encases the wires and keeps the electrical components behind the firewall, making it both easy to access the panels and protect the person occupying the car. The kit is then connected to the fire bottle which will prime itself when smoke is detected and discharge once the temperature in the 400 degrees Celsius. The fire suppression system will have a manual activation handle in case the automatic discharge fails.

Figure 2: Housing of the kit and hose

[Engine bay of a car] (2014). Retrieved from https://www.carthrottle.com/post/FrYtai/

 

Due to the electrical complications caused by wet chemicals, a dry chemical is used for the fire suppression system that is easy to install and be recharged, making it more affordable than the wet chemical. The dry chemical is composed of Monoammonium Phosphate which complies with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 17 and 33. NFPA 17 and 33 are the standards for spray applications that are used on flammable and combustible materials.