2025

Sohil Bharat
Newcastle High School

Vulcan Shield

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Contents
List of Figures.......................................................................................................................0
Introduction.........................................................................................................................1
Literature Review..............................................................................................................3
Problem Statement...........................................................................................................6
Research Questions...........................................................................................................6
Aim....................................................................................................................................6
Engineering Goals or Design Goals:..................................................................................6
Method................................................................................................................................ 7
Materials:..........................................................................................................................7
Procedure......................................................................................................................... 7
Preliminary designs...........................................................................................................9
Time Frame........................................................................................................................10
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................12

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List of Figures
Figure 1: Application flow diagram......................................................................................9
Figure 2 Circuit prototype..................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Fires are one of the most devastating and unpredictable threats, causing the loss of life,
property, and resources on a yearly basis ([Link], 2022). Underground coal mine fires occur
around the world sending thousands of tons of soot, toxic vapours and other greenhouse
gasses into the atmosphere which is detrimental to the Earth’s environment causing
pollution of surfaces and groundwater ("U.S Department of the interor office of surface
mining reclamation and enforcement", n.d).
Fires in coal mines are unpredictable as spontaneous combustions can occur when coal or
other carbonaceous1 materials heat up and ignite without an external flame. The factors
that contribute to these spontaneous combustions include the presence of fine coal
particles, oxygen, and high ambient temperatures (Hoey, 2024). Other causes for fires can
include electrical equipment malfunctions and explosive gasses.
If a fire is not detected and suppressed in a timely manner multiple lives can be at risk. In
addition, large amounts of time and resources are wasted in repairing any equipment
that was damaged during the fire which can negatively impact mining businesses.
Direct loss to coal mines can include ("Minersmansion", n.d):
 Loss of coal reserves
 Loss of mining equipment
 Cost of fire fighting
 Recovery of sealed-off areas
Indirect losses to coal mines can include ("Minersmansion", n.d):
 Fall in production from effected areas
 Fall of productivity and increase of cost
Early detection and extinguishing of these fires can prevent them from becoming large-
scale disasters. This project represents a creative solution that combines advanced smoke
detection equipment, fire suppression system programming, and real-time user alerts to
offer protection to all of the employees, as well as damage to any equipment used.
The fire extinguishing system is suitable for any type of mine underground and will detect
dangerous gases released through fires with an air quality and hazardous gas detector
sensor. The system will also trigger automatically and employ sensors on the track to
detect temperature variations. After detecting a change, a sprinkler connected to foam
container will be triggered and rolled on a track to the precise position where the change
was detected. A camera will be integrated into the sprinkler system that moves on the
1
Any substance that contains or is composed of carbon
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track will detect the precise position of the fire and trigger the sprinkler to extinguish the
fire. Additionally, it integrates with a smartphone app that delivers instant notifications to
the user regarding potential fires, system status, and other vital information. With this
app, managers in the mines or outside can stay updated on the condition of the fire as
well as its precise location, thereby reducing the need for human interaction and reducing
the time taken to locate the fire.
This project combines faster detection time, targeted and precise suppression, safer
working conditions, lower long term costs, and future proof flexibility to showcase how
modern technology can revolutionize fire suppression, surpassing conventional
techniques. The objective of this project is to demonstrate how innovative initiatives and
user-friendly communication tools can facilitate the adoption of modern fire suppression
systems, thereby improving safety in mines around the world.

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Literature Review
The most common fire suppression systems include: automatic dry chemical systems,
automatic foam-based systems, gas-based systems, and water mist systems ("Jachris",
2023).
Automatic dry chemical systems make use of dry chemical agents to suppress fires
rapidly. When a fire is detected, the system releases a dry chemical agent that creates a
sort of layer over the flames. This approach is effective in suppressing Class A 2,B3 and C4
fires making them suitable for wide variety of fire hazards commonly encountered in
mining operations ("Jachris", 2023).
According to Alyssa Evans (2020) the following are advantages and disadvantages of
automatic dry chemical systems:
Advantages of Automatic dry chemical systems:
 Extremely reliable
 Extinguish fires quickly and effectively
 Accessible and efficient to use as the system is rechargeable
 Great for areas where fire sprinkler systems are not ideal
 Can be actuated either electrically or mechanically
 Compared to other fire suppression systems in mines there is a significant
reduction in maintenance costs for these systems over other options
Disadvantage of Automatic dry chemical systems:
 System needs to be recharged after it is activated in order to be used again
 Extensive cleanup is required after each use and proper dry chemical cleanup
procedure needs to be followed in order to get the facility back in working order
(Evans, 2020)
Automatic foam based systems are effective in suppressing flammable liquid fires, usually
involving fuel or hydraulic fluids. These systems operate by releasing a foam agent that
forms a cooling blanket, suffocating the fire and preventing re-ignition. These types of
systems are highly versatile an can be customized to meet the specific requirements in
mining operations ("Jachris", 2023).
Advantages of automatic foam based systems:
 Efficient and useful if used correctly
 Leaves very little pollution
2
Fires involving ordinary combustible materials like wood or paper
3
Fires involving flammable liquids or gases
4
Electrical fires involving energized electrical equipment
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  Low installation and maintenance costs
Disadvantages of automatic foam based system:
 Lots of water resource’s are needed
 False trigger can cause foam to be wasted
 Once triggered large amounts of foam is sprayed everywhere (Imen, n.d)
Gas-based fire suppression systems utilize inert 5 gas mixtures to suppress fires. This
method works by displacing oxygen, which is effective as oxygen is a main component for
combustion to take place. This method suffocates the fire without leaving any residual
traces. This method works best in enclosed spaces with electrical equipment as it does
not cause damage to sensitive electronic equipment ("Jachris", 2023).
Advantages of inert gas systems:
 Safe for human consumption as only naturally occurring gasses are released
 Quick fire suppression
 No risk for the environment
 No residue left over
 Equipment remains safe
Disadvantages of inert gas systems:
 More steel required for manufacturing the cylinders
 Huge storage requirements
 Needs to be regularly maintained
 Only extremely effective in enclosed spaces
 Expensive installation costs (Welland, 2023)
Water mist fire suppression systems uses extremely fine mist water droplets to control
and eliminate fires. The mist quickly reduces the temperature of flames preventing re-
ignition. This method of fire suppression is rarely used in rugged mining environments
("Jachris", 2023).
Advantages of water mist fire suppression:
 Rapid cooling and suppression
 Reduced water damage
 Smoke reduction
 Environmentally friendly
 Effective in various environments
Disadvantages of water mist fire suppression:
5
A gas that is chemically unreactive and stable meaning it does not readily form chemical compounds or react with other
substances under normal conditions
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  Potential for electrical issues
 Limited effectiveness in shielded fires
 Larger piping configurations
 Cost
 May take longer to extinguish small fires ("imist", n.d)
The research conducted in this project is innovative as smart fire suppression technology
with targeted precision in mines does not yet exist. FireChem AFFF foam will be used to
prevent class A and B fires and decrease any potential damage to electrical equipment, in
addition it is suitable for high pressure mine conditions. In addition to this the smoke
detector will be solar powered so there will be no need to change batteries constantly.
This will be one of the first smart fire suppression systems to be placed in a mine that will
be linked to an app to provide real time information to the user(managers) regarding the
general maintenance of the system, whether the alarm has been triggered or not , and
the exact location of the fire with regards to the position of the track.

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Problem Statement
The need for quick, safe, and cheap automated fire suppression systems in mines that
reduce damage to mining equipment.

Research Questions
1. What quality will the camera on the sprinkler need to be able to detect the fire in
real time?
2. What are the conditions needed to keep the smoke detector operational while
being in harsh mine conditions?
3. What track design provides the fastest response time?
4. What material must the track be made out of to ensure it stays durable?
5. How quickly will the smoke detector detect if there is a fire or not?
6. What size solar panel is needed to provide the smoke detector with constant
battery power?
7. What must the spacing be between each thermal sensor along the track to ensure
a fire can be detected from any area?
8. What is the correct ratio when mixing foam to allow it to spray out at a high
pressure without being too thick or to thin?

Aim
To create a fire suppression system that ensures a swift response to potential fires in a
mine and to prevent the fire from spreading causing more damage to surrounding areas
and harming the lives of workers in the mine.

Engineering Goals or Design Goals:

1. Be able to detect a fire within a minute
2. Have the sprinkler get to the required place on the track in under a minute
3. Have the sprinkler lock on to the fire in less than a minute
4. Be able to put out the fire within 10 minute
5. Notify the user immediately of a potential fire
6. Allow the user to pinpoint where along the track the fire is

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Method
Materials:
1. Arduino Uno
2. Bread board
3. Jumper cables
4. Personal computer
5. Resistors
6. Smoke detector
7. MQ-135 Air quality and hazardous gas detection sensor
8. ESP-32
9. Tracks
[Link] thermometer sensor
[Link] cam
[Link]
[Link] film-forming foam
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] Studio
[Link] solar panel
[Link]

Procedure
Deign Criteria:
1. Time frame: The application and the fire detection and prevention needs to be
completed and tested in 3 months
2. Application needs to be easy to navigate
3. The fire suppression system needs to be able fit in possible enclosed space
4. The fire suppression system needs to be resistant to hight temperatures which may
cause certain features to stop working
5. The smoke thermal sensors must detect a change in the heat and quickly send a
signal to the sprinkler and web camera system
6. The sprinkler needs to spray the foam with a high enough force to put out a fire
7. Web camera needs to have good quality to see fires in the dark

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Data Analysis:
 Testing Process
1. I will first train the webcam to detect fire
2. I will use a prebuilt smoke detector and connect an ESP-32 to it to ensure to
test to see If a message gets sent after the smoke detector goes off
3. I will test if the application that the user will use receives the message
4. I will use the track to test if heat is detected along different points on the
track
5. I will connect the web cam to the track and test if the webcam goes to the
point on the track where the heat was detected
6. I will test the webcam to see if it points in the direction of the heat
7. I will connect the whole system together and simulate a fire in a mine to test
if the system works as a single unit
 Recording Process
1. I will use a the Arduino uno to send messages along different points in the
process to see if all the system tasks are running functionally
2. These messages will be recorded in my journal
3. To see if the final design works I will use the recording from the webcam
attached to the track to see the process in real time

19.

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Preliminary designs

Home Screen
All features accessible from here

Show temperature readings

Can see what the temperature in the mine is

Battery of smoke detector

Can see the battery life of the smoke detector

General diagnostics on the system

Can see if all features of the system are in working order

Webcam

View video footage from you phone to see if everything is working

Figure 1: Application flow diagram

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Figure 2 Circuit prototype

Photoresistors will be set up with a carboard piece between them, the servo will then
turn until the photo resistors are both facing the light. This is used to simulate the light
detection system which will use a camera in the final prototype. Once both photoresistors
are facing the light , a LED will light up to imitate the sprinkler that will go off.

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Time Frame
Date Task
4-9 April Design possible prototypes
10 April Report to mentor
17-21 April Application design
25-27 April Train web camera to detect fire
29 April Report to mentor
2-4 May Design rail track
9-11 May Create the web camera and sprinkler system
16-18 May Connect web camera system to rail track
21 May Report to mentor
23-25 May Testing of everything once connected

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Bibliography

Anon., n.d. Worlds First Innovative Fire Safety Device. [Online]

Available at: [Link]
operator/#:~:text=Unlike%20traditional%20smoke%20detectors%20that,system%20upon
%20detection%20of%20smoke.
[Accessed 7 February 2025].
Anon., 2023. Roof Space Detection. [Online]
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[Accessed 7 February 2025].
Anon., n.d. Smoke alarm II. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
[Accessed 7 February 2026].
Hoey, I., 2024. What are the leading causes of fire in coal mines. International Fire and
Safety Journal.
[Link], X. Y. Y. R. T. R., 2022. Numerical simulation of coal dust self-ignition and combustion
under inclination conditions. Energy, pp. 50-62.
"Jachris", 2023. Fire suppression systems in mines. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
Evans, A., 2020. What is a dry chemical fire suppression system. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
Welland, M., 2023. Advantages and disadvantages of an inergen gas system. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
an-inergen-gas-system
"imist", n.d. Advantage and disadvantages to firefighting agents. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
agents/
Imen, H., n.d. What is the foam fire extinguishing system and what are its advantages
and disadvantages. [Online]
Available at: [Link]
extinguishing-system-and-what-are-its-advantages-and-disadvantages

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"Minersmansion", n.d. Mine fires. [Online]
Available at:
[Link]
"U.S Department of the interor office of surface mining reclamation and enforcement",
n.d. Coal mine fires and burning refuse. [Online]
Available at: [Link]

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