Study on Flame Spread Characteristics of Flame-Retardant Cables in Mine

Polymer combustion is an important factor in mine fires. Based on the actual environment in a mine tunnel, a cable combustion experiment platform was established to study the regularities of the cable fire spread speed and smoke temperature under different conditions, including various fire loads and ventilation speeds. The flame change and molten dripping behaviour during the fire spread process were also analyzed. The experimental results show that the flame-retardant cable can be ignited and continuously burnt at a certain wind speed, but the combustion can be restrained at high wind speed. The combustion speed of the flame-retardant cable is affected by the fire load and ventilation speed. The combustion droplets can change the shape of the flame, which can consequently ignite other combustible materials. The analysis of the experimental results provides an important basis for the prevention of tunnel fires