US ARMY making big mistake with STRYKER...

[Mr. Skinny]

Anyhow Mg will burn once ignited until it is all consumed. it cannot be put out, it will burn underwater etc. refered to as a metal fire.

Not sure if this is strictly true Virgil. I know it can't be put out with water because the magnesium will evolve oxygen, but I believe a magnesium fire can be put out with a Class D extinguishing medium which coats the metal and excludes oxygen.

My only experience is with fires in magnesium chips produced by a lathe. Once the chips start burning, they are consumed before your brain can say "there's a fire.......get an extinguisher". Spectacular to watch though.

 

[Virgil]

we did this when I worked a the chem factory. took a pile of Mg lit it up. covered it with class D and let sit for 15 min. then dug it up. still burnning brightly. you have to exclude all O2 or any other oxidizers as well.


in your case you may have be able to coat a small fire completely with a thick enough layer to exclude all O2.

On our big pile we weren't. So what we did is coat it the best we could, to slow down the oxidation process, but more importantly, it cut the heat output by ca. 90%. Class D is a good thermal insulator, so nothing near by would lite up by over heating.


Also, it kept the fire (flames) from physically spreading.


yes it is very impressive and scary. We had 55 gal barrels of Mg turning or shaving...eeek.


On the stryker it is an Mg alloy so I don't know what effect the alloy will have.

Virgil

 

[Kodiak]

STRYKER with RPG resistant skirting

 

[Mr. Skinny]

I think we agree Virgil, for all practical purposes anyway.

I usually laugh when I see a Class D fire extinguisher, for the reasons we've both stated. Essentially, they are worthless.

I'm glad I left my last job before the Magnesium melting furnaces in the R&D department started producing any real output. Scary stuff.