An experimental investigation of pressure loss in canvas fire hose
- Publisher:
- The University of Auckland
- Publication Type:
- Conference Proceeding
- Citation:
- Proceedings of the 17th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, 2010, pp. 1 - 4
- Issue Date:
- 2010-01
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The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) of Australia uses canvas "lay flaf" fire hose to deliver water at an incident. A single "rule of thumb" figure for the estimated pressure loss over a length (approx 30m) of canvas hose is used. This figure is a general average based off figures published by the hose manufacturer. These figures in tmn were obtained from tests as per the Australian Standard AS-2792, which requires the hose to be under defined conditions. However, these conditions do not reproduce what is happening in a real-life fire-fighting situation. One example of the non-realistic conditions is the hose being laid completely straight. For, even in the most ideal situation, the hose still has to curve down from the back of the truck to the ground. In this experimental investigation, a test rig was set up to measure pressure loss over a length of canvas fire hose under a range of situations similar to how the hose will be laid in an actual scenario. The measured losses were found to be significantly greater than results published by the hose manufacturer, with the difference increasing with more severe bends and twists in the laid hose. The difference also varies with hose diameter. On the other hand, hose age was found to have a negligible effect on losses, contrary to expectation.
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