Events

We are starting to see the serious impacts of climate change throughout the world, and it will only continue to get worse. The need for alternative energy and lifestyle choices is apparent, but the temperature changes will not be going away any time soon, and neither will the wildfires. In California alone, 10,500 structures and 33 lives were lost in the year 2020. The project here proposes a solution to help save lives and/or the belongings they may leave behind. The current standard of fire shelters is made up of a thin sheet of aluminum backed by woven silica and does not guarantee safety or survival. Superabsorbent polymer, or SAP, has proven to be very effective in stopping fires and the damages they cause. SAP is a dry powder that absorbs water into its matrix, trapping it there. This trapping mechanism allows little to no movement of water molecules, stopping convective heat transfer and slowing temperature increase drastically. The proposed solution is to put a layer with dry SAP into an existing fire shelter to dramatically increase the odds of survival and keeping belongings safe. The proposed addition would decrease heat flux through the blanket by 97% for up to a half hour. The product is affordable and easy to make. It does not require much additional effort for installation, and it is incredibly effective. The effectiveness of this concept has been proven in the lab, so current efforts are being put towards turning the project into a product. The increase in wildfires over the last few years has created a need for protection when fleeing one’s home, whether it is for yourself or the precious belongings you may leave behind. Current work includes designing a prototype blanket, considering the needs of people living in high-risk areas and wildland firefighters. Future work will expand the needs of the blanket to outdoor enthusiasts, as well conducting more work in the lab to characterize the properties of the prototype blankets.