Research articles
ScienceAsia 46 (2020):ID 59-64 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2020.005
Investigating the oxidation behavior of carbon steel in
fire scene: a new method for fire investigations
Hao Honga, Dongbai Xieb, Shuwang Duoa,*, Wen Wangc
ABSTRACT: A major component of fire investigation is tracking the cause of fire, finding of which help to strengthen
the physical evidence, especially in case of arson with accelerants. When metallic substances are exposed to fire at high
temperature, they undergo oxidation. Accelerants at the fire scene impart some oxidative characteristics on metallic
materials. For instance oxides and substrates found on metal surfaces provide valuable information for determining
the characteristics of fire, such as exposure temperature, duration and involvement of a liquid accelerant. In this study,
we investigated the oxidation behavior of carbon steel at high temperature in a simulated flame environment using
ethanol combustion. After oxidation, the morphological and microstructural features of the samples were characterized
by observation, scanning probe microscope, X-ray diffractions and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive
spectroscopy analysis. The results showed that elemental carbon was deposited on the samples surface, which were
ascribed to the incomplete combustion of ethanol. An oxide with a mesh-like pattern appeared on the samples, which
was ascribed to the complex oxidation conditions of the fire scene. The properties of the oxides were strongly dependent
on the oxidation duration, temperature and atmosphere. These results provide reference information for determining
the presence of combustion accelerants at the fire scene.
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| a |
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Materials Surface Engineering, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal
University, Nanchang 330013 China |
| b |
School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063 China |
| c |
Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 China |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: swduo@imr.ac.cn
Received 25 Jul 2019, Accepted 30 Dec 2019
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