Mesrun, Norlyiana
(2015)
Copper wire characterisation for fire source determination.
Project Report.
Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
(Submitted)
Abstract
Electrical fire is a fire started by electrical means. During investigation, fire
investigators need to prove the cause of these fires if the cases involve electrical failures or
mal functions. Therefore, this study focused on the characterisation of copper wire for fire
source determination to provide an insight on the feature damage patterns between external
flame burnt wires and electrically burnt wires. In this study, two different manufactured
electrical wires, which were yellow and red insulated copper wire samples, were subjected
to external flame and electrical overcurrent conditions. Different intensities of simulated
fire conditions, namely instant, slightly and severely heated were introduced to the
samples. Through microscopic examination, the cross sectional morphological features
between insulated copper wire burnt by external flame and electrical overcurrent condition
were distinct. However, this method was not reliable enough to be applied in real bumt
cases where most electrical wiring were completely burnt, making the cross sectional
features hard to be examined. The application of Fourier Transform Infra-red technique on
the polymeric insulator of the wire samples showed slightly varying spectra through visual
observation on the basis of simulated fire conditions. Principal Component Analysis of the
burnt insulators provided an objective characterisation where the source of fire, either
external flame or electrical means could be distinguished. The results have signaled the
high potential of the technique as a tool for fire source determination. In conclusion, the
study could help differentiate and characterise burnt wires based on their fire source. The
findings provided information for forensic analyses and also aided the fire investigation.
especially on electrical tire cases.
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