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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/T20168/01
Title: Early and Specific Fire Detection System Using Compact Advanced Optical Systems
Principal Investigator: Sun, Professor T
Other Investigators:
Grattan, Professor KT
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Kidde PLC OpTek Systems
Department: Measurement Instrumentation and App Phys
Organisation: City, University of London
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 March 2005 Ends: 31 August 2008 Value (£): 293,401
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Instrumentation Eng. & Dev.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Fire causes multi-billion pound losses in the UK annually - a figure that is multiplied many times over when its impact on the major developed countries is taken into account - as well as enormous human loss and suffering. Reliable fire detection at the earliest stages of combustion would prevent some of this loss, saving lives and very considerable cost to industry and commerce. To create effective optical sensors for the purpose outlined, fibre optic laser-based systems will be developed, exploiting their nature as compact, wavelength selectable and narrow-band devices. To date fibre laser sources have little explored for fire detection systems, in spite of showing huge potential as a result of their unique features and to serve as a low-loss, compact flexible medium for effective optical radiation delivery. These will be used as cost-effective sources aiming for more specific detection, to distinguish reliably using advanced optical sensor systems to be developed, smoke from other aerosols having similar physical attributes. This is a means of better targeting fire extinguishing, offering significantly improved immunity to false alarms over traditional smoke-detection based equivalents and reducing overall losses, in an innovative project carried out with a major UK company in fire detection (Kidde plc) in partnership and supported by an SME in novel optical fibre manipulation technology (OpTek Systems).
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.city.ac.uk