An Evaluation of Aerosol Extinguishing Systems for Machinery Space Applications

Full-scale fire tests were conducted by the United States Coast Guard to identify the fire extinguishing capabilities and limitations of Aerosol Extinguishing Systems (AES) in shipboard machinery space applications. A total of 18 tests were conducted in this evaluation utilizing the equipment from t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire technology 2009-03, Vol.45 (1), p.43-69
Main Authors: Back, Gerard, Boosinger, Michael, Forssell, Eric, Beene, David, Weaver, Elizabeth, Nash, Lou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Applied sciences
Building technical equipments
Buildings
Buildings. Public works
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Civil Engineering
Classical Mechanics
Design
Detection. Firefighting. Smoke control. Evacuation
Engineering
Exact sciences and technology
Fire behavior of materials and structures
Fire extinguishers
Fire protection
Fires
Gases
Generators
Instrumentation
Physics
Protocol
Ships
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Summary:Full-scale fire tests were conducted by the United States Coast Guard to identify the fire extinguishing capabilities and limitations of Aerosol Extinguishing Systems (AES) in shipboard machinery space applications. A total of 18 tests were conducted in this evaluation utilizing the equipment from three AES manufacturers (Ansul, FirePro, and Flame Guard). The systems were tested against the current International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) test protocol (MSC/Circ. 1007) for approving AES for machinery space applications. All three systems exhibited good capabilities against Class B fires but had difficulty extinguishing the Class A fires. As a result of these limited capabilities against Class A fires, none of the three systems successfully met the requirements of the IMO test protocol (as currently written). The conditions in the space produced by the discharge of the systems were also quantified during these tests (visibility, temperature, particle densities, and gas concentrations). Based on the results of these tests, a number of modifications to the procedures, instrumentation, and fire scenarios in the test protocol were recommended.
ISSN:0015-2684
1572-8099
DOI:10.1007/s10694-008-0053-9