'MEETING COMMERCIAL AND MILITARY REQUIREMENTS TO PASSIVE FIRE PROTECTION OF COMPOSITE HIGH SPEED CRAFTS'

摘要

Fire safety is an important issue of modern high-speed crafts. Due to the weight sensitivity of most high-speed crafts, aluminium and composites are the dominating structural materials. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Code of Safety for High Speed Craft (HSC-code) has introduced very strict requirements for the passive fire safety for commercial vessels made of composite materials. For naval vessels, there are no international regulations. Numerous tests standards and acceptance criteria are used in the various Navies, but many tests methods are not made for and hence not suitable for testing of composite materials. However, there is a tendency to look at the IMO-HSC-code requirements for fire reaction requirements for composite structures (heat release, smoke etc.). This paper will focus on important differences in fire safety philosophy for commercial and naval vessels. The paper also summarises the IMO HSC-code requirements related to fire reaction and fire resistance for a composite vessel. Possible methods of improving fire performance of composite structures are discussed. Examples from recent building programs are included, with description of methods and products. Test results and the application examples documents that it is now possible to fulfil the strict requirements in the IMO-HSC code in a rational and cost efficient way.